Clarence 13X facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Clarence 13X
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Clarence 13X standing between two of his followers
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Clarence Edward Smith
February 22, 1928 Danville, Virginia, U.S.
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| Died | June 13, 1969 (aged 41) New York City, U.S.
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| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Other names | Allah, the Father, Father Allah |
| Known for | Founding the Five-Percent Nation |
| Spouse(s) | Dora Smith |
| Partner(s) | Willieen Jowers |
| Children | 2 |
Clarence Edward Smith (born February 22, 1928 – died June 13, 1969) was an American religious leader. He was also known as Clarence 13X and Allah. He is famous for starting a group called the Five-Percent Nation.
Clarence 13X was born in Virginia. He moved to New York City when he was young. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. After returning to New York, he joined the Nation of Islam (NOI). He took the name Clarence 13X. He worked as a security officer and martial arts teacher for the NOI. He also became a student minister.
In 1963, he left the Nation of Islam. He had different ideas about their teachings. He did not agree that Wallace Fard Muhammad was a divine messenger. He also had different interests that the NOI did not approve of.
After leaving the NOI, Clarence 13X started his own group. He believed that all black men were divine. He took the name Allah to show this belief. He taught that God was not an invisible being. Instead, God could be found within each black man. He also taught that women had special roles. They were like "earths" that supported and helped men.
Clarence 13X and his helpers kept some NOI teachings. But they also created new ideas. They developed teachings about numbers and letters. They believed that understanding these meanings would reveal deep truths about God and the universe. He called his new group the Five Percenters. This name came from an NOI teaching. It said that only five percent of people knew the truth about God. Unlike the NOI, his group did not have strict dress codes or rules for behavior.
In 1964, Clarence 13X was shot but survived. Later, he was arrested after an incident with police. He was sent for a health evaluation. He was released in 1967 after a court ruling. At first, he taught his followers to dislike white people. But he later started working with white city leaders. They gave him money for a night school. In return, he tried to prevent violence in Harlem. Clarence 13X was shot and killed in June 1969. His killer is still unknown. The mayor of New York City and other leaders shared their sadness. The Five Percenters struggled after his death. But the group grew again with new leaders. They celebrate his birthday as a holiday.
Contents
Early Life and Nation of Islam
Clarence Edward Smith was born on February 22, 1928. He grew up in Danville, Virginia. He had five brothers and one sister. Virginia had racial segregation when he was a child. He saw racism, including a fight involving his father.
In 1946, he moved to New York City with his mother. They lived in Harlem. He only went to high school for two years. He had children with Dora Smith and Willieen Jowers.
Smith joined the United States Army in the early 1950s. He served in Korea from 1952 to 1954. He was an infantry soldier in the Korean War. After returning to the U.S., he lived in Harlem. He also served in the United States Army Reserve until 1960. He became skilled in karate during his time in the military.
Dora Smith joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) while her husband was away. Clarence 13X converted after he came back to New York. By 1961, he joined Mosque No. 7. He changed his name to Clarence 13X, as was common in the NOI.
After joining, he quickly moved up in the NOI. This was likely because of his military skills. He taught martial arts and worked on the Fruit of Islam security team. He was also a good speaker. He became a "student minister" at Mosque No. 7. By 1963, the FBI knew about him. Informants reported that he attended rallies led by Malcolm X.
The early 1960s were a difficult time for the NOI. There were disagreements between leaders Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. Around this time, Clarence 13X became unhappy with the NOI. It is not fully clear why he left. Some say he doubted their beliefs. Others say he broke their rules. Or he may have disagreed with the leaders' fancy lifestyles. Dora Smith stayed with the group, and they separated.
Before leaving, Clarence 13X doubted the NOI's teaching. They taught that Wallace Fard Muhammad was a divine messenger. Clarence 13X thought this was confusing. The NOI said God was black, but Fard Muhammad was not fully African. Clarence 13X decided that all black men were divine. He believed this instead of thinking one person was God. He was told off by NOI leaders for saying this. His friend John 37X left the NOI with him. Malcolm X also left the NOI in 1963. He remained friends with Clarence 13X. However, Clarence 13X did not join Malcolm X's new group.
Founding the Five Percenters
After leaving the NOI, Clarence 13X and John 37X kept studying NOI teachings. They took new names. Clarence 13X became Allah, and John 37X became Abu Shahid. John 37X found a system where numbers meant specific ideas. He called this "living mathematics."
While John 37X was in prison, Clarence 13X taught his beliefs. He called them "supreme wisdom." He taught these ideas to young men. His friend James Howard helped him. They created "supreme mathematics" and "supreme alphabet." These systems were seen as a "divine science." They found hidden meanings in letters and numbers.
Clarence 13X created new teachings. He gave new meanings to words. For example, he said "Allah" stood for "arm, leg, leg, arm, head." This meant the human body. He said this proved that humans were divine. He also renamed parts of New York City. Harlem became Mecca, and Brooklyn became Medina.
Other unhappy NOI members joined his group. Some were from the Fruit of Islam security team. Clarence 13X included ideas from both Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. In the early years, some Five Percenters went to NOI events. Clarence 13X's beliefs were similar to the NOI's. But there were important differences. He taught his followers that he was God. And that each of them was also a god. His followers were told to look inside themselves to find God.
Clarence 13X taught that people of African descent had a special greatness. This was not found in Europeans. He did not enforce the NOI's strict moral rules. His group allowed practices like gambling, which the NOI did not. However, Clarence 13X strictly banned eating pork. He said pigs were like animals not eaten in the U.S., such as rats and dogs. Because they believed black men were gods, members could choose their own clothes and most foods.
Early members often shared their beliefs on street corners for hours. Clarence 13X's helpers taught classes on the group's ideas. They made sure students studied hard. He told his followers to learn his teachings about numbers and letters. Once they did, they would understand deep truths. These lessons were taught like catechisms (question-and-answer lessons). Instead of meeting in mosques, they had monthly meetings called parliaments. These were often held outdoors. People could speak freely at these meetings.
Clarence 13X's group was first called the "Suns of Almighty God Allah." Or sometimes the "Blood Brothers." After Malcolm X's death, the group became known as the "Five Percenters." Or the "Five Percent Nation." The name came from the NOI's idea. They said five percent of the black community knew the truth about God. Clarence 13X saw his group as the five percent of the NOI that still held to truth. The other 95 percent were said to be unaware or corrupt.
Clarence 13X had a small group of helpers. Nine of them are called the "First Born" by Five Percenters. They are said to show his qualities. These helpers spread the group's teachings to young people. Many young members took African names. Clarence 13X taught Afrocentrism (focus on African culture). He often wore a dashiki. Male Five Percenters often wore tasseled kufis. Female members wore colorful African head wraps.
Clarence 13X's followers saw him as a divine messenger. They called him "Father Allah." This put him in a higher place than Elijah Muhammad. Elijah Muhammad had called himself the "Messenger of Allah." Eventually, Clarence 13X stopped calling himself a Muslim. He spoke against worshipping Fard Muhammad. He called him a "mystery God." He did not like the idea of an invisible God. He felt it made people weak. He told his followers to learn about and respect other spiritual traditions.
Women who joined were first called "nurses." But Clarence 13X renamed them "earths" in 1967. He taught that women were not gods. He believed men created them and they did not have creative power. He said women could support life, like the Earth. But only men could make children. Clarence 13X had a patriarchal view. This meant men were seen as the main leaders. The Five Percenters were mostly male at first. He supported fathers arranging their daughters' marriages. He told women to serve their husbands as God. Having many children was encouraged.
Challenges and Arrest
NOI leaders were angry that Clarence 13X taught their secret doctrines. One of their captains told him to stop, but he refused. Clarence 13X also had family problems. His children did not see him as divine. There was tension between his sons and his core followers.
On December 9, 1964, Clarence 13X was shot twice. This happened in a basement in Harlem. He was taken to Harlem Hospital and released. He later said he died and came back to life. Some followers saw this as him being like a Christ figure. The shooter's identity and reason are unknown. Some think it was a robbery or unpaid gambling debts. His friends said he told them not to seek revenge. While recovering, Clarence 13X changed his group's greetings. He used English instead of Arabic. This helped separate his movement from other Islamic groups.
The Five Percenters soon got attention from the media and police. Local newspapers wrote negative stories. They called the group violent or a street gang. The New York Amsterdam News said Clarence 13X threatened to harm white children. This was if his group did not get government money. In 1965, the FBI started investigating his group. They may have given exaggerated rumors to the press. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover called Clarence 13X a "Harlem rowdy." He worried he would join more dangerous groups. The FBI kept a detailed file on Clarence 13X. In 1967, Hoover called him a threat to President Lyndon B. Johnson. He sent a file about him to the United States Secret Service.
After Malcolm X's death in 1965, Clarence 13X was sad. But he did not go to the funeral. In May 1965, he and some friends were told to leave Mosque No. 7 by a police officer. They left and caused some trouble nearby. More police arrived and arrested Clarence 13X. He refused to give his name. He was charged with assault. About 60 of his followers came to his court hearing. They were removed for shouting. Clarence 13X said he was innocent. He told the judge he was Allah. He warned the city would face problems if he was not released. The judge set his bail at $9,500.
In June, about 50 Five Percenters protested outside the court. Some were arrested for making Molotov cocktails. In July, the court sent Clarence 13X to Bellevue Hospital Center for a health evaluation. While there, he gained some new followers. He also talked to followers through a hospital window. He told Five Percenters to resist attempts by future NOI leader Louis Farrakhan to convert them.
In November 1965, Clarence 13X was found unable to stand trial. He was sent to a state hospital. Doctors said he had "delusions of grandeur." He faced being held indefinitely. Many Five Percenters visited him at the hospital. He also taught other patients. He converted one young white man. This person later became a dedicated follower.
While Clarence 13X was in the hospital, the Five Percenters continued to teach. He told his followers to use different names than those in the NOI. This was to make their group distinct. After learning enough of the group's ideas, members could use "Allah" as a last name. Sometimes they used "God" as a first name. This showed Clarence 13X's teaching that black men were gods. And that each member should worship himself. His followers often took the name Allah. But they would not call themselves Allah in his presence. This showed respect for his authority. In March 1967, Clarence 13X was released from the hospital. This was due to a Supreme Court decision in 1966. It limited how long mentally ill people could be held without trial.
Working with the City and His Death
In mid-1967, New York City mayor John Lindsay wanted to connect with leaders in poor neighborhoods. The New York Police Department (NYPD) was concerned about Clarence 13X. So the mayor sent his aide, Barry Gottehrer, to meet him. Clarence 13X was friendly during the meeting. He asked for more bus routes and school funding. He later attended a meeting of black leaders at the mayor's home.
The city provided buses for Five Percenters to go to a park. With help from the National Urban League, they got an empty store. It became a school called the Allah School in Mecca. It aimed to help young people prepare for college. There were soon problems between the Five Percenters and the school's leaders. Clarence 13X wanted more control over what was taught. He also had trouble finding good teachers. Police often visited the school. They wanted to make sure students were not becoming too radical.
In February 1968, Mayor Lindsay estimated there were 500 to 700 Five Percenters. Some of Clarence 13X's followers tried to start their own groups. They called themselves prophets. They kept parts of Five Percenter beliefs but focused on different things.
After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, Lindsay worried about riots in Harlem. He went to Harlem to show his sadness. Clarence 13X and his followers walked with him. Clarence 13X also told his followers to try to stop violence and stealing. City leaders praised him for his efforts. They agreed to help him publish a book of Five Percenter teachings. Clarence 13X later said his past teachings about racial hatred were wrong. He described himself as "neither anti-white nor pro-black." He saw some of his white contacts as helpers for his teachings. His white follower was released from state care. He joined Clarence 13X in Harlem. He was accepted as a Five Percenter. Clarence 13X said his group valued "civilization" more than race.
Clarence 13X made some statements that seemed to go against his radical image. In the late 1960s, he supported things like capital punishment. He also supported respecting the U.S. flag and American involvement in Vietnam. He allowed his supporters to attend Christmas celebrations. These changes may have been to reduce police suspicion. Clarence 13X was allowed to visit a juvenile detention center. He spoke to young Five Percenters there. He even got some changes from the institution's leaders. Some black leaders did not like him. This was because he supported the mayor and did not use revolutionary language. Once, he spoke to black Marxists about numerology.
Around 1968, Clarence 13X had a son with a young follower named Gusavia. That year, Gloria Steinem wrote an article about him in New York magazine. She blamed the NOI for the earlier attempt to kill him. She said they were angry because he claimed to be Allah, above Elijah Muhammad. Clarence 13X also got attention from international media. This included a Canadian TV show.
Death
By 1969, Clarence 13X was sleeping very little. He feared he would be killed. He told his followers to stay strong if he died. On June 12, he spent time with his followers at their school. He left the school between 2:00 and 3:00 am on June 13. Then he gambled for an hour or two. He went to Dora Smith's house to rest, as he sometimes did. Three attackers ambushed him in the lobby of her building. They shot him, and he died. That morning, people from the mayor's office met with his family. The mayor later visited the Five Percenters' school to express his sadness.
Clarence 13X's funeral was held four days after his death. About 400 people attended. A procession followed through Harlem. His death left the group without a clear leader. Most of his followers were teenagers at that time.
Most local news sources wrote positive things about Clarence 13X after he died. The Daily News linked his murder to another recent death. They called it part of a "Muslim War." The mayor believed the NYPD told them this and was angry. Louis Farrakhan denied being responsible. He said he had good relations with Clarence 13X. NYPD investigators thought he was killed by an extortion group. An arrest was made in August 1969. But the suspect denied involvement, and charges were dropped. Five Percenters have suggested different killers. These include the CIA, the NOI, or an unhappy follower.
See also
- List of unsolved murders
Images for kids
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Clarence 13X standing between two of his followers
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Mosque No. 7 in 2009
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Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital
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John Lindsay in 1966
