Cult News

By Brian Birmingham

I once knew an older gentleman who lived near Mobile, Alabama. He called himself a “Christian” and he refused to read or study from any Bible other than a King James Version. He was retired, and he studied the Bible every day for hours. He was friendly and generous. We became Bible study partners and friends.

After weeks of study together, he began to share some of his personal beliefs and opinions.

That’s when it became evident that he was a racist.

But all of his racism was justified through interpretations of the King James Bible.

“Everything” he said was somehow explicitly spelled out and justified biblically, he claimed.

First there is the “Curse of Cain” (Genesis 4:15), which he interpreted as a premise for black slavery and servitude. Then he claimed that Acts 17:26 laid the foundation for biblically mandated segregation. He later told me that that Jeremiah 23:25 was the basis for denouncing Martin Luther King, Jr. as a “false prophet.”

He rejected all my arguments and insisted that “God” had commanded that the races must live separately and that black people specifically must be subservient to white people.

Within the world of “cults” these same racist sentiments are expressed by certain groups, who also insist that such pronouncements are solely based upon “God’s Word” in the Bible.

There is a group called “Twelve Tribes,” founded by Eugene Delbert Spriggs, that preaches Biblical justifications for holding racist beliefs. But Spriggs simply copied his teachings from other racists.

We often call groups that harbor such sentiments “White Supremacists.”

Now on the other hand what many don’t know is that there are also Black Supremacists.

Black Supremacists often manipulate the bible too, much like the Ku Klux Klan and my old white racist friend from Alabama. The only difference is, which race is considered preeminent.

For example, the so-called “Black Hebrews” or “Black Israelite” movement, which includes “Israelites United in Christ” (IUIC) led by Nathaniel Ray of New York, also known as “Nathanyel Ben Israel.”

The IUIC represents just one faction, within the larger context of Black Hebrew or Black Israelite movement. But in many ways the IUIC is not unlike the Klan concerning their insistence upon ordained racial superiority.

By the way, the IUIC is hardly original. Just like the Twelve Tribes its beliefs are largely derived from earlier groups such as the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK), which is arguably even more militant.

Would Martin Luther King be considered a “false prophet” by such groups due to his philosophy of non-violence and peaceful resistance?

Years after my studies with the man from Alabama I came across a street preacher on a sunny Spring Day in downtown Dallas. He was accompanied by several supporters. The preacher blasted his message through a bullhorn, while his companions passed out flyers to pedestrians. They wore dark, tunic-like uniforms. Some had headpieces and they all carried Bibles. They were Black Israelites.

I stopped to listen and read one of their flyers. It was published by Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK). The message was hardcore Black Supremacist doctrine. All about how African Americans, and other people of color, are the true descendants of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. How Christianity is a “false religion” and white people are “devils.”

Hate speech is still free speech in America. And the ISUPK preacher shared a racist and anti-Semitic message based upon a twisted interpretation of the Bible.

Were they so different from the Klan or the White Supremist Christian Identity Movement or any other supposedly Bible-based hate group?

Scripture twisting, after all, is characteristically done by both.

FYI — The Anti-Defamation League provides a very good history of ISUPK and related groups on its website, in an article titled “Extremist Sects Within the Black Hebrew Israelite Movement.” It explains how the ISUPK and IUIC have the same ideological roots, beginning with a preacher named Frank Cherry.

I stood and listened to that street preacher, which apparently drew his attention. He said, “If you are truly sorry for all the evil done by white people, bow down and kiss my boot.” He explained, “Talk is cheap and action speaks louder than words. Humble yourself before this descendent of slaves that your ancestors tormented and exploited. Kiss my boot.”

So, I did it.

All the Black Israelites clapped as I rose to my feet and shook the hand of the preacher, who seemed genuinely surprised.

I was interested in his reaction and how my act of contrition might affect him.

Would this change his opinion of me or about white people?

“I didn’t think you would do it,” he said.

And then he put his arm around my shoulder like a friend.

Then he said, “After the race war, which is coming, I will make sure that you are a well-treated slave.”

We talked for a while after that, but he never really changed his mind about me or white people. There was nothing I could do or say to persuade him. He was just
as rigid as my old white Bible study partner.

Today there are many hate groups online recruiting new members. Some have been banned on social media, while others have not.

YouTube has policies concerning hate speech.

However, groups like the IUIC, led by Nathaniel Ray, operate with impunity, using social media to spread hate, recruit and raise money. The IUIC is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok and uses the app Clubhouse.

See the IUIC YouTube channel and the many indoctrination videos available there. For example, the one titled, “Let’s talk Israel United in Christ” by IUIC founder Nathaniel Ray. Ray explicitly calls whites and Jews the “Devil” at the 14-minute mark.

Ray provides a very concise explanation of the basic beliefs of the IUIC. He says that European Jews are “Edomites” and are themselves the “Devil.”

I have no regrets about my brief encounter with the ISUPK or boot kissing. It helped bring some clarity about the nature of all hate groups and how rigidly they hold onto their hate, whether someone kisses their boot or whatever.

When someone has hate in their heart it’s hard to change them. They see the world in black and white, “us vs. them.” And this distinction isn’t about race, it’s about the dichotomy and limits of their thinking and the rigidity of their mindset.

Note: Brian Birmingham is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Boston with a BA in Psychology and Sociology. He is a native of Dallas.