The Significance of Racial and Ethnic Consciousness to Anti-Racist Resistance: A Case Study on the Moorish Science Temple of America

While many people are familiar with the contributions of "Black" nationalist groups like The Nation of Islam (NOI) and the Black Panther Party (BPP) , few know the significance of the group the that helped spearheaded the nationalist movement in the United States. The Moorish Science Temple of America (MSTA/MST) was founded by Noble Drew Ali in the early part of the twentieth century. What made the MSTA significant was their bold presentation of self during a time of intense racial oppression and mistreatment of "Blacks". The MSTA was "a religious group catering to (B) lack Americans in numerous northern cities in the 1920s". As a minority group they were able to "create a space for themselves amid the oppression of the major white culture".