A Brief Survey of the Sources of Black Judaic Thought: Part III

As discussed, there is great diversity in the multi-varied traditions of African American religion.  More importantly, at the center of most African American religious traditions there is a core that filters belief through a cultural and pragmatic lens, regardless of the veneer.  The lens of this cultural core distills experiential stimuli with a sense of rhythm, emotion and knowledge that can be observed and measure; as well, this cultural core is pragmatic in its’ understanding of the past, awareness of the present and vision for the future.  This all combines to create highly varied belief systems with one essential function: survival.

The problem of survival for many Black Hebrews is not just centered on racial consciousness, but an ethnoracial identity that sets them apart from the rest of humanity.  To elaborate, Jacob Dorman argues: “The term ‘Black Israelite’ implies an African American who holds the belief that the ancient Israelites were Black but in my usage of Blackness of Black Israelites is not denoted by the color of their skin but the racial identity they ascribe to the ancient Israelites.”[1]  For Dorman, his research on the Black Hebrews is not just based on groups of African descended people painting ancient Hebrews in Black face but understanding that those who claim this heritage are a distinct group of people marked by their skin color but more importantly by their ethnic identity.[2]  Meaning, Black Israelites are dark-skinned, but more importantly they are a particular group of African people, a tribe as they have termed it.  This ethnic distinction is the underpinning of Africana Judaic belief.

This distinctness can be clearly measured through another group of Black Hebrews known as the Church of God founded by Prophet F. S. Cherry in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1886.  Cherry, while not formally educated and known for ridiculing those who leaned heavily on their academic prowess, believed that the Hebrew culture was of critical importance. He reinforced this belief by learning to speak Yiddish and Hebrew and by encouraging his flock to become more acquainted with Judaic languages, customs and mores.[3]  Attention to Hebrew linguistics and culture is a phenomenon not as widely practiced among Black Christians, despite similar claims to Hebrew ancestry.[4]  Moreover, the sacred text of the Church of God is the Talmud and the Hebrew Bible, although Cherry did make use of the Christian Bible as well.[5] 

Another figure, William S. Crowdy, founded the Church of God and Saints of Christ in the late 19th century with a similar cultural approach.[6]  Dorman elaborates, “The founder of the largest and one of the earliest African American churches to preach that Black people were descended from the ancient Israelites was Prophet William Saunders Crowdy, who had a revelation while clearing his fields outside an all-Black town in Oklahoma in 1892.”[7]  This movement focuses on the notion that Christ was Hebrew and therefore it is prudent to live and worship in the same manner as ancient Hebrews.  Additionally, vital to the Prophet’s understanding of providence centers on the stories of liberation described in Exodus; it was Crowdy’s belief that Black people in America are the Hebrews of the Bible, as America is Pharoah’s Egypt.

Intriguingly, both the Church of God and the Church of God and Saints of Christ view European Jews as fraudulent, and a consequence of revisionist history developed by white supremacists.[8]  To elaborate, Aurthur Fauset, author of Black Gods of the Metropolis states that “The Black Jews believe in Jesus Christ, but they also believe that he was a black man.”[9]  They rely on this sentiment because they understand the Christ as an extension of dark-skinned Hebrew people.  Further, this was an issue of concern and mockery for Cherry and his congregation.  Fauset, who attended some of the meetings of the Church of God reports: “The prophet’s attitude towards this question is frequently conveyed to his followers by acts like the following: He will pull out a so-called picture of Jesus suddenly and scream to his followers, ‘Who in hell is this?  Nobody knows!  They say it is Jesus.  That is a damned lie!’”[10]  This “so-called picture” of ridicule was an image of a Borgia Jesus, displayed with blue eyes and wavy blonde hair.  The obvious point of contention for Cherry is: if this original Hebrews were dark skinned with coarsely coiled hair and Jesus was a Hebrew, how can they accept an image of a Europeanized Hebrew deity?

Furthermore, for African Hebrews the image of Jesus was not the only point of contention, they argued that there are etymological points of concern when understanding the differences between African Hebrews and European Jews.  For instance, Fauset states, “The Black Jews believe it is wrong to call their place of worship a synagogue.  This name belongs to the edifices of white Jews,” it is more judicious to describe an African Hebrew place of worship as a temple.[11]   African American Israelites often quote Revelations 3:9 of the Bible to support this claim: “I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars…”[12]  For Crowdy and Cherry, their focus is to become more congruent with the will of the Most High through the practice of Hebrew culture, a practice which first employs an effort of ethnic reclamation in the ceaseless struggle against white supremacy. 

Africana Judaism brings a myriad of interpretations of the Hebrew belief system.  Dorman argues that these traditions “are better thought of as ever-evolving, kinetic polycultural assemblages than as reified, bounded ‘isms,’ as Rastafarians would say.”[13]  The ever-evolving nature of these belief systems is malleable as a function of remaining relevant in a variety of historical and social contexts.  However, more importantly, what is most illuminating is the effort of African Americans to shape these traditions in such a way that they become useful and functional rather than static and limiting.  It is this effort that makes it clear that Africans in America took agency over their spiritual well-being rather than being the antagonist in their own historical drama. 
African American interaction with the Judaism, Christianity and Islam has been an effort of molding ancient traditions into practical expressions of the spirit.  This is one of the unique aspects of the practice of other belief systems.  That is to say, while many enslaved Africans did maintain traditional beliefs as much as possible, African American Hebrews, Christians and Muslims have had to completely redefine notions self, spirit and being-ness with seemingly foreign spiritual language.  Notions of reclamation notwithstanding, this speaks to a source of strength that is yet to be fully understood.  Thus, the crux of this investigation is further illuminated: what is this thing, this substance, which shapes this source of strength?  Again, I argue this substance is culture: a material that collects and distills all experiential stimuli in order to ensure the survival of its’ human host; making culture and the human symbiotic entities that depend on the other to survive.  Any given culture cannot survive without the human to live it, and by extension humans cannot live without culture which simultaneously shapes and interprets reality. 
 

[1] Jacob S. Dorman.  Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 4. 
[2] From the framework of the text it seems that there is not much difference in racial, cultural and/or ethnic identity for Dorman.
[3] Arthur Huff Fauset.  Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North.  (New York: Octagon Books, 1970), 32-33. 
[4] These claims are usually filtered through the Christ figure.
[5] Arthur Huff Fauset.  Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North.  (New York: Octagon Books, 1970), 34. 
[6] lly M. Wynia. The Church of God and Saints of Christ: A History of the Black Jews.  (New York: Taylor and Francis Press), 19
[7] Jacob S. Dorman.  Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 3. 
[8] Arthur Huff Fauset.  Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North.  (New York: Octagon Books, 1970), 34. 
[9] Ibid., 34.
[10] Ibid., 34. 
[11] Ibid., 34.
[12] The Bible (New International Version).  (Massachusetts: Zondervan Publishing, 2014).
[13] Jacob S. Dorman.  Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 4.