Columnist: The Willie Lynch conspiracy — to some blacks an historical fabrication, to others the undeniable truth

Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 25, 2016

Have you ever heard of the Willie Lynch conspiracy?

It is 100 percent fabrication, but the first time Americans were introduced to the Willie Lynch conspiracy theory was at the Million Man March of 1995, organized by controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

On that Monday, Oct. 16, 1995, in the nation’s capital, there was a sea of black men, many who stood for 10 hours or more sharing, learning, listening, fasting, hugging, crying, laughing and praying. Congress shut down that day and President William Clinton was “out of town.”

Mainstream media in American and media outlets from around the world were watching. The world did not see thieves, criminals and savages that some blacks felt are usually portrayed through mainstream music, movies and other forms of media; on that day, the world saw a vastly different picture of the black man in America.

There was neither one fight, nor one arrest that day. It was an historic gathering that really did include the participation of more than 1 million black men.

The primary purpose of the march was to encourage black men to take responsibility for their own actions and to return home to help develop their own communities.

During Farrakhan’s message to the millions gathered in the mall and those watching on television around the world that wintry day, his introduction of the Willie Lynch conspiracy was, to some, the highlight of his speech.

Farrakhan emphasized that black people should stop hating themselves. He went on to affirm that this self-hatred was all a part of a conspiracy laid out in a speech delivered on Dec. 25, 1712, by Willie Lynch, on the bank of the James River in the colony of Virginia.

Lynch was alleged to have been a British slave owner in the West Indies, invited to the colony to teach its methods of controlling slaves to slave owners.

Although a complete fabrication, many intelligent blacks believed the charismatic Farrakhan, even today, when he explained the Willie Lynch, 1712 conspiracy. He stated that Lynch’s conspiracy in ensuring that slaves would be dedicated and loyal and become self-refueling and self-generating for hundreds of years was predicated on implementing a guaranteed system of suspicion and fear among them.

He stated that Lynch told the plantation owners that the heart of the system was pitching the old black male and young black male against each other, the dark and light skin slaves against each other and the female and male slaves against each other. Farrakhan concluded his historic presentation by stating to a receptive sea of black men that Lynch’s conspiracy was successful and the reason behind blacks remaining perpetually distrustful of each other.

Blacks left Farrakhan’s Million Man March reinvigorated and with a sense of pride. The NAACP even credited the march with the registration of 1.7 million new African-American male voters.

A lot has happened, however, since the historic March of black men on Washington. It appears to some that Blacks do in fact, hate each other.

Taken into consideration the murders in Chicago, more than 300 since January 2016 — the majority of whom are black — the fabricated and contrived Willie Lynch conspiracy would hold at least some truth.

Hatred by blacks of each other is evidenced in ways other than by violence. It is without a doubt that Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas would be considered by most blacks in the country as a convert to the so-called Willie Lynch conspiracy.

Thomas has almost single-handedly destroyed or reduced the impact of the gains made by blacks in the civil rights movement of the 60s by being the deciding vote on the court opposing such strides. Most recently, he used his vote unsuccessfully, in an attempt to remove “race” as a consideration in admissions to the University of Texas. Here is a man who benefited from such laws that actually allowed him to attend law school at Yale University.

Critics of Thomas believe that he does exemplify some aspects of Lynch’s conspiracy regarding skin color. In his memoir he stated “many light-skinned blacks believed themselves to be superior to their darker brethren, an attitude that struck me as not much different from white racism” (source: “My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas,” p. 56 , Oct 1, 2007). It would be difficult to ascertain a consensus among blacks that Thomas does not in fact, struggle with the issue of skin color.

Is there really anything to the Willie Lynch conspiracy? What do you think?

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By Glenn Dowell

Contributing columnist

Glenn Dowell, a LaGrange native, is an author and columnist. He has been a guest speaker on major college campuses and has appeared on TV programs including ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ He may be reached at gdowell@live.com.