Post Civil Rights Black Nationalism: The Nuwaubian Nation Of Moors' Model, 1967-2002

Abstract

In the second half of the twentieth century, intellectual and passive resistance characterized Black Nationalism. This method of resistance against historic oppression was accentuated by earlier Pan-Africanist principles which emphasized unity as the basis for resistance. Post civil rights Black Nationalism is pragmatic in that it is flexible in operation. Its ultimate goal has always been social and cultural emancipation of Africans in diaspora. Pragmatically, it allows room for cooperation among peoples of African descent in reflection of their shared ancestral heritage. Nuwaubian Nation built on this tradition since its founding in 1967 in Brooklyn, New York. With its philosophy of Nuwaupu which it said stood for Right Knowledge and Wisdom, the group aimed to capture the minds of African descendants by offering pedagogical and paradigmatic alternatives to Eurocentric conventions. Their alternative knowledge encompassed religious and philosophical thoughts, racial and gender discourse, and using an Africa-centered paradigm they aimed to advance such ideals at the same time deconstructing Eurocentric paradigm as flawed and misleadingly exclusive rather than inclusive. The function of this scheme was to revive and restore African cultural consciousness among its adherents in the diaspora. To this end, Nuwaupu did not necessarily advocate massive emigration to Africa, but was not opposed to it either. Its essence was to highlight and sustain interconnectedness among peoples with shared history and ancestry, thus bringing Africa to the diaspora and diaspora to Africa. Utilizing, primarily, the Nuwaubian literature mostly authored by Malachi Z. York, this research demonstrates that Nuwaubian Nation represented the contemporary attempts at rejuvenating African cultural values among diaspora Africans. They sought to inject racial pride, sense of identity and affinity with Africa, traits that were lost through slavery and subsequently, Jim Crow.