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
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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
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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
This paper elaborates on the diverse contributions peoples of African descent have made to the pluralistic religious landscape of America and replicates various passages from our textbook. It focuses on the personal narratives of non-religious to religious leaders—exemplifying their influence on the African American religious movement during slavery and the reconstruction of America. Each section represents different historical periods, regional variations, and non-Christian expressions of African-American religion.
This document discusses the significance and far reaching nature of Black Nationalism. The focus is on a few key figures that played a role in influencing the growth and development of the fundamentals of Black Nationalism. These figures include Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad , and Malcolm X. Also, the complexity and a variety of viewpoints on Black Nationalism as a whole are discussed. The focus is placed on the difference between extreme Black Nationalism and more passive manifestations. Lastly, the impact of these events and ideas are considered along with how they influenced American culture and the black community.
Recently, rap has surpassed many genres of music. In the year 2017, eight of the 10 most listened to artists were rap artists. Artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Future, and Cardi B have many songs listed as the top 10 best selling tracks. What do all these rap artists have in common? They have the the three keys that make up the structure of a great rap album.
Maffly-Kipp, L. (2001). The Church in the Southern Black Community: Introduction. The Church in the Southern Black Community: Introduction. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/intro.html
The idea of women holding authority was unheard of in ancient times and more recently in Colonial America up through the mid twentieth century. It has always been thought that men are superior to women and that women are not strong enough physically and mentally to hold any true authority. For instance, women did not receive the right to vote in the United States until 1920; the first female senator wasn’t appointed until late 1922. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Thing Fall Apart, however, women do hold authority and some even hold more authority than men. Achebe describes how in the Ibo culture women hold the main positions in Ibo religion as priestess and Oracle and that even the strongest man in the Ibo village and the main character of the novel, Okonkwo, must obey the commands of these women.
Race and religion are two concepts in American culture that can really tie people together, or clearly separate them apart. A group forged by strong common roots in both race and religion can be a powerful societal force, if it wants to be. The Nation of Islam is a small but growing religion in America that has become somewhat of a social movement because of its strong and radical ideas on race. In this paper, I will try to explore the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, and the ramifications it could and has had on racial relations in America. The Nation of Islam, or NOI, is a relatively new religion. The first temple of Islam was established in Detroit by Master Fard Muhammed in 1930. Much of the theology was based on the simple facts that: "Allah is god, the white man is the devil, and the so-called Negroes are the Asiatic black people, the cream of the earth."(1) And, in accordance with their bizarre view of creation, involving a mad scientist creating the white race from the black race, the twentieth century represents the time for black people to regain their rightful position as god¹s chosen people. (1) The Nation of Islam was spawned from Orthodox Islam, an age-old religion. However, Orthodox Islam has openly denounced the NOI as a heretic sect for three main reasons: the NOI¹s rejection of the belief in an afterlife, its tendency to view human leaders as deified figures, and its strong racist attitudes. (2) For a brief time, during the seventies, Wallace Deen Muhammed became the leader of the NOI and tried to take it in a new direction, more conforming to "true Islamic beliefs." This group is now called the American Muslim Mission and still exists in small numbers today. (1) ...
24 Jan. 2001. Mamiya, Lawrence H., and Charles Eric Lincoln. “Nation of Islam.” Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 2nd Ed.
Hip hop is both a culture and a lifestyle. As a musical genre it is characterized by its hard hitting beats and rhythms and expressive spoken word lyrics that address topics ranging from economic disparity and inequality, to gun violence and gang affiliated activity. Though the genre emerged with greater popularity in the 1970’s, the musical elements involved and utilized have been around for many years. In this paper, we will cover the history and
The Five Percenters is a religion , it was founded in 1963 by Clarence 13X.He was originally a member of the Nation of Islam , he broke away from the group in 1963 because he adopted beliefs that differed from The Nation. He believed that 10 percent of the world possessed the knowledge , but falsely teach the identity of god as an invisible supernatural being.He also believed that 85 percent of the world was ignorant to God’s identity and misled by the 10 percent. While, 5 percent of the world know the truth of God’s identity as a black man and teaches freedom,education,and justice to black communities. The Five Percenters are also called the Nation of Gods and Earths , essentially saying that every black man is a God and Every black women
The Nation of Islam emerged as a very powerful organization during the 1960s. One of the Nation?s key goals was to create an independent Black America. It further preached about the White man as the devil, thus instilling faith within its followers that White society will be decimated, and Black society will prevail. Through these powerful messages, the Nation of Islam gave African-Americans a claim to divinity and created the notion of Black supremacy. However, in attempting to cement these ideas, the Nation of Islam?s message became extreme to the point of absurdity. While James Baldwin expounds on this irrationality in ?Down at the Cross?, he also understands and agrees with the underlying motivation behind the Nation?s absurd claims.
Prophets of the Hood is the most detailed and a brilliantly original study to date of hip hop as complicated and innovative literary story form. It is written with a refreshing harmonious combination savvy significance rigor as well as brave and creative narrative verve. Imani Perry’s research is an interesting analysis of late twentieth century in American great culture. Prophet of the hood is an excellent and unique book. It draws up a clear division between the negatives and positives involved in hip hop. She takes the discussions of rap to a deeper and greater levels with an insightful analysis of the poetic and political features of the art form. Being a fan and a scholar, Perry is aware the art, tradition of hip hop through an analysis of the song lyrics.
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience (Durham: Duke University Press, 1990), 352. Lindsay A. Arscott, "Black Theology," Evangelical Review of Theology 10 (April-June 1986):137. James H. Cone, "Black Theology in American Religion," Theology Today 43 (April 1986):13. James H. Cone, "Black Theology and Black Liberation," in Black Theology: The South African Voice, ed. Basil Moore (London: C. Hurst & Co., 1973), 92, 96.
Simpson, George. (1985) Religion and Justice: Some Reflections on the Rastafari Movement. (Vol. 46) New York: Phylon.
Not only is hip-hop a way of expressing ones feelings or views, but it is a part of the urban culture and can be used as a communication tool. Slang originally came from hip-hop music and has become a very popular use in today’s society, especially the urban parts. Hip-hop is a standout amongst the most compelling musical sorts on the globe. There are rappers everywhere that know what amount of an impact their music can have. Some entertainers attempt to utilize that force of impact to do great (Ruiz INT).