From one plantation owner to another; Willie Lynch outlines a 300-year plan for slavery

Willie Lynch guarantees 300 years of division and control
 
The mysterious Willie Lynch Manifesto has been around for decades. No one knows if the author was Black or White, man or woman, or a mythical character created by someone who wanted to emphasize light skin vs dark skin slaves, pitting them against each other on plantations. Whatever the case, Lynch predicted that his formula for controlling and categorizing slaves would work for 300 years if slave masters followed his strategy.

The Willie Lynch Manifesto ignited some interesting debates and conversations. None of the back and forth are more boisterous and comedic than between customers in community barber shops. In these shops you see and hear Willie Lynch personified. The debaters and conversationalists are both serious and side splitting hilarious when they explain slavery, dark and light skinned slaves, house and field slaves, and White masters who fathered thousands of "mixed" children, the result of raping young slave girls and women.

The mysterious Lynch was spot on in his evaluation of slave life. He was holding a bankable check when he predicted that his blueprint to divide slaves by skin color would work 300 years if slaveholders followed his advice. As of 2013, in African American communities, there is still a color caste system, in which light skin is more desirous than dark skin. If a light complexioned Black woman has long "good hair" that is a bonus for her. She will have Black men vying for her attention. She does not have to be movie star attractive on the scale of a Halle Berry. 

Light skin will suffice for those who tend to shy away from dark skin. Black males tend to fall in love with women's hair before they fall in love with her. It's not unusual to hear a Black man brag about his woman's long hair and light complexion. She is his long-haired trophy on display when they are in public. His friends envy him. This swells his chest. Some African American men say long hair is the reason they like White women, Asian women, Latino women.

A large number of successful Black males, especially those in sports, prefer light complexioned Black women, Latino, White women. It is fairly common to hear African American men make excuses for rejecting dark skinned women. This is puzzling, given the fact that many of their mothers, sisters, cousins and aunts are dark skinned. These Black males, many of whom are dark skinned themselves, find dark skinned women less attractive because they are too bossy, have too much attitude, too controlling.  They say White women do not have these personality flaws. Of course, this not true, but it gives Black males the excuse they need to explain their attraction to White women, and their rejection of dark-skinned Black women.

Thousands of African American parents favor their light skinned children over their darker children. I have read personal stories of parents pouring bleach in their children's bathwater, even rubbing bleaching creams on the bodies of their dark children, getting their young daughters' hair permed. 

I have heard Black women say they prefer having children with a White man, a Latino, a light skinned Black man. Why? Because they want children with "good hair" and light complexions. They say that biracial children are prettier and smarter. Unfortunately, this myth lives on in Black communities today. Realistically, not all biracial children have "good hair" and light complexions. Not all of them are pretty, cute, smarter or beautiful. Some of them are light complexioned but have short kinky hair and "Negroid" features. 

Light skin, dark skin, videos and favored children

More proof of complexion preference is seen in music videos, TV commercials, the modeling industry, employment, magazine covers, the movies. A White music producer said light skinned entertainers are "less threatening than dark skinned entertainers". His reasoning is that White people find light skin more acceptable and pleasing to the eye. Beyonce, Queen Latifah and other African American women in beauty and hair commercials are so light skinned, even the Black community wonders if they have bleached their skins. The secret is that producers of the commercials use special lens and lights to "lightened" skin tones. They utilize specific camera angles to make women look thinner and flawless.

It is not unusual to see dark skinned Black males in commercials, more so than Black women. If they are at a party in the commercials, they are often paired with White women, or a light skinned African American woman. If children are in the commercial, they, too, are light skinned or interracial. The same rule of thumb applies to characters on the big screen. Male characters may be dark skinned, but their female counterparts are light skinned, and sporting long weaves. TV commercials are making it clear that Black women are not desirable.

Producer, director, playwright and filmmaker Tyler Perry is the only filmmaker I have seen who consistently casts actors according to their talent, not skin tones or slim body types. Characters in his plays and his TV shows are reflective of the characters in his movies. They are reflective of a true America. He is only concerned about their talent to get the job done.

Observing musical videos in which a singer or rapper is African American, no matter the gender of the entertainer, you will see light skinned dancers with long weaves. Very seldom are dark skinned dancers seen in their videos. If one or two are in the videos they are usually relegated to the rear of the video. They are never lead dancers interacting with male entertainers, like their light skin counterparts. Being pretty and body perfect does not get on them on the front line. A noted reality show personality said she would never put female dancers in her videos if their skin is lighter than hers. Neither can a female dancer be prettier or skinnier than her.

Highly paid Black athletes lean towards White women as opposed to Black women. If they are married to or dating a Black woman, she is light skinned or fair skinned enough to be classified as "light." I have heard some figures in sports say that they seldom come across Black women in their travel and social life. In other words, African American women do not go to games or socialize in trendy night clubs like White women.

African Americans in deep denial 

Years ago on a popular TV talk show I saw a Black male make clear his preference for White women, because they "are not loud" like Black women. He said they are easier to get along with. He said he would never date a Black woman. He said if he did date a Black woman she would have to look like Halle Berry or prettier. He then said he was not sure if he would date Berry, even if she asked him for a date. He was fixated on White women, and nothing was going to change his mind. The man was not slim, was not a snappy dresser, handsome or attractive. He was unemployed, jobless, overweight and lacked a college education.

On another talk show--where the theme was race and heritage--the guests were African Americans, all of whom claimed to be of mixed heritage. They were adamant that they were not pure African American! However, not one of them could pass for White. One female guest in particular caught my attention, and that of the audience. She was attractive, well groomed, articulate, educated, gainfully employed. As she told of her heritage and bloodline, she named about four nationalities, none of which were African American, despite her mother and father being Black! She said she felt like a White woman trapped in Black skin.

This dark-skinned woman, whose hair was perfectly permed, identified only with White people. When the host asked about the African American side of her family she became mildly incensed, insisting that she is not Black. This confused the host, the audience. Clearly woman was an African American. But there was no confusion in her mind that she was not an African American. She had a teenage son, who she encouraged to date only White girls. He was not allowed to bring a Black girl to her home. The woman's son, who was dark skinned like herself, admitted that he was attracted to White girls. He did not find Black girls attractive. None of the other guests on stage were as extreme as this woman.

The Clark's Doll Experiment

In the early 1940s and 1950s psychologists Kenneth Bancroft Clark and his wife Mamie Phillips Clark, both African Americans, conducted an interesting experiment with Black children. Called the Doll Study, it was designed to measure the psychological effect of segregation on Black children. Their study was the first of its kind to be used by the Supreme Court when determining the unlawfulness of segregation in public schools. 

The Clarks used plastic dolls, a White a doll and a Black doll in the experiment. A select number of Black children between the ages of three and seven participated in the experiment. They were asked questions to determine their racial perception and preference.

According to the Clarks observations Black children preferred the White doll over the Black doll. The children attributed "positive characteristics" to the White doll, negative characteristics to the Black doll. The Clarks concluded that the reason for the color preference was the result of "prejudice, discrimination and segregation."  These three human characteristics in a segregated society caused Black children to develop "a sense of inferiority and self-hatred." 

When I was a kid there were no other dolls but White dolls to play with. My sister and I had no other dolls to compare. It is quite possible we might have selected the White dolls because our sense of self was not fully developed. On TV we only saw White people positively interacting with each other. Their TV lifestyles were depicted as reality, and they all looked superior compared to our common lifestyles.

Intelligence

Ever since there have been studies on intelligence it has been a foregone conclusion that African Americans are inferior to Whites. Blacks grew up with this assumption hanging over their heads. In 2023 there are still Whites who feel they are superior to Blacks. Although the Clarks did not touch intelligence, it cannot not be separated from the doll experiment conclusions. Unfortunately, these were the kinds of Black professionals that equated their social class and skin tones with their intelligence.

This reminds me of an incident that occurred when I worked as a waitress in an upscale restaurant and bar frequented by educated, middle and upper middle-class professionals, politicians, teachers and business owners, all of whom were African Americans. 

One night a customer approached me, asking if I was the one who wrote a weekly column for one the community newspapers. I told him I was. He said with0ut thinking, "I didn't know you were that intelligent . . .  I mean . . . " I laughed and asked him, "How do you tell who is intelligent?" A college student, he couldn't answer the question. I did not expect him to. I assumed he made the assumption because I am dark skinned and a waitress. 

"You must use the dark skin slaves vs. the light skin slaves, and the light skin slaves vs. the dark skin slaves . . ." Willie Lynch

 

The Willie Lynch 300-year plan for skin color division
  
Gentlemen:

I greet you here on the bank of the James River in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twelve. First, I shall thank you, the gentlemen of the Colony of Virginia, for bringing me here. I am here to help you solve some of your problems with slaves. Your invitation reached me on my modest plantation in the West Indies, where I have experimented with some of the newest and still the oldest methods for control of slaves. Ancient Rome would envy us if my program is implemented.

As our boat sailed south on the James River, named for our illustrious King, whose version of the Bible we cherish, I saw enough to know that your problem is not unique. While Rome used cords of wood as crosses for standing human bodies along its highways in great numbers, you are here using the tree and the rope on occasions. I caught the whiff of a dead slave hanging from a tree a couple miles back. You are not only losing valuable stock by hangings, you are having uprisings, slaves are running away, your crops are sometimes left in the fields too long for maximum profit. You suffer occasional fires, your animals are killed.

Gentlemen, you know what your problems are. I do not need to elaborate. I am not here to enumerate your problems. I am here to introduce you to a method of solving them. In my bag here I have a full proof method for controlling your black slaves. I guarantee every one of you that if installed correctly it will control the slaves for at least 300 years. My method is simple. Any member of your family or your overseer can use it.

I have outlined a number of differences among the slaves, and I take these differences and make them bigger. I use fear, distrust, and envy for control purposes. These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies, and it will work throughout the South. Take this simple little list of differences and think about them.

On top of my list is "age" but it's there only because it starts with an "A." The second is "color" or shade; there is intelligence, sizes of plantations, status on plantations, attitude of owners; whether the slaves live in the valley, on a hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair, course hair, or is tall or short.

Now that you have a list of differences, I shall give you an outline of action, but before that, I shall assure you that distrust that is stronger than trust and envy stronger than adulation, respect or admiration.  The black slaves, after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self-refueling and self-generating for hundreds of years, maybe thousands.

Don't forget you must pitch the old black male vs. the young black male, and the young black female against the old black female. You must use the dark skin slaves vs. the light skin slaves. You must use the female vs. the male. And the male vs. the female. You must also have your white servants and over-seers distrust all blacks. But it is necessary that your slaves trust and depend on us. They must love, respect and trust only us. 

Gentlemen, these kits are your keys to control. Use them. Have your wives and children use them. Never miss an opportunity. If used intensely for one year, the slaves themselves will remain perpetually distrustful. 

Thank you gentlemen.

The mysterious Willie Lynch in his analysis captured everything that I've posted in the article, from skin tones to negative attitudes that are still with us today.