I’m excited to continue my series on childhood trauma. I will dive into the topic of how the Willie Lynch Letter has affected black children, and how homosexuality has affected black children. The Willie Lynch Letter was a letter from Willie Lynch who was a British slave owner; and who delivered his letter in 1712 in the colony of Virginia! These barbaric methods were used to break the slaves, and to force the children into submission for years to come. I will elaborate on what some of these methods were, and how we are still suffering from them in the black community. Homosexuality is a touchy subject that many black families don’t talk about. However most black families have gay family members who are open, or in the closet because of fear of what their family will think. I personally don’t agree with the lifestyle or disagree with it, however I do believe that you don’t necessarily have to broadcast what you’re doing behind closed doors.
Wow, most black people don’t know about the Willie Lynch Letter, however it has shaped how black people interact with each other for centuries. Willie Lynch had some ridiculous methods on how he “dealt” with slaves, and I will be dissecting a few of them. The first one is he sought to destroy the black family. If one destroys the man and woman, then the kids will only know survival and not how to thrive in this world. He would take the toughest, rebellious, and strongest male out of the slaves and would tie him up, set him on fire, and have two horses tear him apart in front of his wife, kids, and the rest of the slaves. Furthermore he would beat the second strongest male to death, but would keep him alive for breeding purposes. Once this happened the black female was forced to take on the role of mom and dad. She would then be forced to raise her daughters like her; which was submissive to the master, distrustful of black men, and in fear. Furthermore, she would raise her son to be strong physically, but weak mentally in fear of his life being taken for even trying to overthrow the master in his adult years. This would destroy the black family for centuries simply because a little boy and girl didn’t have their mom and dad in the household.
Willie Lynch was an evil genius and would also pin the young slaves against the old slaves. This is why we see young black men not trusting older black men even though they have been in their shoes before. However we also have older black men not trusting younger black men even though they were in his shoes not too long ago. We also see older black women and younger black women at odds in our communities when in actuality we are all connected and the only people who can understand each other’s struggle. This man also pinned the dark skin versus the light skin slaves which I will talk more about in my next article.
Homosexuality in the black community is quite complex, and an issue I could probably write a whole article on; however I will focus on it for a couple of paragraphs. Many black people in the U.S. are Christian, and believe homosexuality is a sin. Since this a big belief for many black households, gay people in black families are tortured, ridiculed, chastised, shamed, and shunned by families members. I grew up Christian and was taught that homosexuality was wrong and that you would go to hell for it. I personally don’t agree nor disagree with the lifestyle. My only concern would be if it were natural, why can’t people who are homosexual produce children? I’m also concerned with their rights being compared to people of color’s rights. I can’t choose my blackness it chose me, even if you don’t believe homosexuality is a choice, it is something that is easier to hide or conceal in case of an emergency. I can’t and refuse to turn off my blackness, but I feel like homosexuality is something that you don’t have to share with the world. However, I don’t agree with how black people treat them, because at the end of the day we are still black.
I remember growing up and seeing certain family members who were teased for possibly being gay or feminine. I have noticed that these family members have either stopped coming around, or they live their lifestyle in secret. I can resonate with them on that fact that I am a black sheep in my family. I consider myself a straight man, however I am not religious, I constantly challenge my beliefs, and I try to accept people for who they are despite our differences. I’m not one of those hotep preachers you see on youtube, however I have done some research on how the homosexual agenda is “apparently” destroying the black community. I won’t say I agree nor disagree with my findings, but they do raise some interesting points. Why is it that they are trying to teach children about homosexual practices; and why are black people silent about black people becoming homosexual based on certain molestations that happened to them when they were kids? I don’t agree with pushing this lifestyle on children based on the fact that they are children. Let them be kids, and figure out their sexuality on their own, and also why does everyone have to let you know who they are sleeping with? You don’t see straight people having parades, going on the news, and trying to infiltrate the school system. That’s just my opinion on the matter. I know all gay people were not molested, however I do know some of them in the black community were. Are they gay because they chose that lifestyle; or because they haven’t healed from a traumatic experience with the same sex, and to seek control they are seeking same-sex partners to regain that control? I’m not sure, I’m just a man who is shedding light on childhood trauma.
Thank you for reading this far, that sums up this week’s article, and I appreciate all of the feedback I have been receiving. This series will produce two more articles; and then I will focus on the millennial experience as a black man in this society. Stay tuned, and I love each and every one of you. Let’s all heal together so our kids won’t have to.
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