Five Percent Nation Thesis Statement

1960 Words4 Pages

Thesis Statement
The Five Percent Nation is a black theological group, started in America in the 1960s. There is little research on the group, especially when it comes to their practices. This paper will explore how the Five Percent Nation, as a unit and as a movement, does not consider themselves a violent group, yet, as individuals, how they mistreat their own members, most specifically women, and also outsiders.

Five Percenters Beliefs and Background
The Five Percent Nation is a highly individualized theology that started in 1964 in Harlem, New York City, New York (Miyakawa, 198). Clarence 13X, the leader of the Nation, was a previous member of the Nation of Islam. He decided to leave the Nation of Islam when he started to notice discrepancies …show more content…

Their prevalence in the industry has given the Nation great exposure to the general public, and to people who otherwise would not have known who the Nation was. Although the Nation considers themselves a peaceful, most members practice how they wish since it is such an individualized movement. Therefore, unfortunately, the image painted by these artists is one of violence and misogyny.
Some of the most popular hip-hop artists associated with the Nation are Jay-Z, Nas, and Erykah Badu. These artists cover topics such as violence, drug sales, and Five Percent teachings in their lyrics. This section will analyze lyrics by some of these popular artists. All lyrics were taken off the website genius.com.
Jay-Z has built an empire built off of lyrics about guns, drugs, and anti-police rhetoric. The video for his song, “No Church in the Wild,” starts off with a man throwing a burning glass bottle towards a line of policemen. As the video progresses, it is noticeable that it is portraying a riot. We see policemen spraying people with pepper spray and beating them up. The music video has an overall feeling of violence and …show more content…

However, the Earths see this is a point of power, seeing as they are creating new life. In her book “The Girls in the Gang,” Anne Campbell tells the story of a young Earth who was previously in a gang and later became a part of the Five Percent Nation. Sun Africa was a seventeen years old when she joined the Nation. She was impregnated by a God and soon moved in with his previous Earth and their children. Although social norms would deem this taboo, Sun Africa was delighted to be in this situation because she was fulfilling her role as a woman, and her life had new meaning and purpose (Miyakawa, 207).
Sun Africa’s story tells us more than just how women feel about their role as the creator of life. It shows the double standard that there are for men and women. For example, although the family unit is vital, many Gods usually go off and have a family with different Earths. Sun Africa’s tale was different from other women seeing that her Sun staid with both of his Earth’s. In various cases, the Suns disappear from their families and the Earths are left behind with the

Open Document