Nuwaubian Nation
A black supremacist group, whose leader faced more charges of child molestation than anyone else in the history of the United States
1970s - present
Nuwaubian Nation is a black supremacist cult started by Dwight York in the 1970s. Their belief system mixes elements from several different religions, but they claim to be Native Americans descended from ancient Egyptians, who will soon be taken away by aliens to live in extraterrestrial kingdoms.
The FBI investigated the group in 1993 and discovered evidence of well over 1,000 counts of child molestation committed by York, the largest case of its kind in the history of the United States. He is currently serving a 135-year prison sentence but still has several devoted followers, some of which successfully became prison guards to help him.
Religion: New Age
Founder: Malachi (Dwight) York
Founded: 1970s in Brooklyn, New York
Size: 500 (2000) (2,000-3,000 members in the 1970's)
Location: Tama-Re, Georgia; Brooklyn, New York
Also called: United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors; Nuwaubianism; Ansaru Allah Community; Holy Tabernacle Ministries, United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors; Yamassee Native American Moors of the Creek Nation
Leader York is currently serving a 135-year sentence for child molestation and RICO violations (source)
The largest prosecution for child molestation directed at any individual in the United States (source)
Prosecutors cut back the number of counts against York from well over 1000 to slightly more than 200, because "they feared a jury simply wouldn't believe the magnitude of York's evil" (source)
Claimed that aliens would come and take members away to live in extraterrestrial kingdoms (source)
When leader Dwight York was arrested, four police officers resigned and became jail guards, allowing them to smuggle in religious literature, communicate with York, encourage inmates to rebel, and show favoritism to Nuwaubian prisoners (source)
Successfully convinced the local government to publish a proclamation promoting black supremacist beliefs (source)
Designated as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center for promoting black supremacy (source)
Members believed leader Dwight York was a god (source)
Other info:
Members developed a belief that they were descendants of the Yamasse Native Americans (source)
Leader Dwight York lived an extravagant lifestyle (source)
York had a significant influence on hip hop and Black culture in New York (source)
The hip-hop duo Outkast allegedly used imagery inspired by Nuwaubianism during their performance at the Grammy Awards in 2004 (source)
Other tags:
News report on the cult
News report on the cult
Member defending York