It seems that we are on one accord these days — unified. There are several public figures — artists and scholars — who are promoting Black identity whose works I have encountered recently. These individuals are not presenting myths, but actually depicting historic figures as they more than likely were. For instance, I can’t picture de-pigmented Hebrew Israelites slaving for Pharoah under the blazing Egyptian Sun. However, that community would have you believe that their ancestors did just that. Science proves that melanin is a dominant trait. Albinism is a recessive one. Zeinab Badawi’s work supports these ideals and further asserts that all humans are African. That said, one must know that the first peoples of the world were Black people whether they were Asian, African, or from all parts in between. However, the stories of antiquity that overwhelmingly take up space in our minds promote an ideal that white people were there before us. Think white Jesus. This is a result of a white supremacist agenda. To combat this agenda, today, and throughout history, there have been movements to liberate Black people from these lies. Slave rebellions are one example. The Civil Rights Movement is another example. The Black Liberation Movement is another. Hip Hop is yet another. Even though I am pessimistic about Black Liberation movements as they are in direct opposition to Capitalism and the edifice constructed around it, I still appreciate the ideals esposed. Those ideals in opposition to the psuedo-sciences that have been created to abet Capitalism, White Supremacy, Patriarchy, etc. can only be seen as wanting or fundamentally bereft of truth in the light of the real truth and science.
What is the real truth?
Up first, Harmonia Rosales is teaching us about the nature of spirituality. As the Black human was first, the Gods that occupied the imaginations of these people were more than likely like them — Black. Rosales pulls from the Nigerian Yoruban spiritual tradition known as Ifá to present the Black Orishas as well as depictions of Adam and Eve, casting them as Black. No other depiction than the first man and woman is more powerful when countering white imaginary narratives of the origins of humanity. The Orishas of Ifá, better known in Brazil and Cuba as Candomblé, Santeria, respectively, have not been so widely presented to the world. In Cuba, Santeria isn’t a state religion. In fact, there is no state religion in Cuba. Nevertheless, Cubans practice Santeria widely. Instead they have been hidden to the detriment of humankind. Only if you’re of Cuban or Brazilian descent have you probably heard of these two religious practices. Rosales is doing the work to enlighten the world.
Dr. Christina Cleveland is showing us through her travels in search of Black Madonnas that God is a Black Woman. Although, this truth was known the world over, it too has been hidden. Dr. Cleveland informs us of where we can find Black Madonnas throughout Europe especially. The uncovering that Dr. Cleveland is doing reveals a cover up has been afoot for quite some time now.
Mark Doox has been in the trenches for decades. His work entitled N Word of God shows us God if not a Black Woman (a la Cleveland) is definitely Black. Doox has participated in this Black Theological Movement in conjunction with John Coltrane’s church in San Francisco. What a fascinating church movement it is to discover that a Black Jazz musician — John Coltrane — if not revered as God can be lauded within the pantheon of Catholic Saints. The artwork for the John Coltrane church were created by Doox. He has presented Black Madonnas and Black Jesus’ in paintings throughout his career.
When I joined this movement, I was spurred by my new discovery of the Nation of the Gods and Earths (aka Five Percent Nation). I learned from the Five Percenters that the Black Man is God. Whether God is a Black Woman or God is a Black Man, I agree that God is Black. So, the Five Percenters were attractive for stating this as their religious foundation.
Jesus was Black.
When I ponder my personal experiences in the desert of Oman in 2019, I concluded that not only was Jesus black, but also that he returned, and he was Ermias Joseph ‘Nipsey Hussle’ Asghedom. It is a bizarre conclusion to be sure, but I arrived at that conclusion in the desert of Oman under curious circumstances that left me with little else to conclude.
To arrive at that conclusion I cite three details. First, Nipsey was born the son of a Black mother and Eritrean father. His father’s lineage tracing back to East Africa helps satisfy the claim that a wise man will come from the east. Nipsey was wise beyond his years. Second, on the day that we lost Nipsey, I saw three familiar numbers — 1-0-9 — under the most peculiar circumstances. 109 alludes to my birthday, but those same three digits can be found in the Bible in relation to a powerful verse related to salvation. Since Romans 10:9 is not only a popular verse, but one that refers to salvation through Christ, I was sold on the idea that Nipsey was a divine being. After all, I saw 109 the day we lost Nipsey. Third, I witnessed the sight of a cross in the sky on April 8, 2019 (7 days after Nipsey’s murder). To date, I discovered a painting by Jean Michel Basquiat that contains precise details related to Nipsey Hussle’s life as well as a reference to 1-0-9. Taken together, I believe that the truth that Jesus was Black is supported and also Basquiat was another diviner in his time. The truth is the truth now, then, and forever.
Why did Basquiat write the words Jesus and Negus next to each other?
Any representation of Jesus or God in any other style is only based on imagination. The representations are neither fact nor science. The “White man is a faded or a bleach one” according to the lyrics of Ras Kass in his song entitled Nature of The Threat. Surprisingly, Ras Kass penned this work in the 1990s. He was already well aware of the truth and ahead of his time. Now is the time when the truth he knew is being supported by mainstream scholars. In the 1990s this truth
Another truth-teller was Rev. Albert Cleage Jr. who founded the prominent Shrine of the Black Madonna Church, as well as the Shrine Cultural Centers and Bookstores in Detroit, Atlanta, and Houston. In his day, Rev. Cleage Jr. was outspoken about the reclamation of Chrisianity by Black people. He did not accept white revisionist interpretations of Black lives in particular, Jesus.
Taken together, these are the minds who shaped the recent and Black Theological Movement then and now. As Black folks we must be fervent in our belief that a representation of White Jesus is propaganda of the wickedest kind. That type of revisionist creativity only harms those who seeks to understand our world. And our world can be understood by the youngest to the oldest in the most simple terms. However, when the simplest truth about how Humanity has changed throughout time is distorted, the truth can seem elusive. The nature of truth isn’t elusive. Rather truth is free and easily accessible to all.