A Brief History of Allah Allah was born, Clarence Smith, February 22, 1928, in Danville Virginia. He was the 5th son of Louis and Mary Smith’s family of seven children. Danville is an independent city in Virginia, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America.
The Smith Family lived at 834 Valley Street. In the 1940’s Allah’s mother, Mary moved to New York. She rented an apartment in Harlem. In 1946 at the age of 18 Allah came north to join his mother and older brothers. In 1946, he, Allah met Willeen Jowars. Allah and Willeen had two sons together, A-Allah (Clarence Jowars) and B-Allah (Otis Jowars), born in 1949 and 1951, respectively. However, this relationship did not last and he, Allah, married another woman whom he loved very much by the name of Dora. Allah and Dora had four children, Christine, Debra, Clarence (C-Allah) and Perry (P-Allah). Allah’s seventh child was a son by an Earth named Gevasia, and was named after Allah. On October 30 1952, Allah joined the Army and had service time in Japan and in Korea. He endured the time in Korea, and was honorably released on August 21, 1954 and entered active reserve duty to finish out his time. He was on active duty reserve from August 22, 1954 to September 30, 1960, in which he was again honorably released. While he was away, his wife Dora, had become a Muslim and entered the Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. When he, Allah, returned, he too accepted the
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teachings of Islam and he joined her at Temple No. 7, under Minister Malcolm X. He studied his lessons hard and soon became very proficient with them. The lessons developed in him a fiery Wisdom, and he had a speaking style that was unique to him. It was a methodical cadence stressing syllables that normally aren’t; it was hypnotic. It was at this point that turmoil began to develop with him in the Temple. Allah had been a man who always thought for himself and he was no follower. At this point in time, the teachings of the Nation of Islam was that, W.D. Fard, the man who came to North America and taught Elijah Muhammad, was the Supreme Being, Allah. In 1963, Allah left the temple meaning Temple No. 7. He had come into a realization that would have a far more reaching implication, a realization that would shake New York City. He knew from the lessons while in the Temple that the Original Man (Black Man) was the Supreme Being, God. What he now realized was that, was applied to him individually. That he as an individual was God and therefore could not sit by and depend on a Mystery God to do what he himself was blessed with, meaning the abilities to do. He changed his name from Clarence 13X to Allah and went to the streets of Harlem to do God’s duty. God’s duty as he saw it would be to teach the blind, deaf, and dumb people and from them, he raised the 5% Nation.
Allah taught nine young brothers, who became known as the First Nine
Born. His first student he named Karriem (Matthew Johnson), later became the Black Messiah. Allah chose him to be the first youth with this Knowledge, because of his ability to attract the youth in the community and because he was a Black Seed (meaning a dark complexion). Thus, these nine Black youths came to be known as the First Nine Born, and they were: Karriem, known as the Black Messiah, Al-Salaam, Al-Jabbar, known as First Born Prince Allah, Al-Jamel, Nihiem, known as Bisme Allah, Akbar, Bilal, known as ABG#7, Uhuru, and Kihiem. On May 31, 1965, Allah was speaking at the Rally in front of the Hotel Theresa that was located at 2090 7th Avenue, when two police officers attempted to break up the Rally. As a result a disturbance was brought about. Allah along with several other brothers was arrested for unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. At the arraignment in criminal court before Judge Francis X O’Brien, he told the judge that he was wrong for accusing the righteous people and that the city would blow up. When offered a lawyer, he told the judge that he was Allah and that he would represent himself.
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That September the judge in Supreme Court part 30, ordered him to be placed in the custody of the Psychiatric Unit at Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric treatment. This was the result of him proclaiming himself to be God (Allah). While at Bellevue he continued to teach the youth and the authorities transferred him to Mattawan State Hospital for the criminally insane as a means of separating him from his growing Nation. In returning to New York City in the year of 1967, the 5% held the first Parliament in Mount Morris Park (April 30, 1967) to welcome Allah home. Early that summer Allah’s Street Academy opened at 2122 7th Avenue (July 1967), where it remains today. Also that same year Universal Shaamguadd presented Allah with an emblem that he designed and it was ordained as our Universal Flag. The emblem is painted on the window of the Street Academy and it was put on pins that we wear on our lapels. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. This sent shock waves throughout the Black communities across the country. The immediate reaction of the masses of Black people was to riot and loot the stores within their own communities. In Harlem, that night, large crowds of people gathered on the streets. The 5 % were also out in force. Recognizing the tendency of the 85% to react violently without any consideration of who, what, where, and how to execute their desire for justice, the 5% moved throughout the crowds reinforcing peace. This helped to avert a shamble and the Black community holding the bag. Allah received public and media praises for his participating in maintaining peace and order. He also received a commendation from Mayor John V. Lindsay for the outstanding job he was doing in providing motivation for the educational and vocational growth in and with the youth. On June 12th, 1969, Allah awoke at the home of his mother, he told her that it was the best rest he had ever had. In the two previous years from June 1969, Allah had risen to become a very powerful figure in New York City. He had achieved a kind of international celebrity status. The Canadian Television did a story on him; a Sociologist from Sweden interviewed him, and he had plans to meet with Chinese representatives on June 20, 1969. In 1968, Allah started giving indication to the Five Percenters, that he would be departing. He would tell us things like after this year you won’t be 5%’ers anymore. You’ll be the Nation of Gods and Earths. On the night of June 12th, 1969, Allah was at his Street Academy speaking with the brothers who were there. He spoke with us well into the morning of June 13th, 1969; he was speaking about male and female relationships. Those who were present still remember to this day the
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euphoric feeling so good that we didn’t notice that the yellow cab whose taxi that Allah got into wasn’t the cab of A-Allah (Harry F. Smith), his brother that he usually left with. Shortly after Allah had left the Street Academy, word came back to the school that Allah had been brutally gunned down in the elevator of the Martin Luther King Towers on 112th Street in East Harlem. He was hit seven of eight times with a powerful blast fired by his assailants; this was in the morning of June 13th, 1969. Allah was 41 years old, when He departed from us. PEACE!
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