Black Hebrew Israelites

Black Hebrew Israelites (also called Black Hebrews, African Hebrew Israelites, and Hebrew Israelites) are groups of Black Americans who believe that they are descendants of the ancient Israelites. Black Hebrews adhere in varying degrees to the religious beliefs and practices of both Christianity and Judaism. With the exception of a small number of individuals who have formally converted to Judaism, they are not recognized as Jews by the greater Jewish community. Many choose to identify themselves as Hebrew Israelites or Black Hebrews rather than Jews in order to indicate their claimed historic connections.[1][2][3][4]

At the end of the 19th century, Frank Cherry and William Saunders Crowdy both claimed that African Americans are descendants of the Hebrews in the Bible; Cherry established the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations in 1886 and Crowdy founded the Church of God and Saints of Christ in 1896.[5][6][7][8]

Consequently, Black Hebrew groups were founded in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from Kansas to New York City, by both African Americans and West Indian immigrants.[9] In the mid-1980s, the number of Black Hebrews in the United States was between 25,000 and 40,000.[10] In the 1990s, the Alliance of Black Jews (which is no longer operating) estimated that there were 200,000 African-American Jews; this estimate was based on a 1990 survey conducted by the Council of Jewish Federations.[11] The exact number of Black Hebrews within that surveyed group remains unspecified.

Overview

Traditionally, Black Christians in the United States have identified themselves spiritually with the Israelites. In the late 19th century, some of them also began to claim that they were the biological descendants of the Israelites.[12] This identification with the Israelites was a response to the sociopolitical realities of their situation in the United States, including slavery and racial discrimination. For African-Americans, appropriating Jewish history was part of a rebellion against the American racial hierarchy that deemed Africans inferior. It was also a means of fulfilling their desire to know their origins and regain their lost history.[13]

The origins of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement are found in Frank Cherry and William Saunders Crowdy, who both claimed that they had revelations in which they believed that God told them that African Americans are descendants of the Hebrews in the Christian Bible; Cherry established the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations in 1886 and Crowdy founded the Church of God and Saints of Christ in 1896.[5][6][7][8] The Church of God and Saints of Christ, originating in Kansas, retained elements of a messianic connection to Jesus.[9] During the following decades, many more Black Hebrew congregations were established, and some of them had no connection to Christianity. After World War I, for example, Wentworth Arthur Matthew, an immigrant from Saint Kitts, founded another Black Hebrew congregation in Harlem, claiming descent from the ancient Israelites. He called it the Commandment Keepers of the Living God.[14] Similar groups selected elements of Judaism and adapted them within a structure similar to that of the Black church.[9] He incorporated it in 1930 and moved the congregation to Brooklyn, where he later founded the Israelite Rabbinical Seminary, where Black Hebrew rabbis have been educated and ordained.

The beliefs and practices of Black Hebrew groups vary considerably. The differences are so great that historian James Tinney has suggested the classification of the organizations into three groups:[15]

  • Black Jews, who maintain a Christological perspective and adopt Jewish rituals.
  • Black Hebrews, who are more traditional in their practice of Judaism.
  • Black Israelites, who are most nationalistic and furthest from traditional Judaism.[15]

Black Hebrew organizations have certain common characteristics. Anthropologist James E. Landing, author of Black Judaism, distinguishes the Black Hebrew movement, which he refers to as Black Judaism, from normative Judaism practiced by people who are Black ("black Judaism"). Significantly, it does not depend on a documented lineage to Jewish ancestors nor does it require recognized Orthodox or Conservative conversions:

Black Judaism is ... a form of institutionalized (congregational) religious expression in which black persons identify themselves as Jews, Israelites, or Hebrews ... in a manner that seems unacceptable to the "whites" of the world's Jewish community, primarily because Jews take issue with the various justifications set forth by Black Jews in establishing this identity. Thus "Black Judaism," as defined here, stands distinctly apart from "black Judaism," or that Judaic expression found among black persons that would be acceptable to the world's Jewish community, such as conversion or birth from a recognized Jewish mother. "Black Judaism" has been a social movement; "black Judaism" has been an isolated social phenomenon.[16]

Landing's definition, and its underlying assumptions about race and normative Judaism, have been criticized.[17]

Groups

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, dozens of Black Hebrew organizations were established.[9] In Harlem alone, at least eight such groups were founded between 1919 and 1931.[18] The Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations is the oldest-known Black Hebrew group[19] and the Church of God and Saints of Christ is one of the largest Black Hebrew organizations.[20] The Commandment Keepers, founded by Wentworth Arthur Matthew in New York, are noted for their adherence to traditional Judaism.[21] The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem are widely known for having moved from the United States, primarily Chicago, to Israel in the late-20th century.[22][23][24]

Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations

The oldest known Black Hebrew organization is the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations.[19][25] The group was founded by F. S. Cherry in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1886, and it later moved to Philadelphia.[26] Theologically, the Church of the Living God mixed elements of Judaism and Christianity, counting the Bible — including the New Testament — and the Talmud as essential scriptures.[27]

The rituals of Cherry's flock incorporated many Jewish practices and prohibitions alongside some Christian traditions.[28] For example, during prayer the men wore skullcaps and congregants faced east. In addition, members of the Church were not permitted to eat pork.[28] Prayers were accompanied by musical instruments and gospel singing.[29] After Cherry's death, members of the church believed that he had left temporarily and would soon reappear in spirit in order to lead the church through his son.[20]

Church of God and Saints of Christ

The former headquarters of the Church of God and Saints of Christ in Washington, D.C. The building is now known as First Tabernacle Beth El and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Church of God and Saints of Christ was established in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1896 by African-American William Saunders Crowdy.[30] The group established its headquarters in Philadelphia in 1899, and Crowdy later relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1903. After Crowdy's death in 1908, the church continued to grow under the leadership of William Henry Plummer, who moved the organization's headquarters to its permanent location in Belleville, Virginia, in 1921.[31]

In 1936, the Church of God and Saints of Christ had more than 200 "tabernacles" (congregations) and 37,000 members.[20][32] Howard Zebulun Plummer succeeded his father and became head of the organization in 1931.[33] His son, Levi Solomon Plummer, became the church's leader in 1975.[34] The Church of God and Saints of Christ was led by Rabbi Jehu A. Crowdy, Jr., a great-grandson of William Saunders Crowdy, from 2001 until his death in 2016.[35] Since 2016, it has been led by Phillip E. McNeil.[36] As of 2005, the church had fifty tabernacles in the United States and dozens more in Africa.[30]

The Church of God and Saints of Christ describes itself as "the oldest African-American congregation in the United States that adheres to the tenets of Judaism".[25][37] Founded by American William Saunders Crowdy in Kansas in 1896, it teaches that all Jews were originally black, and that African Americans are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel.[38][39] Members believe that Jesus was neither God nor the son of God, but rather an adherent of Judaism and a prophet. They also consider William Saunders Crowdy, their founder in Kansas, to be a prophet.[40]

The Church of God and Saints of Christ synthesizes rituals from both Judaism and Christianity. They have adopted rites drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. Its Old Testament observances include the use of the Jewish calendar, the celebration of Passover, the circumcision of infant males, the commemoration of the Sabbath on Saturday, and the wearing of yarmulkes. Its New Testament rites include baptism (immersion) and footwashing, both of which have Old Testament origins.[38][39]

Commandment Keepers

The founder of the Commandment Keepers, Wentworth Arthur Matthew holding a Sefer Torah.

Wentworth Arthur Matthew founded the Commandment Keepers Congregation in Harlem in 1919.[2] Matthew was influenced by the non-black Jews he met as well as by Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. Garvey used the Biblical Jews in exile as a metaphor for black people in North America. One of the accomplishments of Garvey's movement was to strengthen the connection between black Americans and Africa, Ethiopia in particular. When Matthew later learned about the Beta Israel—Ethiopian Jews—he identified with them.[41]

Today the Commandment Keepers follow traditional Jewish practices and observe Jewish holidays.[21] Members observe kashrut, circumcise newborn boys and celebrate Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and their synagogue has a mechitza to separate men and women during worship.[42]

The Commandment Keepers believe that they are descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.[43] Matthew taught that "the Black man is a Jew" and "all genuine Jews are Black men",[44] but he valued non-black Jews as those who had preserved Judaism over the centuries.[2] Matthew maintained cordial ties with non-black Jewish leaders in New York and frequently invited them to worship at his synagogue.[45]

Matthew established the Ethiopian Hebrew Rabbinical College (later renamed the Israelite Rabbinical Academy) in Brooklyn. He ordained more than 20 rabbis, who went on to lead congregations throughout the United States and the Caribbean.[44][45] He remained the leader of the Commandment Keepers in Harlem, and in 1962 the congregation moved to a landmark building on 123rd Street.[46]

Matthew died in 1973, sparking an internal conflict over who would succeed him as head of the Harlem congregation. Shortly before his death, Matthew named his grandson, David Matthew Doré, as the new spiritual leader. Doré was 16 years old at the time. In 1975, the synagogue's board elected Rabbi Willie White to be its leader. Rabbi Doré occasionally conducted services at the synagogue until the early 1980s, when White had Doré and some other members locked out of the building. Membership declined throughout the 1990s and by 2004, only a few dozen people belonged to the synagogue. In 2007 the Commandment Keepers sold the building, while various factions among former members sued one another.[42][47]

Besides the Harlem group, there are eight or ten Commandment Keeper congregations in the New York area, and others exist throughout North America as well as in Israel.[48] Since 2000, seven rabbis have graduated from the Israelite Rabbinical Academy founded by Matthew.[49]

African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem

African Hebrew Israelites speak to visitors in Dimona, Israel.
A sign in Dimona.

Ben Ammi Ben-Israel established the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966, at a time when black nationalism was on the rise as a response to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1969, after a sojourn in Liberia, Ben Ammi and about 30 Hebrew Israelites moved to Israel.[23] Over the next 20 years, nearly 600 more members left the United States for Israel. As of 2006, about 2,500 Hebrew Israelites live in Dimona and two other towns in the Negev region of Israel, where they are widely referred to as Black Hebrews.[50] In addition, there are Hebrew Israelite communities in several major American cities, including Chicago, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.[51]

The Black Hebrews believe they are descended from members of the Tribe of Judah who were exiled from the Land of Israel after the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE.[50][52] The group incorporates elements of African-American culture into their interpretation of the Bible.[51] They do not recognize rabbinical Jewish interpretations such as the Talmud.[50] The Black Hebrews observe Shabbat and biblically ordained Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur and Passover.[53]

Men wear tzitzit on their African print shirts, women follow the niddah (biblical laws concerning menstruation),[51] and newborn boys are circumcised.[23] In accordance with their interpretation of the Bible, the Black Hebrews follow a strictly vegan diet and only wear natural fabrics.[23][52] Most men have more than one wife, and birth control is not permitted.[50]

When the first Black Hebrews arrived in Israel in 1969, they claimed citizenship under the Law of Return, which gives eligible Jews immediate citizenship.[54] The Israeli government ruled in 1973 that the group did not qualify for automatic citizenship because they could not prove Jewish descent and had not undergone Orthodox conversion. The Black Hebrews were denied work permits and state benefits. The group accused the Israeli government of racist discrimination.[55] In 1981, a group of American civil rights activists led by Bayard Rustin investigated and concluded that racism was not the cause of the Black Hebrews' situation.[22] No official action was taken to return the Black Hebrews to the United States, but some individual members were deported for working illegally.[55]

Some Black Hebrews renounced their American citizenship to try to prevent more deportations. In 1990, Illinois legislators helped negotiate an agreement that resolved the Black Hebrews' legal status in Israel. Members of the group are permitted to work and have access to housing and social services. The Black Hebrews reclaimed their American citizenship and have received aid from the U.S. government, which helped them build a school and additional housing.[55] In 2003 the agreement was revised, and the Black Hebrews were granted permanent residency in Israel.[24][56]

In 2009, Elyakim Ben-Israel became the first Black Hebrew to gain Israeli citizenship. The Israeli government said that more Black Hebrews may be granted citizenship.[57]

The Black Hebrews of Israel have become well known for their gospel choir, which tours throughout Israel and the United States. The group owns restaurants in several Israeli cities.[55] In 2003 the Black Hebrews garnered much public attention when singer Whitney Houston visited them in Dimona.[58][59][60] In 2006, Eddie Butler, a Black Hebrew, was chosen by the Israeli public to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.[50][56]

Allegations of black supremacy and racism

In late 2008, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) described as black supremacist what it called "the extremist fringe of the Hebrew Israelite movement". It wrote that the members of such groups "believe that Jews are devilish impostors and ... openly condemn whites as evil personified, deserving only death or slavery". The SPLC also said that "most Hebrew Israelites are neither explicitly racist nor anti-Semitic and do not advocate violence".[61]

The Black Hebrew groups characterized as black supremacist by the SPLC include the Nation of Yahweh[62] and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.[61] Also, the Anti-Defamation League has written that the "12 Tribes of Israel" website, maintained by a Black Hebrew group, promotes black supremacy.[63]

A 1999 FBI terrorism risk assessment report stated that "violent radical fringe members" of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement hold "beliefs [that] bear a striking resemblance to the Christian Identity theology practiced by many white supremacists."[64][65] It also said that "the overwhelming majority of [Black Hebrew Israelites] are unlikely to engage in violence."[64]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ben-Jochannan, p. 306.
  2. 1 2 3 Ben Levy, Sholomo. "The Black Jewish or Hebrew Israelite Community". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
  3. ↑ Johannes P. Schade, ed. (2006). "Black Hebrews". Encyclopedia of World Religions. Franklin Park, N.J.: Foreign Media Group. ISBN 1-60136-000-2.
  4. ↑ Bahrampour, Tara (June 26, 2000). "They're Jewish, With a Gospel Accent". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Hutchinson, Dawn (2010). Antiquity and Social Reform: Religious Experience in the Unification Church, Feminist Wicca and Nation of Yahweh. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 139. ISBN 9781443823081. The first was the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations founded by F.S. Cherry in 1886 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Cherry preached that Adam, Eve, and Jesus were black and that African Americans lost their Hebrew identity during slavery. Later, William S. Crowdy founded the Church of God and Saints of Christ in 1896 in Lawrence, Kansas. Crowdy taught that blacks were heirs of the lost tribes of Israel, while white Jews were descendants of inter-racial marriages between Israelites and white Christians.
  6. 1 2 Fernheimer, Janice W. (2014). Stepping Into Zion: Hatzaad Harishon, Black Jews, and the Remaking of Jewish Identity. University of Alabama Press. p. 10. ISBN 9780817318246. One of these groups, Prophet Cherry's Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of Truth for All Nations is the oldest knwn Black Judaic sect. It was originally established in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1886. Prophet Cherry argued they were part of the riginal Israelite tribes chased from Babylonia (and, they claim, into Central and Western Africa where they were later sold into slavery) by the Romans in 70 CE.
  7. 1 2 Rubel, Nora L. (2009). "'Chased Out of Palestine': Prophet Cherry's Church of God and Early Black Judaisms in the United States". In Curtis IV, Edward E.; Sigler, Danielle Brune. The New Black Gods: Arthur Huff Fauset and the Study of African American Religions. Indiana University Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780253004086. In 1893, Crowdy had a vision that resulted in the establishment of the Church of God and Saints in Christ.
  8. 1 2 Bleich, J. David (Spring–Summer 1975). "Black Jews: A Halakhic Perspective". Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought. 15 (1): 63. JSTOR 23258489. Crowdy claimed to be the recipient of a series of revelations in which, among other things, he was told that Blacks were descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Chireau, p. 21.
  10. ↑ Sundquist, p. 118.
  11. ↑ Michael Gelbwasser (April 10, 1998). "Organization for black Jews claims 200,000 in U.S." j. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  12. ↑ Chireau, pp. 18, 21.
  13. ↑ Bruder, p. 1.
  14. ↑ Chafets, Zev (April 5, 2009). "Obama's Rabbi". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Tinney, James (December 7, 1973). "Black Jews: A House Divided". Christianity Today: 52–54. , cited at Chireau, p. 29.
  16. ↑ Landing, p. 10, quoted in Isaac, p. 520.
  17. ↑ Isaac, pp. 512–542.
  18. ↑ Parfitt, p. 96.
  19. 1 2 Singer, p. 57.
  20. 1 2 3 Hudson, Peter (1999). "Black Jews". In Kwame Anthony Appiah; Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. New York: Basic Civitas Books. p. 1050.
  21. 1 2 Moses, p. 537.
  22. 1 2 Shipler, David K. (January 30, 1981). "Israelis Urged To Act Over Black Hebrew Cult". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Haas, Danielle (November 15, 2002). "Black Hebrews fight for citizenship in Israel". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  24. 1 2 "The Hebrew Israelite Community". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. September 29, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  25. 1 2 Chireau, pp. 30–31. "The founding dates of the earliest black-Jewish congregations are in dispute. Shapiro notes that F.S. Cherry's Church of God was organized in Tennessee in 1886, but other sources do not confirm this date. Another group, the Moorish Zion Temple, founded in 1899 by a Rabbi Richlieu of Brooklyn, New York, was one of the earliest black Jewish congregations that did not combine Jewish and Christian beliefs, as did the Church of God and the Saints of Christ."
  26. ↑ Singer, pp. 57–58.
  27. ↑ Fauset, p. 34.
  28. 1 2 Fauset, pp. 36–40.
  29. ↑ Fauset, pp. 36–37.
  30. 1 2 Fox, Andrew (September 29, 2005). "Sons of Abraham". The College Hill Independent. Archived from the original on March 10, 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  31. ↑ Wynia, pp. 31–34.
  32. ↑ Wynia, n.p.
  33. ↑ Greene, p. 42.
  34. ↑ "Chief Rabbi Levi S. Plummer, G.F.A." Church of God and Saints of Christ. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Chief Rabbi Jehu A. Crowdy, Jr., G.F.A." Church of God and Saints of Christ. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Chief Rabbi Phillip E. McNeil". Church of God and Saints of Christ. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Church of God and Saints of Christ". Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  38. 1 2 Kidd, p. 59.
  39. 1 2 Singer, p. 59.
  40. ↑ Gallagher, p. 146.
  41. ↑ Chireau, p. 25.
  42. 1 2 Herschthal, Eric (July 6, 2007). "Decline Of A Black Synagogue". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  43. ↑ Parfitt, p. 95.
  44. 1 2 Sundquist, p. 116.
  45. 1 2 Wolfson, p. 48.
  46. ↑ "Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation". New York Architecture. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  47. ↑ Ben Levy, Sholomo. "The Destruction of Commandment Keepers, Inc. 1919-2007". BlackJews.org. International Israelite Board of Rabbis. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  48. ↑ Goldschmidt, p. 221.
  49. ↑ "Israelite Academy". BlackJews.org. International Israelite Board of Rabbis. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  50. 1 2 3 4 5 Associated Press (April 5, 2006). "Music Earns Black Hebrews Some Acceptance". CBS News. Archived from the original on May 7, 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  51. 1 2 3 Michaeli, p. 75.
  52. 1 2 "Our Story". The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  53. ↑ Michaeli, p. 76.
  54. ↑ Michaeli, pp. 73–74.
  55. 1 2 3 4 Michaeli, p. 74.
  56. 1 2 Kaufman, David (April 16, 2006). "Quest for a Homeland Gains a World Stage". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  57. ↑ Alush, Zvi (February 2, 2009). "First Black Hebrew Gets Israeli Citizenship". Ynetnews. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  58. ↑ "Israel retreat for Houston". BBC News Online. May 27, 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
  59. ↑ Associated Press (May 28, 2003). "Whitney Houston visits Israel for Christmas album inspiration". USA Today. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
  60. ↑ Palti, Michal (May 29, 2003). "Whitney does Dimona". Haaretz. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
  61. 1 2 "Racist Black Hebrew Israelites Becoming More Militant". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  62. ↑ Lee, Martin A. (Winter 2001). "Popularity and Populism". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  63. ↑ "Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online — African-American Anti-Semitism". Anti-Defamation League. 2001. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  64. 1 2 "Project Megiddo" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1999. pp. 23–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2000. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  65. ↑ Nacos, Brigitte L. (2015). Terrorism and Counterterrorism. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 9781317343646.

References

  • Ben-Jochannan, Yosef A. A. (1993) [1983]. We, the Black Jews: Witness to the "White Jewish Race" Myth. Baltimore: Black Classic Press. ISBN 0-933121-40-7.
  • Bruder, Edith; Parfitt, Tudor (2012). "Introduction". In Edith Bruder; Tudor Parfitt. African Zion: Studies in Black Judaism. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-3802-3. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  • Chireau, Yvonne (2000). "Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790–1930, an Overview". In Yvonne Patricia Chireau; Nathaniel Deutsch. Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511257-1.
  • Fauset, Arthur Huff (2002) [1944]. Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-1001-8.
  • Gallagher, Eugene V. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-32807-2.
  • Goldschmidt, Henry (2006). Race and Religion Among the Chosen Peoples of Crown Heights. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-3897-1.
  • Greene, Lorenzo Johnston (1996). Arvarh E. Strickland, ed. Selling Black History for Carter G. Woodson: A Diary, 1930–1933. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-1068-6.
  • Isaac, Walter (2006). "Locating African-American Judaism: A Critique of White Normativity". In Lewis R. Gordon; Jane Anna Gordon. A Companion to African-American Studies. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-23516-7.
  • Kidd, Colin (2006). The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-79324-6.
  • Landing, James E. (2002). Black Judaism: Story of an American Movement. Durham, N. C.: Carolina Academic Press. ISBN 0-89089-820-0.
  • Michaeli, Ethan (2000). "Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona". In Yvonne Patricia Chireau; Nathaniel Deutsch. Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511257-1.
  • Moses, Wilson Jeremiah (2003). "Chosen Peoples of the Metropolis: Black Muslims, Black Jews, and Others". In Cornel West; Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. African American Religious Thought: An Anthology. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-22459-8.
  • Parfitt, Tudor; Emanuela Trevisan Semi (2002). Judaising Movements: Studies in the Margins of Judaism in Modern Times. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-7007-1515-0.
  • Singer, Merrill (2000). "Symbolic Identity Formation in an African American Religious Sect: The Black Hebrew Israelites". In Yvonne Patricia Chireau; Nathaniel Deutsch. Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511257-1.
  • Sundquist, Eric J. (2002). Strangers in the Land: Blacks, Jews, Post-Holocaust America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01942-3.
  • Wolfson, Bernard J. (2000). "African American Jews: Dispelling Myths, Bridging the Divide". In Yvonne Patricia Chireau; Nathaniel Deutsch. Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511257-1.
  • Wynia, Elly M. (1994). The Church of God and Saints of Christ: The Rise of Black Jews. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-8153-1136-2.

Further reading

  • Jacob S. Dorman (2013). Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530140-3.
  • Martina Könighofer (2008). The New Ship of Zion: Dynamic Diaspora Dimensions of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-1055-9.
  • Steven Thrasher (March 30, 2011). "Black Hebrew Israelites: New York's Most Obnoxious Prophets". The Village Voice.

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