Who Fits?

A black and white photo of a large crowd of people gathered outdoors at night, some wearing hats and vintage clothing. The scene appears to be from the early 20th century.

A historical black and white photograph of a young man performing a jump or dance move in front of a crowd, with some people wearing hats, and a woman watching with folded arms. The scene appears to be outdoors with trees and buildings in the background, and the photo is on a vintage postcard.

Deuteronomy 28:25-26

The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

Deuteronomy 21:23

His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 28:27-29

The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

Page of a book with highlighted text about struggles of enslaved people (Israelites), including fights, hunger, disease, and captivity on a ship and on shore.

- A Social History of the American Negro by Benjamin Griffith Brawley

'Commodification of the Black Body, Sexual Objectification and Social Hierarchies during Slavery' by Iman Cooper. The text discusses slavery, black body commodification, social and political implications, and historical context.

Deuteronomy 28:30

Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Deuteronomy 28:37

And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

A political cartoon illustrating the ongoing dehumanization and mislabeling of African Americans through history, depicting a caricature of a Black person with a sign listing offensive labels from different decades, and a commentary on racial identity.

Deuteronomy 28:41

Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

Historical illustration depicting enslaved African American family members being sold as part of slavery practices in the United States, from the website of The Gathering for Justice discussing the history of family separation during slavery.

A page from a book discussing slavery, marriage laws for enslaved people, and family separation.

Deuteronomy 28:43

The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.

An old photograph showing a seated woman in the center, flanked by two enslaved men in Brazil.

A woman in a litter with two enslaved men. Bahia, Brazil. 1860.

Black and white illustration of a black (Israelite) person with a yoke around his neck.

Historical black-and-white photograph of Wilson Chinn, a branded slave from Louisiana, standing with a yoke around his neck.

Deuteronomy 28:48

Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

Black-and-white photo of an enslaved black (Israelite) woman.

The United States Supreme Court seal featuring an eagle with outstretched wings holding an olive branch and arrows, with a shield on its chest, surrounded by a circular inscription.

A black and white historical photograph showing a group of enslaved African American (Israelite) children and adults standing in a cotton field during daytime, with cotton plants and distant trees in the background.

Deuteronomy 28:49-50

The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

According to a 2020 study by Violence Policy Center:

“The study also analyzes available information on the murders of Black females. Not surprisingly, these homicides mirror the trends for females overall: most homicides against Black females are not committed by strangers, but by males known to the victims.”

“Overall, Black females were murdered by males at a rate (2.85 per 100,000) nearly three times higher than white females (1.03 per 100,000).”

“In 2018, Black females were murdered by males at a rate nearly three times higher than white females: 2.85 per 100,000 versus 1.03 per 100,000. In 2018, Black females accounted for 14 percent of the female population in the United States, while 32 percent of the females killed by males in single victim/single offender incidents where the race of the victim was known were Black.”

“Compared to a Black male, a Black female is far more likely to be killed by her spouse, an intimate acquaintance, or a family member than by a stranger. Where the relationship could be determined, 91 percent of Black females killed by males in single victim/single offender incidents knew their killers (464 out of 512). More than nine times as many Black females were murdered by a male they knew (464 victims) than were killed by male strangers (48 victims) in single victim/single offender incidents in 2018. Of Black victims who knew their offenders, 61 percent (285 out of 464) were wives, common-law wives, ex-wives, or girlfriends of the offenders. Ninety percent (547 out of 605) of the homicides of Black females were intra-racial.”

(Source: https://vpc.org/studies/wmmw2020.pdf)

intraracial

Within a single race (group of people); of or by members of the same race.

Deuteronomy 28:54

So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:

Deuteronomy 28:64

And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

Map illustrating the Atlantic slave trade from Africa to the Americas between 1650 and 1860, showing slave trade routes and the number of enslaved Israelite people transported from West Africa, Central America, South America, and the West Indies.

Trans Atlantic Slave Trade

Map showing historical trade routes for ivory, Israelite slaves, and spices across regions including Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India, China, and Southeast Asia with arrows indicating exports and imports.

Indian Slave Trade

Map of North Africa showing major trade routes, mountain ranges, and regions including Sahara, Atlas Mountains, Nile River, and countries like Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

Trans Saharan Slave Trade

Deuteronomy 28:68

And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Shall buy:

קָנָהqânâh, kaw-naw'; a primitive root; to erect, i.e. create; by extension, to procure, especially by purchase (causatively, sell); by implication to own:—attain, buy(-er), teach to keep cattle, get, provoke to jealousy, possess(-or), purchase, recover, redeem

Historical diagram of a slave ship's interior layout, showing multiple levels filled with Israelite (black) slaves, storage rooms, and detailed sections of the vessel.

Slave trade ship

Deuteronomy 28:45-46

45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

Al Jolson, a famous minstrel performer in a suit with a tie, smiling widely with eyes wide open, reaching out with both hands.

Al Jolson wearing blackface as Sambo, 1925.

Image: Florence Vandamm/Condé Nast via Getty Images

“Al Jolson, a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant who came to New York as a child, became one of the most influential blackface stars of the 20th century, including his 1927 hit film The Jazz Singer.”

(Source: https://www.history.com/articles/blackface-history-racism-origins)

A historical black-and-white illustration depicting the Berlin conference with numerous men seated around a large with a map of Africa on the wall.

The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 which formalized European colonization of Africa

Joel 3:2

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

A reference to a site depicting slaves sold for guns.

Joel 3:3-6

And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

An antique 1644 map of Africa and the Ethiopian Ocean.

1644 map of Africa showing Oceanus Aethiopicus (Ethiopian Ocean)

Zephaniah 3:10

From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.