Stephen Ragno

Black Jesus in the Twentieth Century Stephen Ragno

The race of Jesus of Nazareth has been the subject of much questioning by those who are thoughtful about race. Though Jesus' origins are known well, his race has been a topic of great debate. This volume explores those movements that, in the twentieth century, proposed that Jesus was a black man, as "black man" is understood in the Western world. Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association, The Nation of Islam, and the Rastafari Movement all claimed that Jesus was a black man. Was this purely a theological interpretation of Jesus' race, based on biblical study, or was there a deeper meaning behind this claim? Were there social and political implications tied to these movements' belief in a black Christ figure? The social, political, and religious aspects of these movements' use of a black Jesus are discussed and explored in this volume.