Yahweh ben Yahweh facts for kids

Yahweh ben Yahweh (born Hulon Mitchell Jr.; October 27, 1935 – May 7, 2007) was an American religious leader, black separatist and founder of the Nation of Yahweh, a new religious movement headquartered in Florida that had thousands of black American devotees at its peak. He preached that Jesus is black but white devils are in charge temporarily, and was accused of teaching hate. Yahweh was later indicted on three counts of federal racketeering and extortion charges, of which he was found not guilty. However, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.

Early life

Yahweh ben Yahweh was born Hulon Mitchell Jr. on October 27, 1935. One of 15 children born to Hulon Mitchell Sr., the minister of the Antioch Church of God in Christ in Enid, Oklahoma, and Pearl O. Mitchell (née Leatherman), pianist for the same congregation.

After leaving Oklahoma, Mitchell joined the military and then attended law school. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where in the 1960s he joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) and took the name Hulon X. After leaving the NOI in the late 1960s, he became a faith healing Christian preacher and named himself Father Mitchell, fashioning himself after Father Divine and Samuel "Father Jehovia" Morris, two African-American ministers and self-proclaimed divine connections to God who were active during the early 20th century. Mitchell arrived in Miami, Florida in 1978, where he gathered members of the city's Black Hebrew Israelite congregations and founded the Nation of Yahweh.

Leader of the Nation of Yahweh

The Nation of Yahweh set up its headquarters in Liberty City, Florida in 1979.

Broadly classified as a branch of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, Mitchell's doctrine emphasized the belief that God and all of the prophets of the Bible were black and that blacks would gain the knowledge of their true history through Mitchell himself. He also characterized whites and Jews as infidels and oppressors. Mitchell emphasized loyalty to himself as the son of God, Yahweh.

Mitchell's business and charity efforts earned him respect in the community. Then-Miami mayor Xavier Suárez declared "Yahweh ben Yahweh Day" on October 7, 1990, a month before Ben Yahweh's indictment.

Last years and death

In 2006, as he became increasingly ill with prostate cancer, ben Yahweh’s attorney, Jayne Weintraub, petitioned the U.S. District Court for his release from parole to permit him to "die with dignity".

Mitchell died on May 7, 2007 at the age of 71. The location was not disclosed. "Yahweh will be remembered and mourned by the millions of people that he touched through prayer and teachings", his lawyers, Jayne Weintraub and Steven Potolsky, said in a joint statement.

Television

The story of the police investigation and prosecution of Yahweh ben Yahweh is the subject of an episode of The FBI Files entitled "Temple of Fear" (Season 3, Episode 10) as well as an Investigation Discovery Channel episode of Most Infamous (Season 2, Episode1).

Family

One of Mitchell's siblings is his younger sister, Leona Mitchell, a soprano who sang at the Metropolitan Opera.

See also

• Robert Rozier, murderer associated with Yahweh ben Yahweh's organization
• Black Hebrew Israelites
• Zebra murders
• List of messiah claimants
• List of people claimed to be Jesus
• Messiah complex
• Black supremacy