Five Percent Nation
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What is the Five Percent Nation?
The Five Percent Nation is an American revisionist movement that split from the Nation of Islam in 1963. Founded by Clarence 13X, the movement does not consider itself a religion, but rather a culture or way of life, and its teachings are called "Supreme Mathematics."
Clarence 13X developed the ideology of the Five Percenters around the idea that all Black men are Allah and that the Black community should be self-sustaining via education, dignity, and self-understanding. The name of the movement comes from the idea that only 5 percent of humanity are righteous people who understand that the living God is the Black man who teaches freedom and justice to Black communities.
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When and where did the Five Percent Nation begin?
The Five Percent Nation, an American revisionist movement, began in 1963 when Clarence 13X split from the Nation of Islam. Clarence 13X, formerly a member of the Nation of Islam's Temple No. 7 in Harlem, New York City, founded the movement after questioning some of the Nation of Islam’s teachings.
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What do the members of the Five Percent Nation believe?
The Five Percent Nation, founded by Clarence 13X after splitting from the Nation of Islam in 1963, is an American revisionist movement that views itself as a culture and way of life rather than a religion.
Key beliefs of the Five Percent Nation:
* Black men are Allah, and Black women are Earths or queens.
* Eighty-five percent of people are ignorant of God's true identity. Ten percent possess knowledge and power but falsely teach that God is an invisible supernatural entity. Only five percent are righteous people who understand that the Black man is the living God who teaches freedom and justice to Black communities.
* Black communities should be self-sustaining through education, dignity, and self-understanding.1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who was the founder of the Five Percent Nation?
Clarence 13X, also known as Clarence Smith, founded the Five Percent Nation in 1963 after splitting from the Nation of Islam.
Clarence 13X questioned the Nation of Islam's teachings, particularly the divinity of Wallace D. Fard, the founder. He combined some teachings from the Nation of Islam with his own ideas, forming the Five Percent Nation. His ideology stated that all Black men are Allah and that the Black community should be self-sustaining through education, dignity, and self-understanding.
Clarence 13X was killed in 1969, but his ideas allowed the movement to continue under collective leadership. The Five Percent Nation has played an influential role in urban Black communities, particularly in hip-hop culture and music.
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How did the Five Percent Nation influence hip-hop music and culture?
The Five Percent Nation, founded by Clarence 13X after splitting from the Nation of Islam in 1963, significantly influenced hip-hop music and culture. The movement, which prefers to be known as a culture and way of life rather than a religion, is rooted in the belief that Black men are Allah (Gods) and Black women are Earths.
This ideology emphasizes self-sustainability, education, dignity, and self-understanding within the Black community. The Five Percent Nation's teachings, known as "Supreme Mathematics," and its unique, dynamic speaking style attracted followers in urban Black communities and gained prominence through hip-hop artists such as Rakim, the Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, and Nas. Despite controversies over alleged connections to gang activities, the Five Percent Nation remains a recognizable influence in hip-hop.
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What is the difference between the Five Percent Nation and other religious or social movements?
The Five Percent Nation, founded by Clarence 13X after splitting from the Nation of Islam in 1963, differs from other movements by teaching that Black men are Allah and should embrace self-sustainability through education and dignity.
Unlike traditional religions, the Five Percent Nation does not consider itself a religion but rather a culture and way of life, with teachings known as "Supreme Mathematics." It divides humanity into three groups: 85% ignorant of God's true identity, 10% who deceive others about God, and 5% who know that the Black man is the living God who teaches freedom and justice to Black communities. The movement has notably influenced urban Black communities and hip-hop culture.
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Five Percent Nation, American revisionist movement, led by Clarence 13X, which split from the Nation of Islam in 1963. The movement rejected being called a religion, preferring instead to be known as a culture and way of life. Its teachings are referred to as “Supreme Mathematics.”
In the early 1950s, after serving in the Korean War, Clarence Smith settled in Harlem in New York City. He joined the Nation of Islam, changed his name to Clarence 13X, and became a member of Temple No. 7, which was under the leadership of Malcolm X. Clarence’s quick intelligence and fiery speaking style soon attracted the attention of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, who appointed him to the position of student minister.
Like Malcolm X, Clarence began to question several of the Nation of Islam’s teachings during the early 1960s. He was especially troubled by what he considered the paradoxical teaching of the divinity of Wallace D. Fard, the founder of the Nation of Islam. Its central doctrine taught that God was Black, yet Fard, who had light skin and did not appear Black, was considered to be God. Initially, Clarence attempted to reconcile the differences between his own beliefs and those of the Nation of Islam, but he found other leaders unreceptive to his ideas. He thus left the Nation of Islam in 1963 and formed the Five Percent Nation, combining some of the Nation of Islam’s teachings with his own ideas and beliefs.
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Clarence 13X based the ideology of the Five Percenters on the idea that all Black men are Allah and that the Black community should be imbued with self-sustainability through education, dignity, and self-understanding. The leaders of the Five Percent Nation adopted a dynamic, almost mesmerizing speaking style with a focus on teaching in the streets of major urban centers throughout the United States. The Five Percent Nation grew quickly, and, although only a small and relatively obscure movement, it began to play an influential role in urban Black communities, particularly in hip-hop culture and music.
Clarence expanded or altered many of the original views of the Nation of Islam in developing the doctrine of the Five Percent Nation. He taught that the doctrine of God as Black meant that all Black men are God, or Allah. The movement derived its name from a second doctrine that separates all people into three categories. Most people, 85 percent of humanity, were believed to be ignorant of God’s true identity and thus to be unknowingly working to destroy themselves and others, being misled by the 10 percent of humanity who possess knowledge and power but who falsely teach that God is an invisible supernatural entity. Only 5 percent of humanity is made up of righteous people who understand the truth—that the living God is the Black man who teaches freedom and justice to Black communities.
Clarence also referred to his movement as the Nation of Gods and Earths, a name based on his belief that Black men are Gods and Black women are queens, or Earths. Within the movement itself, only new members refer to themselves as Five Percenters. Once a Black man has realized his own divine nature, he becomes Allah, a God, and a Black woman becomes an Earth. Within Clarence’s ideology, men can obtain the divine perfection of the number 7, while women can only rise to the number 6. Therefore, only women in the Five Percent Nation consider themselves Muslims and follow Allah; the men are Allah incarnate.
Clarence was killed by unknown attackers in Harlem in June 1969. Although he led the Five Percent Nation for only five years, his ideas of self-sustainable leadership allowed the movement to continue and grow under collective leadership.
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The Five Percent Nation’s influence is represented in hip-hop culture and music, notably by hip-hop artists such as Rakim, the Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, and Nas. The main controversy over the Five Percent Nation has been its supposed links to gang activities and prison inmates. In the 1980s the group was said to be associated with a drug gang in New York City, and in the mid-1990s prison officials in South Carolina took disciplinary action against some 300 inmates because they refused to renounce their Five Percent status.