REVERSE THE LYNCH CURSE As result, it has affected people of all races, religions, and creeds. If you take a look at divorce rates of all Americans; welfare; the credit systems; the prison system; and our national debt; you will see that we all are affected by Willie Lynch’s theory of control, dependency and separation. The abuse of women and children is still prevalent today, single parenting and broken families are at record numbers for all races, and racism and discrimination still rear their ugly heads more frequently than what is reported in the news. We all are affected by these inhumane methods of divide and conquer and it will take an effort by all Americans to fix this mess!
HEALING OUR NATION Actor Extraordinaire, Tommy Ford, better known to all as “Tommy” of the hit television sitcom, Martin, has again taken center stage. His long awaited passion to become a part of the solution in ‘Healing Our Nation’ has led him to create and present a documentary AND a series of Town Hall Meetings entitled – “REVERSE THE LYNCH CURSE.” Here is what Tommy has to say. MY MESSAGE TO OUR NATION Hello…I’m Tommy Ford and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to spearhead this amazing project! I believe that this documentary can be a tool to empower generations to come. The Willie Lynch Letter has outlined many crippling doctrines that were designed to destroy and control Black slaves, families, and communities.
The effects of the Willie Lynch Letter are no longer solely an African-American issue. This Documentary and Town Hall Meeting Tour is designed to encourage, educate, and empower all American people. It is designed to bring communities together to love and support one another. It will bring together corporations, large and small, and networks of hope to help bring positive change and resolve. We are determined to heal our beautiful country…one citizen at a time! Thank you for your love, support, prayers, and presence! We challenge you to help us spread the word by letting someone know of the great works that we are doing as we travel from town to town delivering messages of hope and good will. After three hundred years of hatred, anger, and blame, don’t you think it’s time for us to take responsibility for our own lives and choices? It’s time to let the world know that America is healing, despite our history of prejudice and divide. America is a wonderful country filled with amazing people and together we can unite communities nationwide and reverse Willie Lynch’s master plan to divide. Although this plan was conceived more than three hundred years ago, it can be buried today! I’m excited about this journey of love, forgiveness and foresight. God Bless America!
REVERSE THE LYNCH CURSE Panelist
Dr. Josephine Boyd Bradley is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina who is presently serving as Chair of the Department of AfricanAmerican/Africana Women’s Studies, Clark Atlanta University. She has been featured in several newspaper articles and radio shows, including the BBC. She received her Doctorate Degree from Emory University in 1995 and detailed her experiences of school desegregation in her dissertation, Wearing My Name: School Desegregation, Greensboro, North Carolina, 1954-1958.
Doctor Richard Cobble an Atlanta Community Activist holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Saint Leo University. He also holds a Master of Divinity Degree and a Doctorate of Ministry Degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Cobble holds many honors and awards including the CBC Unsung Hero Award (1999), the Federal Employee of the Year Award (1992), and the Department of the Army Humanitarian Awards (1991), Special Act Award from US Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, GA (1987).
Clinton F. Byrd is a Wealth Advisor with Cantella & Co., Inc. and an independent Business Consultant. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and his Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Clint’s passion for education and African American history has led him to team-up with Maurice “VOICES a Legacy to Remember” ( www.voiceslegacy.com ). He served for eight years on the Board of Regents of Pepperdine University and also served a term as President of Pepperdine’s National Alumni Association.
REVERSE THE LYNCH CURSE Panelist
Dr. Stephane Dunn Stephane Dunn, MA, MFA, Ph.D. is a writer and professor at Morehouse College and co-director of the Film, Television, & Emerging Media Studies program. She specializes in film, popular culture, African American cultural studies and history,literature, and creative writing. Dr. Dunn is a playwright and the author of the 2008 book, Baad Bitches & Sassy Supermamas : Black Power Action Films (U of Illinois Press). Her writings have appeared in Ms. magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, TheRoot.com, AJC, and Best African American Essays among others.
Shaheed Najm served as the Imam ( Leader of the Muslim Community) in Tallahassee, Florida from 1984 to 1990). Shaheed is the former manager and developer of the fame dirty South rap group called the Nappy Headz of Tallahassee, Florida. He is also former manager and developer of the most famous member of the Nappy Headz to emerged as a national and international star, his youngest son, Faheem T-pain Najm. Shaheed is the Father of 5 and Grandfather of 22. He attended Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida during 1971 through 1975 AND as a member Of the famed Marching 100s.
Tommy M. Ford a Los Angeles native, Tommy graduated from the prestigious Fine Arts Acting Program of USC, and soon after landed his first television role on NBC’s, A Different World. Shortly thereafter, he made his feature film debut in Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Knights. His feature film debut quickly led to numerous film appearances with such notable actors as Richard Gere, Demi Moore and Brad Pitt. In addition to film, Tommy has had recurring and guest star roles on many television shows appearing in fan favorites such as Law and Order, Living Single, The Jamie Foxx Show, Judging Amy and House. Whether playing the funloving father of UPN’s comedy, The Parkers or the calm yet cunning Lieutenant on FOX’s New York Undercover, his versatility and mastery of his craft is undeniable.
REVERSE THE LYNCH CURSE Panelist Nasir Muhammed Nasir Muhammad is a historian of African American history. He graduated from Florida A & M and was recently accepted into the Master’s of Heritage Preservation program at Georgia State. Mr. Muhammad works in collaboration with the Auburn Ave Research Library and other educational organizations to develop public programs and information that highlight Atlanta’s racial and African American history. He has designed a tour that highlights the neglected aspects of this history and has co-authored articles about Curt Flood and a Georgia lynching, the latter is the subject of a book in progress with Dr. Stephane Dunn.
THE WILLIE LYNCH LETTER Greetings 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 HUNDREDS 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, SIZE, SEX, 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 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 male against the OLD black male. You must use the DARK skin slaves vs. the LIGHT skin slaves, and the LIGHT skin slaves vs. the DARK skin slaves. You must use the FEMALE vs. the MALE, and the MALE vs. the FEMALE. You must also have white servants and overseers [who] 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.”
REVERSE THE LYNCH CURSE
About Us Anchoring the west end of the Sweet Auburn historic district, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History opened May 1994 located at 101 Auburn Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-2503. A special library of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System (A-FPLS), it is the first public library in the Southeast to offer specialized reference and archival collections dedicated to the study and research of African American culture and history and of other peoples of African descent. In 2001 the library received a Governor's Award in the Humanities. The Auburn Avenue Research Library consists of three divisions: reference and research, archives, and program. Together, the divisions support the library's mission "to promote specialized library service, archival resources, and culturally/educationally related activities essential for study and use by the general public, students, and scholars of the culture and history of peoples of African descent." The Williams Collection forms the cornerstone of the reference and research division, which maintains a variety of textual and microform records, a noncirculating library of secondary sources, and a broad array of Web-accessible research databases for the study of African American culture and history and the African Diaspora. Accessible on the library's main floor, the reference and research division provides a comfortable, quiet environment for thought and inquiry, which includes research tables, microform readers, computer stations, and exhibition cases.
There, reference staff serve the public onsite, as well as off-site through e-mail, mail, telephone, and fax inquiries. Located on the second floor, the archives division preserves and makes available unique historical records of enduring value related primarily to African American culture and history, with a concentration on local Atlanta history. These primary sources include not only textual and special media records (cartographic records, graphic arts, still photographs, sound recordings, and moving images) but also art and artifacts, microforms, rare book collections, and textiles. Archives staff assist patrons on-site in the archives reading room, which includes research tables, private study carrels, and exhibition cases, and makes collections Web-accessible through finding aids presented by the Digital Library of Georgia, an initiative of GALILEO, the state's virtual library. The program division supports the library's mission and serves the public through book discussions and readings, exhibitions, film screenings, lectures, seminars, tours, and workshops. The facility accommodates these activities on the third and fourth floors—through an auditorium, small gallery, and conference rooms—and on the main level via two exhibition spaces, including the Cary/McPheeters Gallery. Through its cultural, educational, and scholarly programming—which is local, national, and transnational in scope—the program division helps interpret and highlight the institution's rich collections and provides outreach to the general public, as well as to Atlanta's academic community.
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