Mordecai Herman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mordecai Herman
|
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Mordecai Herman
|
| Occupation | Black Hebrew Israelite leader |
Mordecai Herman was a very important religious leader in New York City. He helped start the Black Hebrew Israelites movement there. He created the Moorish Zionist temple in Harlem.
About Mordecai Herman
Mordecai Herman came to New York City from the Caribbean. He believed his family came from Ethiopia. Like other Black Hebrew Israelite leaders, he thought that people of African and Caribbean descent had family ties to Sephardi Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Herman knew how to speak Hebrew and some Yiddish. In 1921, he started the Moorish Zionist temple in Harlem. This was one of the first groups of Black Hebrew Israelites in New York City.
What the Temple Believed
The Moorish Zionist Temple combined several ideas:
- They believed that Black people were descendants of the ancient Israelites from the Bible.
- They included parts of traditional Judaism.
- They also used ideas from Christianity.
- They supported Pan-Africanism, which is a movement to unite all people of African descent.
Herman's Other Work
Mordecai Herman also supported the Garveyist movement. This movement was led by Marcus Garvey, who wanted to empower Black people around the world. Herman was a member of Garvey's group, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
Herman was a Zionist. This means he supported the idea of a shared homeland for Black Jews and others in Palestine.
His Legacy
Mordecai Herman's work is still remembered today. In 2016, a special painting called a mural was made in Jerusalem to honor him. The artist who painted it was Solomon Souza.
See also
