Until The Bitter End: Unraveling A Family Feud, TPC Set To Resolve A 70 Year Old Family Secret
Posted by David Adams on November 26th, 2013
Part 1 of 5 My commentary for this series will most certainly elicit controversy, bitterness, and perhaps even alienation from some people within my own family. I believe the significance of this story is an imperative documentary which may benefit others by encouraging them to conduct their own independent investigation of their heritage. It isn’t my intention to spurn any further pain nor emotional distress for anyone these revelations may impact adversely, and it is my earnest hope that my perspective here is met with complete objectivity and understanding. My writing is mine alone without influence from others. I believe my work as an editorial commentary writer has paved the way for me in preparation of what may be the greatest story I have ever told.
The long winding roads that lead into the southern states of America are filled with scenic landscapes which embrace a distinct culture far different from the way of life most northerners and others are acclimated to. The air is thick and something lurks there, hidden, but perpetuating an omnipresence nonetheless. Though unseen, I feel it, and it’s so overwhelming at times that it causes me to simply stare timelessly unto the vast fields of corn and other farming cultivation. I’ve often resolved to believe that the spirits and souls of those who have come and gone remain trapped in a time vortex due to perhaps what may be a direct result of the untimely, and harsh manner they departed from the physical world as we know it.
Black people were owned as slaves in many of these states and many of them perished while in bondage. The stories of how blacks were treated can best be understood in author Alex Haley’s documentary “Roots”. The novel highlighted a case study of how blacks were not only owned as property, but depicts the carnage of brutality they endured and the inhumane fashion in which many families of black slaves were broken by the institution of commerce that sold members of one family to other slave captors, and never seen again. The task for many of these slaves who were brought from Africa to find their heritage back across the sea seems impossible, and the constant separation of black slaves from their loved ones made such a daunted task even more improbable.
For years these stories circulated regarding the black experience in America citing slavery as the primary reason that the African American had lost it’s heritage identity due to dynamics of their bondage. Though such horrific transgressions of humanity certainly played a significant role in the disruption, disbursement, and separation of the black family throughout the African Diaspora, compelling evidence exist revealing that a cycle of the black family’s continued destruction accelerated in the 2oth century by the black family itself. My argument on this topic shouldn’t be interpreted as a rationalization nor a scapegoat to lesson the traumatic experience of slavery, but rather a clarification as to how other factors played a role in the dissipation of the black family heritage. In this article I’ll use my own lineage as a case study to demonstrate how this was perpetuated and may have also occurred in other families for over a century.
Many may or may not have ever heard of the “Willie Lynch Papers“. He was a Virginia slave owner who wrote a “how to” on the best way to control slaves which would insure psychological, emotional, and a sort of institutionalized control of blacks which could run on auto pilot for ever. This indoctrination couldn’t be more evident than within my own family. The objective of Willie Lynch was to cause complete disruption of the black family by creating the culture of distrust within the black family itself, so that suspicion would rein causing animosity among each family member. Other forms of psychology were utilized to control the black family by creating class structures within the slavery culture. Usually lighter complected slaves were often used as an instrument to create division, and were often seen as having the favor of a slave master who kept such slaves in their homes for the purpose of more intimate domestic chores (i.e. the term house nigger was born).
The slave master also used some slaves as trustees or overseers to keep a close eye on slave activities, which in turn gained special favors and perks for those slaves hand chosen by their master to keep things in order. Those slaves heavily guarded by the master’s chosen representative in his absence, were usually slaves that worked the fields picking cotton, and other strenuous work requiring long hours of hard labor (i.e. the term “field nigger” was born). The presence of a slave acting as part of the institution of the culture of slavery administration was well scripted and designed to insure that distrust and continued dissention prevailed within the entire black family, and whether doubters and other pundits agree or not these same traits of black social interaction among their own people are evident within the black family to this very day. Black on black violence in African American communities across this country couldn’t be more indicative of my argument in this regard.
However, the institution of slavery within the black family is only the tip of the iceberg for us to even began to understand the legacy of our broken heritage as a people, and the level of the current dysfunction within the black family core is not predicated on the byproduct of slavery alone. Once the African American sheds the intoxicating perception of slavery being the sole premise for the conditions of our modern mental slavery, we will be able to pull back layers of deceit, self hatred, and a volume of lies which were perpetrated by many of our own ancestors. During the post slavery era there were also heinous crimes committed by black men including incest, rape, and other sex crimes against females within their own family.
This same era in which black people were suppose to be finally gaining a strong hold on the freedom and control of developing their own families, a horrible culture of men fathering children by their own daughters, and other minor females existed without many of these cases being pursued as a crime. The practice became so prevalent that it became an acceptable way of life, and the adult women of many of these victimized children enabled the behavior by covering up the crimes in a purported effort to shield the entire family from public scrutiny. Additionally, many of these sexual predators were the sole provider for black families, and having them hauled off to prison was almost unheard of as it would simply decimate or cripple the complete financial stability of everyone living in the house hold.
Other little girls as young as 10 years old produced children that were products of rape by adult men unrelated to them, and a pregnant child during that era raised so much suspicion that the little girls were often sent away to more secluded rural communities to live with relatives or friends of the family during their pregnancy term, to keep youth pregnancies a secret. After the child was born the young mother and infant were aloud to return to the home, but the baby would be raised by someone else, and in many cases stories were fabricated naming the infant as being the child of perhaps and older sibling of the mother. For decades the mother and daughter would have to perpetuate untruths regarding their true biological relationships, continuing the lie, and in later years to avoid embarrassment and potential psychological issues which such revelations might bring to other family members who had been lied to and kept in the dark about their relatives parentage.
These kind of revelations are always certain to create serious opposition after the facts have been made public. Some within a family will always have a desire for the truth to remain hidden, but in many cases those who want to suppress the truth are normally the individuals or direct descendants of some of the very people who conspired to cover up the ordeal. They are also of the variety in a family who has traditionally practiced a culture of superiority among family members, promoting the “better than you” personification. The overt discourse whether public or within a family setting in which direct and emphatic displeasure of untruths being revealed publicly tends to infer some knowledge regarding the matter, and it widely breeds suspicion, distrust, and other other social behavior scripted directly from “The Willie Lynch Papers.”
Furthermore, youthful pregnancies were also exacerbated when minor girls became pregnant or lived in homes with other children in which they weren’t blood related. The dynamics of a baby and a young mother bred all kinds of social deficiencies within a household that many relationships among young kids mushroomed and carried over into their adult lives, creating animosity, hatred, and broken relationships. These cultural traits in a family community in many instances were handled extremely poorly by the adults living in the home, and often times so badly that a young mother would have to move into other homes to quell serious sibling rivalries that became unbearable for a family setting. Often times the untruths were fostered about a child’s parentage predicated solely on the adversity and strife that would certainly follow from a strict societal code, which was critical in the area of family values and garnered a high standard for moral turpitude.
Moreover, parents who encountered minor children that became pregnant were uneducated and very ignorant during those times. No consideration was ever given to the damage that untruths regarding a child’s parentage would have on the overall picture of family heritage. Decisions were made hastily after many parents simply caved in to the pressures of the prevailing social climate of the times. My family wasn’t exempt from these cultural and social disparities. In fact, an untruth regarding who my mother’s mom actually was has been extorted, subverted, and covered up for nearly 70 years to conceal the truth. Some within a family who fight to conceal the truth have an invested interest in protecting their direct descendants involvement in a plethora of lies which was the very premise a family’s heritage remained broken for so many years, and not as a direct result of the system of slavery as some may lead others to believe. Fortunately for us, a granddaughter of my true late grandmother has unraveled a volume of lies which may point to why such secrets were hidden until the bitter end of the lives of those who created it or knew.
To Be Continued ..
Next: “Until The Bitter End: The Exile Of Grandma And The Continuing Cycle Of A Family’s Jealousy, Hatred, And Concealment Of The Truth.”
The People’s Champion
I’m David Adams
Part 1 of 5 My commentary for this series will most certainly elicit controversy, bitterness, and perhaps even alienation from some people within my own family. I believe the significance of this story is an imperative documentary which may benefit others by encouraging them to conduct their own independent investigation of their heritage. It isn’t my intention to spurn any further pain nor emotional distress for anyone these revelations may impact adversely, and it is my earnest hope that my perspective here is met with complete objectivity and understanding. My writing is mine alone without influence from others. I believe my work as an editorial commentary writer has paved the way for me in preparation of what may be the greatest story I have ever told.
The long winding roads that lead into the southern states of America are filled with scenic landscapes which embrace a distinct culture far different from the way of life most northerners and others are acclimated to. The air is thick and something lurks there, hidden, but perpetuating an omnipresence nonetheless. Though unseen, I feel it, and it’s so overwhelming at times that it causes me to simply stare timelessly unto the vast fields of corn and other farming cultivation. I’ve often resolved to believe that the spirits and souls of those who have come and gone remain trapped in a time vortex due to perhaps what may be a direct result of the untimely, and harsh manner they departed from the physical world as we know it.
Black people were owned as slaves in many of these states and many of them perished while in bondage. The stories of how blacks were treated can best be understood in author Alex Haley’s documentary “Roots”. The novel highlighted a case study of how blacks were not only owned as property, but depicts the carnage of brutality they endured and the inhumane fashion in which many families of black slaves were broken by the institution of commerce that sold members of one family to other slave captors, and never seen again. The task for many of these slaves who were brought from Africa to find their heritage back across the sea seems impossible, and the constant separation of black slaves from their loved ones made such a daunted task even more improbable.
For years these stories circulated regarding the black experience in America citing slavery as the primary reason that the African American had lost it’s heritage identity due to dynamics of their bondage. Though such horrific transgressions of humanity certainly played a significant role in the disruption, disbursement, and separation of the black family throughout the African Diaspora, compelling evidence exist revealing that a cycle of the black family’s continued destruction accelerated in the 2oth century by the black family itself. My argument on this topic shouldn’t be interpreted as a rationalization nor a scapegoat to lesson the traumatic experience of slavery, but rather a clarification as to how other factors played a role in the dissipation of the black family heritage. In this article I’ll use my own lineage as a case study to demonstrate how this was perpetuated and may have also occurred in other families for over a century.
Many may or may not have ever heard of the “Willie Lynch Papers“. He was a Virginia slave owner who wrote a “how to” on the best way to control slaves which would insure psychological, emotional, and a sort of institutionalized control of blacks which could run on auto pilot for ever. This indoctrination couldn’t be more evident than within my own family. The objective of Willie Lynch was to cause complete disruption of the black family by creating the culture of distrust within the black family itself, so that suspicion would rein causing animosity among each family member. Other forms of psychology were utilized to control the black family by creating class structures within the slavery culture. Usually lighter complected slaves were often used as an instrument to create division, and were often seen as having the favor of a slave master who kept such slaves in their homes for the purpose of more intimate domestic chores (i.e. the term house nigger was born).
The slave master also used some slaves as trustees or overseers to keep a close eye on slave activities, which in turn gained special favors and perks for those slaves hand chosen by their master to keep things in order. Those slaves heavily guarded by the master’s chosen representative in his absence, were usually slaves that worked the fields picking cotton, and other strenuous work requiring long hours of hard labor (i.e. the term “field nigger” was born). The presence of a slave acting as part of the institution of the culture of slavery administration was well scripted and designed to insure that distrust and continued dissention prevailed within the entire black family, and whether doubters and other pundits agree or not these same traits of black social interaction among their own people are evident within the black family to this very day. Black on black violence in African American communities across this country couldn’t be more indicative of my argument in this regard.
However, the institution of slavery within the black family is only the tip of the iceberg for us to even began to understand the legacy of our broken heritage as a people, and the level of the current dysfunction within the black family core is not predicated on the byproduct of slavery alone. Once the African American sheds the intoxicating perception of slavery being the sole premise for the conditions of our modern mental slavery, we will be able to pull back layers of deceit, self hatred, and a volume of lies which were perpetrated by many of our own ancestors. During the post slavery era there were also heinous crimes committed by black men including incest, rape, and other sex crimes against females within their own family.
This same era in which black people were suppose to be finally gaining a strong hold on the freedom and control of developing their own families, a horrible culture of men fathering children by their own daughters, and other minor females existed without many of these cases being pursued as a crime. The practice became so prevalent that it became an acceptable way of life, and the adult women of many of these victimized children enabled the behavior by covering up the crimes in a purported effort to shield the entire family from public scrutiny. Additionally, many of these sexual predators were the sole provider for black families, and having them hauled off to prison was almost unheard of as it would simply decimate or cripple the complete financial stability of everyone living in the house hold.
Other little girls as young as 10 years old produced children that were products of rape by adult men unrelated to them, and a pregnant child during that era raised so much suspicion that the little girls were often sent away to more secluded rural communities to live with relatives or friends of the family during their pregnancy term, to keep youth pregnancies a secret. After the child was born the young mother and infant were aloud to return to the home, but the baby would be raised by someone else, and in many cases stories were fabricated naming the infant as being the child of perhaps and older sibling of the mother. For decades the mother and daughter would have to perpetuate untruths regarding their true biological relationships, continuing the lie, and in later years to avoid embarrassment and potential psychological issues which such revelations might bring to other family members who had been lied to and kept in the dark about their relatives parentage.
These kind of revelations are always certain to create serious opposition after the facts have been made public. Some within a family will always have a desire for the truth to remain hidden, but in many cases those who want to suppress the truth are normally the individuals or direct descendants of some of the very people who conspired to cover up the ordeal. They are also of the variety in a family who has traditionally practiced a culture of superiority among family members, promoting the “better than you” personification. The overt discourse whether public or within a family setting in which direct and emphatic displeasure of untruths being revealed publicly tends to infer some knowledge regarding the matter, and it widely breeds suspicion, distrust, and other other social behavior scripted directly from “The Willie Lynch Papers.”
Furthermore, youthful pregnancies were also exacerbated when minor girls became pregnant or lived in homes with other children in which they weren’t blood related. The dynamics of a baby and a young mother bred all kinds of social deficiencies within a household that many relationships among young kids mushroomed and carried over into their adult lives, creating animosity, hatred, and broken relationships. These cultural traits in a family community in many instances were handled extremely poorly by the adults living in the home, and often times so badly that a young mother would have to move into other homes to quell serious sibling rivalries that became unbearable for a family setting. Often times the untruths were fostered about a child’s parentage predicated solely on the adversity and strife that would certainly follow from a strict societal code, which was critical in the area of family values and garnered a high standard for moral turpitude.
Moreover, parents who encountered minor children that became pregnant were uneducated and very ignorant during those times. No consideration was ever given to the damage that untruths regarding a child’s parentage would have on the overall picture of family heritage. Decisions were made hastily after many parents simply caved in to the pressures of the prevailing social climate of the times. My family wasn’t exempt from these cultural and social disparities. In fact, an untruth regarding who my mother’s mom actually was has been extorted, subverted, and covered up for nearly 70 years to conceal the truth. Some within a family who fight to conceal the truth have an invested interest in protecting their direct descendants involvement in a plethora of lies which was the very premise a family’s heritage remained broken for so many years, and not as a direct result of the system of slavery as some may lead others to believe. Fortunately for us, a granddaughter of my true late grandmother has unraveled a volume of lies which may point to why such secrets were hidden until the bitter end of the lives of those who created it or knew.
To Be Continued ..
Next: “Until The Bitter End: The Exile Of Grandma And The Continuing Cycle Of A Family’s Jealousy, Hatred, And Concealment Of The Truth.”
The People’s Champion
I’m David Adams
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