The National Black Cultural Information Trust’s TikTok Cultural Education program was created to clarify popular myths surrounding Black history and historical figures. Part I of our “Fake Black History that Way Too Many People Believe” series discusses the fake Willie Lynch letter, Sojourner Truth’s fabricated “Ain’t I a woman” speech, and the relationship between Jesse Jackson and the term “African American.” The purpose of the series is to highlight how easily misinformation becomes normalized and provide educational information and cultural clarity surrounding hot topics in African American history.
@jamaiwuyor Fake blackhistory, these things didn’t happen. #historytiktok #blackhistorytiktok #africanamericans #blackamericans #fyp #blackculture #panafrican
Transcript:
Three major examples of fake black history that almost everybody believes.
The Willie Lynch letter is fake. There’s absolutely no historical record of this person ever even existing.
Sojourner Truth never said, “Ain’t I a woman.” That was never a part of her speech. That was part of a fictitious account that was rewritten 12 years later after her actual speech by a white woman abolitionist. Sojourner Truth did not speak with a black Southern accent. Her first language was Dutch, and she was a New Yorker. She did give a speech on women’s rights. It just was not with this dialect and not with this accent and much of what we believe she said she didn’t.
Last, but not least, Jesse Jackson did not create the term African American. That term has been used as far back as the 1700s, in the 1800s, and even Malcolm X used it in the 1960s. He’s not even responsible for popularizing the term. That was a black woman activist named Ramona Edelin.
More information on the Willie Lynch Letter hoax.
@jamaiwuyor Reply to @_dancerina thanks for asking. Here’s my attempt at explaining the Willie Lynch hoax. #blackhistory #realblackhistory #africanamericans #fyp
Sources
The Willie Lynch Letter is Fake
Is Willie Lynch’s Letter Real? – May 2004
https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/question/2004/may.htm
IN SEARCH OF ‘WILLIE’ LYNCH Sometimes the truth can be found in myth, fiction — even in a lie
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-02-22-1998053003-story.html
The Enduring Legacy of the Willie Lynch Hoax
Death of the Willie Lynch Speech: Exposing the Myth
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/19082074-death-of-the-willie-lynch-speech
Sojourner Truth never said ” Ain’t I a woman.”
The naked truth about Sojourner Truth
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2004-02-18-0402180136-story.html
Sojourner Truth Memorial: Sojourner’s Words and Music
Sojourner Truth delivers powerful speech on African American women’s rights
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sojourner-truth-delivers-aint-i-a-woman-speech
Compare the Two Versions of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” Speech
https://www.bunkhistory.org/resources/2655
Jessie Jackson did not coin the term “African American.”
The Term ‘African-American’ Appears Earlier Than Thought
https://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2015/04/21/the-term-african-american-appears-earlier-than-thought-reporters-notebook/
Use of ‘African-American’ Dates to Nation’s Early Days
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/arts/use-of-african-american-dates-to-nations-early-days.html
The origin of “African American”
https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/4216-the-origin-of-african-american
Ramona Hoage Edelin
https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/edelin-ramona-hoage-1945