Question:
In Unit 2, we read texts in which white authors asserted that white people were superior to black people; some of those texts asserted that white people are, or should be, the supreme race over all others. The readings from Elijah Muhammad and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ flip that racial hierarchy upside-down. These texts don’t assert that whites and blacks are equal; they assert, rather, that blacks are the supreme (or divine, or chosen) race and that whites are an evil race. We could therefore say that these texts reflect a black supremacist—as opposed to white supremacist—religious worldview.
For each author—Elijah Muhammad and the Israelite Church—summarize that author’s black supremacist religious worldview. In other words: What does each author say that shows they regard black people as the supreme (or divine, or chosen) race? Also: What is each author’s explanation for why white people have been able to oppress black people? Do these authors believe that blacks and whites can live together in a peaceful and just relationship?