The six men in the video belong to a group that believes African Americans are the direct descendants of the Israelites of the Old Testament and God’s chosen people

They called the Native Americans literal descendants of the Israelite “Tribe of Gad,” the white students cursed “Edomites” and preached that a nuclear apocalypse was around the corner.

“They seen what they’ve done. They’ve been told. I believe they are from Kentucky. They’ve never been spoken like that to by a black or Hispanic guy in their lives. The words of God,” a black man who identified himself as ‘Chief Ephraim Israel’ told the New York Post.

“It was piercing. Their souls was getting ripped. They were catching darts and ninja stars all into their soul.”

A man identifying himself as Chief Ephraim Israel ‘preaches’ at the Covington Catholic High School students and Native American demonstrators last Friday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. H.O.I. Chief Ephraim / YouTube

Who are the Black Hebrew Israelites?

The group of six African American men with thick beards and long robes are extreme members of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group that white supremacists in the United States call their “black counterparts”. The Southern Poverty Law Centre says the black supremacist wing of the group is guilty of racism towards white people, anti-Semitism and homophobia. They are known for aggressive street preaching.

There are many different denominations of Black Hebrew Israelites. All of them have their own defining characteristics, charismatic leaders, traditions and beliefs. This makes categorizing them and keeping track of them difficult.

Members of the Black Hebrew Israelites gather on Capitol Hill November 13, 2018 in Washington, DC. 

Where did they come from?

The Black Hebrew Israelites trace their roots to 19th century America. Their founding belief is that African Americans are the direct descendants of the Israelites of the Old Testament and God’s chosen people. They claim the transatlantic slave trade was prophesied in the Book of Deuteronomy. For them, it’s proof of their ancestry. This is the one belief that unites all denominations.

There is no one founder, but early organized denominations combined Jewish and Christian traditions such as eating kosher, gospel singing, reading the New Testament and wearing skull caps in prayer. The name Black Hebrew Israelites was coined in the 1960s; before that, members were called Black Jews.

A related belief holds that white people are Edomites, the genealogical descendants of Esau — the twin of Jacob.

Students arrive at Covington Catholic High School as classes resume Wednesday following a closing due to security concerns on Tuesday in Park Hills, Ky. 

Where are they located?

There are Black Hebrew Israelites churches across the United States including New York, Washington D.C., Chicago and Virginia. And a church in Toronto, called Israel The Church of Jesus, shares the group’s core belief — that Jesus, his apostles and all the prophets in the Old Testament were black. Their website lists a combination of Jewish and Christian holy days for members to observe and its YouTube page provides 168 sermons explaining what their church believes.

BHI is also in Winnipeg. In 2015, CBC reported on an emergence of BHI street preachers there. According to CBC, the preachers used defaced posters of a white Jesus during their outdoor sermons.

One BHI denomination emigrated from the United States to Israel. The entire community live in the town of Dimona and practise veganism.

Protestors gather outside the Catholic Diocese of Covington Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, after it apologized for the behaviour of the students from Covington Catholic High School in Washington. 

Evolution of beliefs.

In the 1970s and ’80s, one BHI denomination from Harlem known as One West began the tradition of wearing long robes and aggressive street preaching like the six men in the Lincoln Memorial video. They invented their own version of the Hebrew language and began including other marginalized groups of colour in their beliefs.

One West leaders began teaching that Puerto Ricans and Native Americans were also the direct descendants of the original Israelites. In a one-hour video from the Lincoln Memorial, BHI preachers tell Native American protestors that they are also Israelites.

The beliefs that draw criticism come from a 1990s BHI movement called House of Israel. This denomination is as social media savvy as it is loud. The men at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18 are members of the House of Israel. They’re active across platforms and their hundreds of YouTube videos have thousands of views.

‘Chief Ephraim Israel’ last Friday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. H.O.I. Chief Ephraim / YouTube

In an interview with CBC, BHI expert John Jackson from the University of Pennsylvania explained some radical BHI beliefs.

“Their ultimate goal is to bring about sort of a race war that will cleanse the planet and bring Jesus back. (They say) ‘We’re doing all this stuff. We’re being as provocative as we are on the street corner because we’re really trying to foment the kind of ultimate clash between good and evil — between God’s chosen people and the damned and the imposters — so that we can bring about the second coming and a new world,” Jackson said.

Jackson also said many BHI believe European Jews are imposters.

No denominations of Black Hebrew Israelites promote or support violence.

Celebrity membership

Rapper Kendrick Lamar referenced the BHI in his music by featuring his cousin Carl Duckworth, a member of a BHI denomination on the song “Fear”.

At one point in the song, Lamar raps: “I’m an Israelite, don’t call me black no more.”

Former first lady Michelle Obama’s cousin Rabbi Capers Funnye is a prominent rabbi in Chicago. Funnye serves as an intermediary between mainstream African-American Jews and their BHI neighbours in Chicago.

Are Black Hebrew Israelites accepted by the Jewish community?

It depends. Some Black Hebrew Israelites have formally converted to Judaism and participate in Jewish communities, but most operate independently as the more radical denominations of the group are anti-Semitic.

In this Friday, Jan. 18, 2019 image from video, Nick Sandmann, the teenager wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, stands in front of an elderly Native American, Nathan Phillips, singing and playing a drum in Washington.