Noble Drew Ali's “Clean and Pure Nation”

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-51
Author(s):  
Emily Suzanne Clark
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Religious History ◽  
Spiritual Health ◽  
American Religious History ◽  
Racial Uplift ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Racial History ◽  
Noble Drew Ali ◽  
Moorish Science ◽  
Moorish Science Temple

In the 1920s, the theology, racial history, and healing ways of the Moorish Science Temple of America mediated racial uplift and contemporary health concerns. In 1927, Moorish Science Temple founder Noble Drew Ali created the Moorish Manufacturing Corporation to market his line of healing teas, tonics, and oils. The historiography of the Moorish Science Temple often overlooks these products, but when put in relation with Ali's concept of Moorish identity and the group's approach to physical and spiritual health, these products emerge as material expressions of foundational Moorish Science Temple beliefs. Ali's dedication to keeping the Moors racially distinct and religiously clean and pure were mutually reinforcing and interpenetrating concerns. Furthermore, his vision of the Moorish nation and its material culture reflected larger trends in health, consumerism, and theological expression within American religious history.

Mystery of the Moorish Science Temple: Southern Blacks and American Alternative Spirituality in 1920s Chicago

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Nance
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Black Scholar ◽  
Legitimate Business ◽  
Alternative Spirituality ◽  
The Many ◽  
Moorish Science ◽  
Southern Migrants ◽  
The Church ◽  
Moorish Science Temple

In 1926, the well-known black scholar Ira De Augustine Reid complained that storefront churches were “a general nuisance. Neither their appearance nor their character warrants the respect of the Community.” Mortified, he described the founders of these informal assemblies: “He conducts his Services on such days as he feels disposed mentally and indisposed financially. To this gentleman of the cloth… the church is a legitimate business.” More to the point, he described his perception of the many southern migrants who aspired to found their own churches and religions, recounting how one “young swain” had announced to the leadership of a large traditional black congregation that he had had a dream. “In this dream a still small voice told him to ‘G. P. C.’ and when he heard it he knew that he was instructed to ‘Go Preach Christ.’ After further questioning by the Council, the chairman told him that he had misinterpreted his dream, for it certainly meant ‘Go plant corn’” For many educated African Americans, the idea of southern migrants presuming to enjoy their own religious traditions on their own terms in the urban North was ludicrous.

Abandoned Quarries

2018 ◽  
pp. 129-136
Author(s):  
Seth Perry
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Religious History ◽  
American Religious History ◽  
Early National Period ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Early National ◽  
American National Identity ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Period

This concluding chapter discusses the consequences of biblicism in the early national period for subsequent American religious history. It considers bible culture in the later nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on how the corporatization of religious printing amplifed the Bible's status as an abstract commodity. Responding to the arguments put forward by W. P. Strickland in his 1849 History of the American Bible Society, the chapter argues that attaching the Bible's importance to American national identity could not leave the Bible unchanged, because that is not how scripturalization works. It also explains how the Bible's availability for citation and re-citation fundamentally changed the desire, effectiveness, and circumstances of its citation. Finally, it uses the abandoned quarry—empty because it has flled other places—as a figure for the themes of citation, performance, and identity explored in this book.

A Welcoming Wilderness

Ethnologies ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 49-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Everett
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Geographical Knowledge ◽  
Food Stores ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Moral Uncertainty ◽  
Tourism Product ◽  
Iconic Image ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Wild Berries

Abstract Wild berries have long been integral to Newfoundlanders’ and Labradorians’ food stores. Berry picking remains an important late summer and early fall activity, combining traditional, geographical knowledge with material culture, foodways and custom. Berries may also be Newfoundland and Labrador’s most successful culinary tourism product to date, combining attributes of health, wilderness and resourcefulness. Whereas ethical and moral uncertainty or conviction precludes many tourists from trying seal products, and health concerns prevent the enjoyment of regional favorites such as fish and chips, berries offer visitors a window into local culture beyond reproach. Reifying the text and images of national and provincial tourist literature emphasizing the area’s “outdoor nature product,” the berries serve as an iconic image of a resourceful people intimately connected to a bountiful, welcoming wilderness.

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