There are other obvious reasons to believe the letter was written around 20th century. Farrakhan later used the letter to support his claim that slave owners used the letter to control slaves. Willie lynch never existed, nor did anyone from the british west indies. It was with the 1935 national champions, the southern california trojans, and it is the circumstances surrounding this debate that form the basis for the great debaters. The great debaters script taken from a transcript of the screenplay andor the. The dictionary definition of rhetoric is, the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion. Tolson, english and speech professor of wiley college and union activist. Movie speech the great debaters 2007 wiley college vs. The movie the great debaters can teach us many things about the value of rhetoric. They assume that the willie lynch syndrome explains. A stirring pot for serious and contentious discussions that include race, politics, religion and just about any topic that will get your blood boiling.
He makes this speech to teach the colony of virginia how to control the slaves and the benefit of this speech is that the black people hate themselves. Although, there is some evidence of a captain william lynch of pittsylvania, virginia, whom has been identified as the most probable source of the verb lynch, and who was born fifty years after the date given in the willie lynch speech. The great debaters, directed by denzel washington, is an inspirational movie about a specific debate team overcoming racism in the segregated south. The william lynch speech is an address purportedly delivered by a certain william lynch or.
The willie lynch fairy tale has no more historical value than the easter bunny, the tooth fairy, mary poppins, or santa claus to the progress of african americans. However if you consider denzel washingtons compelling diatribe in the 2007 film, the great debaters, it is easy to understand why one would be moved to believe such fiction as the willie lynch letter. The infamous willie lynch letter gives both african and caucasian students and teachers some insight, concerning the brutal and inhumane psychology. Full text of willie lynch letter 1712 see other formats. Even if the fake willie lynch speech were a legitimate document, it does not give black people anything to do. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Discusses a 2015 report on the history of lynching and how prevalent it was in the south. It comes up later when the team witnesses a lynching on the way to a debate besides the prestige of the opponent, what was unique about the last debate that gave the debaters a challenge they had yet to face. Letter to this author to indicate that he fabricated the. The great debaters script fast gospel man my soul is a witness soul is a witness my soul is a witness yeah, yeah soul is a witness oh, yeah before l go oh before l go fore l go before l go, soul is a witness speaker heavenly father, we come before thee, knee bent and body bowed in the humblest way that we know how.
Speech analysis humans are beings ruled by their emotions, emotions are the drive behind decisions and the essence of all humanity. Its the one where she was talking about african americans and whites going to the same college. Lynch was a british slave owner in the west indies. The great debaters 2007 denzel washington as melvin b. The great debaters 511 movie clip tell us about your. The supposed slave master from the west indies gave a riveting yet, very short speech about how to keep blacks enslaved for a minimum of 300 years in 1712. By the time the 1934 school year began, tolson was at the top of his game as debate coach. American rhetoric movie speech from the great debaters.
In the speech, lynch described ways to control the black slave population, by pitting them again. The infamous willie lynch letter gives both african and caucasian students and teachers some insight, concerning the brutal and inhumane psychology behind the african slave trade. Willie lynch letter is a hoax totally fake community. The enduring legacy of the willie lynch hoax longreads. Samantha booke takes the bus to school and is watching her impoverished. The willie lynch letter is mentioned in the movie the great debaters. He was invited to the colony of virginia in 1712 to teach his. The materialistic viewpoint of southern plantation owners that slavery was a business and the victims of chattel slavery were merely pawns in an.
May 02, 2018 his speech on the banks of the james river was first discovered in 1970, and began its life online starting in 1993 when a reference librarian at the university of missourikansas city uploaded the willie lynch letter, which detailed how lynch psychologically and physically tortured slaves. Nov 15, 2011 even if the willie lynch mythology were true, the speech is focused on what white slaveholders were doing, and there is no plan, program, or any agenda items for black people to implement. Logos the debate team coach, melvin tolson, at historically black wiley college is attempting to set his team on an equal debate level as the white colleges in the united states. Thisspeechwasdeliveredby willielynch onthebankofthejamesriverinthecolonyofvirginiain1712. The notions of the letter became popular after nation of islam leader louis farrakhan quoted parts of it during his speech at the million man march in 1995. The provenance of this speech has been the subject of much scholarly and notsoscholarly debate. Tolson, a professor at wiley college in texas who, in 1935, inspired students to form the schools first debate team, which went on to challenge harvard in the national championship. The movie is based on the reallife story of the debate team at wiley college, an allblack school in texas who won a national championship in 1935 and, as the credits at the end of the film indicate, went undefeated for a period of. The great debaters offers a fictionalized and limited account of the exploits of the awardwinning wiley college debate team headed by melvin b. Abramus digital, bmg rights management us, llc, aresa.
Willie lynch speech what do people think about this letter. The great debaters script transcript from the screenplay. So a movie that deals with a group of young black college students fighting for rights can teach us a great deal of things. The character played by denzel washington invokes the willie lynch speech into the dialog of the movie, the great debaters this speech was delivered by willie lynch on the bank of the james river in the colony of virginia in 1712. Jul 04, 2015 the great debaters 511 movie clip tell us about your father. The great debaters 511 movie clip tell us about your father. The great debaters is a 2007 film about the true story of melvin b. James farmer sr are you fooling around with that girl son. Aug 21, 2016 hollywood would never be confused with an entity concerned with the accurate portrayal of black history and culture. This essay argues that the great debaters is a text that is not simply a story about wiley colleges debate triumphs during the 1930s, but that the film shares a temporal bond to the time in which it was released in.
The particular scene being described is from the new film the great debaters, directed by denzel washington. This speech was delivered by willie lynch on the bank of the james river in the colony of. The letter purports to be a verbatim account of a short speech given by a slave owner, in which he tells other slave masters that he has discovered the secret to controlling. He was invited to the colony of virginia in 1712 to teach his methods to slave owners there.
A narrative analysis of the film the great debaters and its. Tolson points out that, in those days, slave owners in need of help controlling their slaves in virginia, sent word to willie lynch apparently known for his tactics, which, for years, had. Tolson played by denzel washington retells the story of willie lynch in hopes of motivating his newly aspiring members of an all black wiley college debate team. Aug 17, 2009 does anyone know where i can find the monologue speech that jurnee smollett samantha booke was her character did in the great debaters. Full text of willie lynch letter 1712 internet archive. He later cited willie lynchs scheme as an obstacle to unite african americans in his. No one has ever found the location of the original copy of the willie lynch speech. The willie lynch letter and the making of a slave by willie. Durham resident is the author of the willie lynch letter.
This speech was delivered by willie lynch on the bank of the james river in the colony of virginia in 1 712. Since ive criticized references made to willie lynch by other flicks, it would be hypocritical for me to give the great debaters a pass just because its such a wellmeaning message movie. Pay little attention to the generation of original breaking but. The willie lynch syndrome takes its name from a speech 1 allegedly given by a slaveholder named willie lynch in 1712 in the thencolony of virginia.
It is the mid1930s and professor tolson assembles a black debate team at wiley college. Civil disobedience is a moral weapon in the fight for justice. Samantha booke monologuespeech in the great debaters. The william lynch speech is an address purportedly delivered by a certain william lynch or willie lynch to an audience on the bank of the james river in virginia in 1712 regarding control of slaves within the colony. It is ludicrous to give godlike powers to one white man who allegedly gave a single speech almost 300 years ago, and claim that this is the main reason why. It is based off of the debate team of wiley college, a small religious black school in east texas, during the great depression in the 1930s. Why is the lynch that story relevant to the theme of the movie. Denzel washington explains willie lynching youtube. This speech was delivered by willie lynch on the bank of the james river in the colony of virginia in 1712. The great debaters script transcript from the screenplay andor the.
So, how could a professor have lectured about it way back when. Using a perspective developed from paul ricouers time and. Did lynch really give a speech on controlling blacks that still exists to this day. First reference to lynch speech the first reference to the willie lynch speech was in a late 1993 online listing of sources, posted by anne taylor, who was then the reference librarian at the university of missouri at st. There is no record of anyone named willie lynch as depicted in the great debaters or characterized in the movies speechletter. Feb 03, 2015 other talented debaters on tolsons team include fiercely independent student henry lowe nate parker, and samantha brooke jurnee smollett the first ever female ever to join the wiley.
The great debaters script taken from a transcript of the screenplay andor the denzel washington movie. The letter purports to be a verbatim account of a short speech given by a slave owner, in which he tells other slave masters. Original willie lynch letter pdf the infamous willie lynch letter gives both african. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading death of the willie lynch speech. The making of a slave this speech was delivered by willie lynch on the bank of the james river in the colony of virginia in 1712. There isnt any reference to the speech in any literature prior to then. Other talented debaters on tolsons team include fiercely independent student henry lowe nate parker, and samantha brooke jurnee smollett the first ever female ever to join the wiley. Black disunity and the psychological trauma of slavery. The most memorable wiley college debate was not with oxford or harvard.
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