Black History Month Reads #1: #Nonfiction by Manu Ampim

Goodreads book description: Supposedly given in 1712, the "Willie Lynch Speech" is widely believed to be authentic. Actually, as revealed in this book, it is an amateurish and malicious hoax. Unfortunately, many people taken in by this hoax have spread and championed it. An extreme example of this championing occurred in 1995 at the Million Man March. There, the "Willie Lynch Speech" was dramatically repeated. Marchers and millions around the world who witnessed the March through television and radio were presented with this hoax as fact and history.

In the Death of Willie Lynch Speech, Professor Manu Ampim exposes the myth of Willie Lynch. Ampim does this by documenting the 20th century origin and fraudulent history of the "Willie Lynch Speech" and speculating, correctly, about the author's identity--forcing the admitted hoaxer to confess.

This volume contains the fake "Willie Lynch Speech," correspondence between Ampim and the admitted hoaxer, and the hoaxer's confession.

Death of the Willie Lynch Speech: Exposing the Myth by Manu Ampim

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Professor Manu Ampim, an African-American historian who specializes in Africana, uses his extensive knowledge of American history to thoroughly debunk a stubborn urban myth with new legs in the Internet era. This is a brief collection of letters and essays that can be read fairly quickly, making it ideal for group study, including in high school and college classrooms. In addition to the historical debunking itself, the book also provides readers a number of suggestions with which to research historically accurate (and thus more useful) firsthand sources on the African-American experience.

This was an ebook I checked out from the library through HooplaDigital.com. I was not obligated in any way to review it. This review represents my own honest opinion.