Textual Notes
The Introduction from Arna Bontemps was taken from his book Anyplace But Here. This is perhaps one of the best brief introductions to the Illinois Writers Project and the Works Projects Administration of the 1930's. The long article "...and churches" is a heavily edited version of the complete WPA studies on churches and cults in Chicago. It contains brief versions of the complete studies on the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam that are given complete herein. One of the pieces on the Garvey Movement ("Why I Have Not Spoken in Chicago Since 1920") is also found in The Philosophies and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. A revised version of the study on the Moorish Science Temple is also found in Arna Bontemps' book. The study on the Nation of Islam has yet to be published and is based, in part, on Beynon's ground breaking article but adds some new material. The short conclusion was a loose page not tied directly to any of the other studies but it seemed to be a very general conclusion to this collection.
Appendix
Below are brief articles on three groups mentioned in this conclusion but not covered in any of the above studies.
The Ahmadiyyah Movement in Islam:
(as taken from pp. 461-462 of Braden's These Also Believe)A modern sect of the Moslem faith. Originating in India in the latter half of the nineteenth century, it has become quite aggressively missionary and has sent missionaries to many parts of the world including England and America. It differs from Orthodox Islam chiefly in its belief that the founder, a promised Messiah, appeared in India as the fulfillment, not alone of the expectation of one to come held by the Moslems, but also of that held by Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. Indian headquarters were until lately in Qadian, in the Punjab, but recent rioting in India, as a result of the division of India into a Hindu and a Moslem state, caused its removal to Lahore. The American headquarters are in Chicago where the head of the American mission resides and where the Moslem Sunrise, a quarterly magazine, and other materials are published.
Until 1945 there was but one missionary in America, Sufi M. R. Bengalee, who had small groups of members in various cities in the United States, but there are now three, and it is planned to increase this number considerably. They adhere to the basic teachings of Islam in most respects, but stress strongly the belief not only in the Prophet Mohammed but in all the prophets. Jesus, they hold, did not die on the cross, but swooned, was released from the tomb by his friends and went to India where he spent some forty years, teaching and preaching. His tomb is a center of pilgrimage in Sringar, in Kashmir, today.
Father Divine:
(as taken from my The End of Time and the Fulfillment of the Prophecies)Father Divine was born George Baker in the Sea Islands of Georgia in the late 19th century. Early in his career he called himself the Messenger of one Father Jehovia a/k/a Samuel Morris. Valdosta, Georgia saw him being placed in a mental hospital for claims of being the Deity. Other than the above, his early life before 1915 is largely unknown and undocumented and is mostly mystical in nature, as rendered by Father Divine.
Father Divine came to Brooklyn in 1915 and setup a headquarters on Prince Street in Brooklyn along with twelve followers. In 1919, then calling himself Major Morgan J. Devine, he purchased a home in Sayville, Long Island. He was famous early on for his inexpensive hostels, job services and lavish banquets for his followers. His movement spread after a judge tried to convict him on fraud and subsequently died. Father Divine claimed that he "had to do it" and his followers accepted it as proof of his "divinity".
In the Thirties and Forties he had 154 Kingdoms, extensions and Connections under his direct control. His movement declined somewhat as the economy improved. After his death in the mid-sixties, his wife (a white Canadian follower) became the leader. She wrote a history of the movement and continued his newspaper - The New Day. Currently there are six churches or Kingdoms directly affiliated with the movement. They are mainly in the Philadelphia area and Switzerland.
Similarities in greetings - that of "Peace"- linked the Moorish American movement both to Fathers Divine and Hurley. A new dispensation also linked their beliefs. Each gave a new set of scriptures which was considered to be "holy": Hurley- the Aquarian Age Newspaper; Father Divine- the New Age Newspaper; and, Noble Drew Ali- the Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple.
Accepting a position as a law-abider and as a righteous leader did not set Father Divine apart and there were no real teachings that set his movement apart from those mentioned above.
The "I Am" Movement:
Mount Shasta in California saw the rise of a new messenger of God or of humanity who had transcended this plan of existence and became Ascended Masters. The most famous of these master was St. Germain. The main teachings were that through self affirmation and reading of the discourses of the ascended masters one could overcome all obstacles and achieve all that they wish on this plane of existence and that they may one day become ascended masters themselves if they continue to practice the "I Am" teachings. Further teachings were moral in nature: no drinking, no sex except for procreation, no smoking and a plea to lead a generally moral life.
In the late 1930's the family of Guy and Edna Ballard held large crowds at sway under discourses on the nature of several private conversations that they had with these Ascended Masters. In 1939 Guy Ballard became an ascended master himself. His wife Edna later took over the movement. At that point the lectures went from being large public addresses to being private classes where members only could attend. This was likely due to several court cases that tried to prove fraud committed upon their dubious followers through a number of mining and oil stock sales which proved to later be worthless. This secrecy gave the lectures more worth as they were now secret hidden knowledge of the ages. Upon Edna's death the movement splintered.
Bibliography
Beynon, Erdman, "The Voodoo Cult among the Negro Migrants in Detroit", (American Journal of Sociology 43, May 1938), pp. 894-907. [On the Nation of Islam]
Bontemps, Arna and Conroy, Jack, Anyplace But Here, (Hill and Wand, New York, 1966).
Braden, Charles Samuel, These Also Believe, (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1949).
Crabites, Pierre, "American Negro Mohammedans", (Catholic World 136, February 1933), pp. 559-60.
Davenport, F.M., "Religion of American Negro", (Contemporary Review 88, September 1905), pp. 369-75.
Fisher, Miles, "Negroes get religion", (Opportunity 14: no.5, May 1936), pp. 147-50.
Fisher, Miles M., "Organized religions and the cults", (Crisis 44:8, January 1937).
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