Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism (Religion in America)

254 Pages·1999·16.62 MB·English

by  Yvonne Chireau

Black Zion:
African American
Religious Encounters
with Judaism
Yvonne Chireau
Nathaniel Deutsch,
Editors
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
BLACK ZION
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BLACK ZION
African American Religious Encounters with Judaism
EDITED BY
Yvonne Chireau
Nathaniel Deutsch
New York Oxford
Oxford University Press
2000
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Copyright © 2000 by Oxford University Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Black Zion : African American religious encounters with Judaism / edited by
Yvonne Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch.
p. cm. — (Religion in America series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-511257-1— ISBN 0-19-51U58-X (pbk.)
1. Afro-Americans—Relations with lews. 2. Afro-Americans—Religion.
3. Black Hebrews. 4. Black Muslims. 5. Judaism—Relations—Christianity
I. Chireau, Yvonne Patricia, 1961- II. Deutsch, Nathaniel.
III. Religion in America series (Oxford University Press)
E184-36.A34 653 1999
296.3'9'08996073—dc21 99-039278
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 42
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To our parents
Dorothy and Roland Chireau
Sue and Zvi Deutsch
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Acknowledgments
This book is the product of a sustained conversation between two friends and col-
leagues around the issues of religion, race, and identity in America. In time, we ex-
tended our dialogue to include a broader circle of participants. Our intellectual
commitment to religious studies led us to explore the issues in a more structured
and meaningful format. We gratefully acknowledge all of those who helped as those
initial conversations developed into the present book.
First and foremost we wish to thank our contributors. Without their willing-
ness to participate in this collaborative effort, this book would not be possible.
Special thanks to Cynthia Read, our editor at Oxford, who was enthusiastic about
this project from the beginning; and to Nina Sherwin, our editorial assistant, who
deserves mention for her skillful efficiency in moving the book through its vari-
ous phases.
We would like to express our gratitude to faculty and staff at Swarthmore Col-
lege, including Provost Jennie Keith, for her interest and encouragement. A Fac-
ulty Research Grant from the College provided crucial funding. We also ac-
knowledge the members of the Department of Religion, including Don Swearer,
Jerry Frost, Mark Wallace, Ellen Ross, Vera Moreen, Steven Hopkins, Cynthia
Baker, and Ruqayya Khan; thanks also to Eileen McElrone for her valuable ad-
ministrative assistance.
Yvonne Chireau would like to thank Randall Burkett and Richard Newman for
their suggestions and advice; also Monique Wubbenhorst and Dorothy and Roland
Chireau (to whom this book is dedicated) for their high expectations. My apprecia-
tion goes to Michael and Gabrielle Rodriguez for their patience and unconditional
love. And thanks to God and the Forces for their guidance and inspiration.
Nathaniel Deutsch would like to thank members of the Hebrew Israelite com-
munities of Dimona, Israel, and Accra, Ghana, for the warmth and hospitality shown
to him on research visits in the summer of 1998. Special thanks to Moriel ben Asiel
for his insight and friendship during the journey. Jack Salzman and participants in
viii Acknowledgments
the Northeastern Seminar on Black Religion made helpful comments on earlier
drafts of the essay on the Nation of Islam. Finally, without the love and encourage-
ment of the following people this project could not have been completed: Sue and
Zvi Deutsch, Yael Deutsch, Shai Levi, David Deutsch, Aliza Deutsch, Max Deutsch,
and Miriam Greenberg.
Contents
Contributors xi
Introduction 3
PART ONE AFRICAN AMERICAN JEWS AND ISRAELITES
1. Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters
with Judaism, 1790-1930, an Overview 15
Yvonne Chireau
2. African American Jews: Dispelling Myths, Bridging the Divide 33
Bernard J. Wolf son
3. Symbolic Identity Formation in an African American Religious Sect:
The Black Hebrew Israelites 55
Merrill Singer
4. Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona 73
Ethan Michaeli
PART TWO AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSLIMS AND JUDAISM
5. The Proximate Other: The Nation of Islam and Judaism 91
Nathaniel Deutsch
6. The Nubian Islaamic Hebrews, Ansaaru Allah Community:
Jewish Teachings of an African American Muslim Community 118
Kathleen Malone O'Connor
PART THREE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM
7. Remembering Nehemiah: A Note on Biblical Theology 153
Allen Dwight Callahan
8. Theological Affinities in the Writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel
and Martin Luther King, Jr. 168
Susannah Heschel