Black supremacy
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (July 2016) |
Black supremacy or black supremacism is a racial supremacist belief that black people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term has been used by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an American legal advocacy organisation, to describe several fringe religious groups in the United States.
Groups associated with black supremacist views
Several fringe groups have been described as either holding or promoting black supremacist beliefs. A source described by historian David Mark Chalmers as being "the most extensive source on right-wing extremism" is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an American nonprofit organization that monitors all kinds of hate groups and extremists in the United States.[1][2] Authors of the SPLC's quarterly Intelligence Reports described the following groups as holding black supremacist views:
- The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ (ICGJC), which is headquartered in New York City, was described in 2008 by the SPLC as an American "black supremacist sect" and part of the growing "black supremacist wing of the Hebrew Israelite movement". The ICGJC accepts the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha as inspired Scripture and has an apocalyptic view of the end of the world.[3]
- The Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK), based in the Upper Darby Township of Philadelphia.[4]
- The Nation of Yahweh is a religious group based in the United States described as black supremacist by the SPLC. It is an offshoot of the Black Hebrew Israelite line of thought. It was founded by American Yahweh ben Yahweh (born Hulon Mitchell Jr.), whose name means "God the Son of God" in Hebrew. The Nation of Yahweh grew rapidly throughout the 1980s and at its height had headquarters in Miami, Florida, and temples in 22 states.[5]
- The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors was founded by the American Dwight York, who has been described by the SPLC as advocating the belief that black people are superior to white people. The SPLC reported that York's teachings included that "whites are 'devils', devoid of both heart and soul, their color the result of leprosy and genetic inferiority". The SPLC described the Nuwaubianism belief system as "mix[ing] black supremacist ideas with worship of the Egyptians and their pyramids, a belief in UFOs and various conspiracies related to the Illuminati and the Bilderbergers".[6]
- The Nation of Islam is described by the SPLC as Black Supremacist
The Associated Press described the teachings of the Nation of Islam as having been black supremacist until 1975, when W. Deen Mohammed succeeded his father as its leader.
Mohammed quickly abandoned that teaching and led the Nation toward orthodox Islam, emphasizing the faith's message of racial tolerance. He had been a friend of Malcolm X, who abandoned the Nation to embrace mainstream Islam before he was assassinated in 1965.
Minister Louis Farrakhan, who broke with Mohammed over the change, separately revived the old Nation of Islam.[7]
See also
References
- ^ David Mark Chalmers (2003). Backfire: How the Ku Klux Klan Helped the Civil Rights Movement. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 188. ISBN 0-7425-2311-X.
- ^ Brett A. Barnett (2007). Untangling the web of hate: are online "hate sites" deserving of First Amendment Protection?. Cambria Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-934043-91-2.
- ^ "Racist Black Hebrew Israelites Becoming More Militant". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. August 29, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
- ^ "'General Yahanna' Discusses Black Supremacist Hebrew Israelites". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. August 29, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ Mark Potok (November 29, 2001). "Popularity and Populism". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ Bob Moser (September 20, 2002). "United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors Meets Its Match in Georgia". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Former Nation of Islam leader dies at 74". MSNBC. Associated Press. September 9, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2017.