Breaking the Curse of Willie Lynch: The Science Of Slave Psychology

by Alvin Morrow

This book is a shocking eye opener. It penetrates the very heart of the divisions, that exist between Black men & women today. The author clearly describes in explicit detail, the mind enslaving techniques imposed on the African during North American slavery. Digging deep within the psyche "Breaking The Curse Of Willie Lynch" instructs the reader on how to reverse the phycosis. During a time where disorder, confusion, & psychological chaos in Black Male/Femal Relationships; comes a Book that gives clari- ty & internal direction. Help your community undo the self dividing, self defeating mind state!

Genres: Race, History, Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help

120 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

While talking about race with one of my students, he suggested that I read this book. Having just completed it, I have mixed feelings.

First, the book is poorly edited. There are punctuation errors, misspelled words and more. Documentation of sources is lacking and organization of the writing is not always clear.

Next, the author is not "professionally qualified." He states that he is a student of black history and religion and is a wholistic health practitioner but offers no further qualifications.

Finally, because the book is based on a letter from a slave maker, I had hoped to see some authentication of that letter. None is offered.

Despite these issues, I do see it as a thoughtful book. Never would I use it as a source for scholarly debate about race, but the book does hold value as the expression of one person's understanding of race in this country. Sometimes, that is enough

[Bronze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has me to think overall of the BLACK Community, as people we do not know how to unify ourselves. We have been playing victim instead of realizing our real potential. We have taught our children that the system is accurate to it's teachings for US when that is not true. We have downgraded ourselves. And it's time to wake up and realize that this is not just about race anymore. Naw! It's a bigger issue than that. It's about world unity and love. We allow our government to fool us into thinking that each race hates the other when that is not true. We allow pieces of paper to stop us from what we want to do. We allow money to be the centerpiece of our lives. And this is what we consider LIVING?! Sad! Very pathetic indeed! If we go back to the beginning and change our thought process and not think the way the system wants us too! We will be better off.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating the book on intention (assuming intentions were good), I give the book 3 stars. Making it difficult to hold my attention is the serious flow of grammatical errors, semantics, and the list goes on. Reading "Push" was easier, if you get my drift. I expect that an author with such important concerns, might go the extra mile and provide us with new material in the future, cited properly.

So 3 stars for some interesting information that could very well be researched by any interested person. Though, if I wrote a book like this I would do the work for my readers.

[SDest · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a tremendous disappointment. While he gets many things right, regarding the intergenerational trauma and cycles of disempowerment, he tends to blame much of it on Black Women, and shows a strong homophobic streak as well. He asserts that (and he seems to be very much a Christian fundamentalist type) independent Black Women are a source of division and also undermine Black men, which is both false and hurtful to both Black men and Black women.

[Mo Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I will admit that this title has some glaring issues, such as poor editing and lack of sources, it has some validity as well. Citing the impact and damage inflicted by the institution of slavery on the African in America, this title raises the point of a need for healing and recovery! Worth checking out!

[Zenobia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would not recommend anyone to read this book. The writing is poor, the author's thoughts are everywhere, and the book did not meet my expectations given what he stated in the introduction.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently been introduced to this book and I believe it is a must read for everyone, especially African Americans. I hope that everybody, of every ethnic background, could at least understand the origination of the Black male and female mentality that the author, in my opinion, greatly explains. Mental slavery still exists today amongst all races, but with knowledge there is power and freedom.

[LaTonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book is poorly written and has also based its entirety on a document proven to be false, there are many valid and accurate points made in regards to how we are as a people. Interesting and somewhat informative read however if it is your first time reading this without prior knowledge or research, don’t make it your main source. :-)

[TawanaMarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All people need to read this book esp blacks folks around the globe!!!!

[Robin Ackers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some interesting information; stuff I never knew. But horribly, horribly written. A better title would be "Breaking the curse of good grammar and a coherent argument"

[Carl]

Really Really good book. sheds some light on some different things.

[Leonna K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that my father recommended that he and I read this together. It seemed promising, until I Googled the Willie Lynch letter, and learned that it had appeared mysteriously online somewhere, that there isn't proof of a Willie Lynch existing around the time that it says the letter was written, that some of the verbiage used in the letter didn't match the time period, and more... pretty much proving that the entire letter, and therefore these instructions, weren't really written by a white "ahead of the game" slave master. That alone turned me off to the book, but I still decided to read it because... well, I told my father I would. But I also decided to read it because despite the letter not existing, it's clear to see that Black people in America are still victim to many of the harmful practices, and ideologies, that this letter emphasizes. Was the letter written by a woke, Black man trying to get his people to see the light? Possibly. But it didn't matter. I read the book, and well... you see the two stars. Let me tell you what happened:
First of all, it took me FIVE MONTHS TO READ. I would've sucked all of the enamel off of my damn teeth if I read the book any faster. I was so annoyed with this man's way of thinking, writing, just... it took a lot out of me to read it. Within the last few days, I literally just rushed through so that I could have a discussion with my father, and bury the book deep within my bookshelf.

But I digress. Here's why I didn't enjoy the book.
1. From a writing standpoint, this book seems to be written as a persuasive piece. When writing something persuasive, it's good to make statements that are (what I like to call) small and provable. Not large, sweeping statements. Please do not tell me what ALL Black people do, because you don't know all Black people.
2. Putting problems that have existed in America forever only on Black people. For example, Morrow spends a bit of time discussing how Black people (I'm paraphrasing) base their self-importance and success on being a good employee. Taking pride in your work and finding your self-worth through it is ABSOLUTELY an American phenomenon, not a Black problem.
3. Very clearly homophobic. Definitely pushing an agenda in regard to the "right" sexuality, and what the "right" Black family looks like.
4. The very last sentence, prior to the conclusion, blew my mind. In a bad way. I'm 100% tired of seeing Black men tell Black women what we need to do better.
5. Morrow spends a lot of time talking down on what Black people have done since slavery ended. How we have, in a sense, conformed to the white man's world, and now live in it trying to please him. As if we ever really had any other choice. He CONSTANTLY brings up how little we've done, how much work we have left to do, and how we've been going about things all wrong. He often suggests that desegregation was a mistake, that only Black people have the tools necessary to help Black people succeed. That trying to live up to "European ideals" is what is keeping the Black man down. (Again, paraphrasing) He's not 100% wrong, but definitely not 100% right. My thing is, Morrow acts like he isn't well-read on history, and I can tell that he is. After the slaves were freed, MANY laws were passed to keep Black people from prospering. Voting, housing, employment, you name it! We weren't given the tools to succeed, and when we built them ourselves, they were destroyed by white people. There are countless examples of this in history. There is no way that you can blame Black people for falling victim to a system that has normalized, expects, and will PAY FOR our failure. We were not given our freedom with a blank slate, but instead with contingencies and obstacles. We were never meant to be equal. Blaming Black people for our circumstances in regard to our relationship with white people (and therefore, the system) is preposterous.

Read it if you like arguing with pages in a book.

[B L Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very informative read . I’ve noticed that some mentioned the grammatical errors. The grammatical errors were from the actual Willie Lynch portion , which was written in in the early 1700’s.

This was one of the most important reads , and it very accurately describes the mindset of Black Americans from the past and current .

[Born Uhuru · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will reach the people that it is INTENDED to reach. Alvin Morrow tries to bring light to the Willie Lynch issue, but I personally don't believe his book will be able to break into the minds of those who suffer from this tragedy. The copy I received didn't have any errors.

[SHERRI · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the book was good in providing information on why descendants of slaves have negative behaviors that impact them uniting like other races.

[Yosher “Dwight “ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful

[Clifford Onehundredd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading the book on and off between months, but finally in October 2017 I managed to read it cover to cover. I completely agree with everything the author Alvin says in the book in regards to how our people can redirect & liberate ourselves from this so-called 'curse'. However, my disagreement subsides in the legitimacy of the actual Willie Lynch letter. If we read the actual letter to its entirety we'll notice that the actual letter is a late 20th century forgery using modern vocabulary such as "self-refueling", "fool-proof" etc. You'll notice quickly if you trace back the origins of the words (etymology) in addition to the fact there was no Willie Lynch in 1712, and the actual document was written 30 years before he was born. So whoever did research on this William Lynch person; based it off of another character with the same name in American history and attempted to pass the identity off as genuine. The actual curse (similarities) in "tales" to some degree drew parallels to the oppression and disfigurement of the Black Community in how it describes the sanctioning of Blacks using monolithic and inhumane tactics to manipulate the Black race. Consequently we've seen real adverse aftereffects.The motive may have been to forge this to secretly conspire to continue oppression and s̶l̶a̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ even after post-slavery, post-desegregation. Furthermore you should realize that no actual ex-slaves not even Frederick Douglass, Nat Turner or any of the other accounts of Black/African s̶l̶a̶v̶e̶s̶ reference any William Lynch nor the letter nor its practices. Therefore we must conclude that the Willie Lynch Letter was a documented forgery originating in the late 20th century. Overall I enjoyed the book,I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to liberate themselves from the doctrine of Willie Lynch. Just remember that the William Lynch letter was a conspired forgery in an attempt to disrupt the psyche of Black people and induce them to a psychologically destructive & physically oppressive state of existence.

[Landon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a really enlightening read. Willie Lynch wrote the blueprint on how to enslave the black race. We still have them shackles on us, and it's all because of the formula he came up with. But the book is about reversing the psychological warfare that our ancestors passed on to us.

[Marvin]

Unbelieveable!

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

The name alone should give you a clue - Willie Lynch? It's a hoax, folks. http://manuampim.com/lynch_hoax1.html And this book? Anybody who gave it 5 stars didn't read it.

[Reginald Boswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Historical Read: Examines the origins, effects the thought patterns of a self perpetuating self hatred institutionalized and accepted by both the victim and the oppressor.

[Wayne Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all african americans....

[SbJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for the education. Women vs Men, Old vs Young, Light vs Dark skin complexions. Last but not least. Thank you Mr. Lynch for your astounding Ignorance.