The history of the Black American begins not in America, but in the Black Mans native continent; Africa. Some four hundred years ago the first Black Man was kidnapped from his home and forced onto a ship taking him to the unknown wilderness of North America. The first Black and the many that followed were to serve one purpose; the white mans slave. Here in North America the Black Man was to pick the white mans cotton, and tend to his every need. Slavery continued up until January 1st, 1863 with the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation. The end of slavery was not the end of oppression, for another one hundred years the Black Man was forbidden to drink from the same fountain or even be educated in the same building as his white counterpart. These imp

Membership of the Nation sustained itself at a few thousand during the 1940's. Over the next decade and a half that figure grew by tens of thousands. During the 1950's the Nation expanded at an astounding pace, and soon national meetings were a part of Nation events. By the end of the 1950's the Nation had 50 temples in operation. The Nation was always reluctant to disclose membership figures but estimates place the figure at around fifty thousand by 1960. There were many thousands more that were not members but still sympathized with the Nations cause. Much of this tremendous growth was attributed to Brother Malcolm X.

The Nation continued to function after Malcolms death although it would never attain it former status. Elijah Muhammad died on February 25, 1975 and his son Wallace assumed control. By October 1976 the Nation of Islam existed no more. In its place would be World Community of al-Islam in the West (WCIW) a group which embraced Orthodox Islam. During March 1978 Louis Farrakhan started the Nation of Islam once again. In December 1994, Farrakhan called for African American men to gather in a massive assembly before the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. The Million Man March was to demonstrate the Black Mans renewed commitment to himself and community. This march was to ensure that the Black Man would "never again be looked at as the criminals, the clowns, the buffoons, the dregs of society."(Perry 118) On October 16, 1995 America witnessed the largest gathering of Black men in its history, this all organized by Farrakhan. Even after years of low membership and more scandals the N!

g with the U.N.I.A was the Noble Drew Ali leading the Moorish Temple. Where as the U.N.I.A was a non-religious movement aimed at restoring the Black Man to Africa by means of the Black Star Shipping Line, the Moorish Temple provided guidance through religion. "Ali fired the imagination of lower class African Americans ... by claiming that Blacks were superior to whites."(Perry 27) Both the U.N.I.A and Moorish Temple retained large followings. But neither organization lasted past 1929. "As the Black Star Line sank, the U.N.I.A went down with it. Garvey was sent to a federal penitentiary and after serving almost half his sentence ... he was deported to Jamaica."(Perry 26) The downfall of the Moorish temple came when Noble Drew Ali was charged with murder, the following crumbled soon after.

During 1932 Temple Number One of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam was founded by Wallace Fard in Detroit. Within two years he had gained eight thousand followers along with an elementary school, training classes for women and a private security force, the Fruit of Islam. In June 1934 Fard dissapeared and Elijah Muhammad assumed control of the Nation of Islam. Each member was to follow a strict set of rules aimed at bettering himself and his fellow Black man. "Members were forbidden to spend any money on alcohol, drugs, gambling or any other vices. Each member was expected to contribute ten percent of their income to the movement ... a great portion of their remaining income should be put toward helping other African Americans."(Perry 51) Along with those rules traditional Southern cuisine was frowned upon and seen as unhealthy, especially pork. Muslims were expected to be neatly dressed and well spoken at all times. At the age of seven each member is expected to pray five times a !

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s experience with lynching to crowds. "Young Elijah had come upon a group of white men trailing a Black man at the end of a rope ... they kicked and insult

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Approximate Word count = 2436
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)