Clarence 13X

Clarence 13X, also known as Allah the Father (born Clarence Edward Smith) (February 22, 1928 – June 13, 1969), was an American religious leader and the founder of the Five-Percent Nation.

He was born in Virginia and moved to New York City as a young man, before serving in the United States Army during the Korean War.

After returning to New York, he learned that his wife had joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) and followed her, taking the name Clarence 13X.

Clarence Edward Smith was born on February 22, 1928, and raised in Danville, Virginia, with his five brothers and one sister.

During his childhood, Virginia was racially segregated, and he witnessed incidents of racism, including a fight between his father and a white man that was sparked by racial tensions.

In 1946, he moved with his mother to New York City, where they settled in Harlem.

He attended only two years of high school.

In 1949, Smith fathered a child, Clarence Jowers, with Willieen Jowers.

Although he married a woman named Dora Smith in 1950, he fathered another child, Otis Jowers, with Willieen in 1951; he also had several sons and daughters with Dora.

Smith joined the U.S. Army in the early 1950s and was stationed in Korea from 1952 to 1954, where he served as an infantryman in the Korean War.

After returning to the U.S., he lived in Harlem and served in the United States Army Reserve until 1960.

During his military service, he became skilled in karate.

Dora Smith embraced the Nation of Islam (NOI) while her husband was away and he converted after returning to New York.

By 1961, he had registered at Mosque No. 7 and changed his name to Clarence 13X in accordance with NOI practice.

Before his conversion, he often smoked marijuana and gambled, activities forbidden by the NOI.

After joining the group, he studied the NOI's doctrines and quickly progressed within their organizational structure, possibly thanks to skills learned in the military.

His responsibilities included teaching martial arts and serving on the Fruit of Islam security team.

He served in the group as a security officer, martial arts instructor, and student minister before leaving for an unclear reason in 1963.

He enjoyed gambling, which was condemned by the NOI, and disagreed with their teachings that Wallace Fard Muhammad was a divine messenger.

After leaving the NOI, Clarence 13X formed a new group with other former members.

He concluded that all black men were divine and took the name Allah to symbolize this status.

He rejected the belief in an invisible God, teaching that God could be found within each black man.

In his view, women were "earths" that complemented and nurtured men; he believed that they should be submissive to men.

He and a few assistants retained some NOI teachings and pioneered novel interpretations of them.

They devised teachings about the meaning of letters and numerals: understanding the meaning of each letter and number was said to provide deep truths about God and the universe.

Clarence 13X referred to his new movement as the Five Percenters, referencing a NOI teaching that only five percent of the population knew and promoted the truth about God.

One way that he distinguished his group from his previous faith was by rejecting dress codes or strict behavioral guidelines—he allowed the consumption of alcohol, and at times, the use of illegal drugs.

He was also recognized as a skilled speaker and reached the rank of "student minister" at Mosque No. 7. By 1963, he had come to the attention of the FBI—informants recorded his presence at rallies led by Malcolm X.

Clarence 13X was shot by an unknown assailant in 1964 but survived the attack.

After an incident several months later in which he and several of his followers vandalized stores and fought with police, he was arrested and placed in psychiatric care.

He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

He referred to himself as "Allah", which had become his preferred name.

He was released from custody after a 1966 ruling by the Supreme Court placed limits on confinement without trial.

Although he initially taught his followers to hate white people, he eventually began to cooperate with white city leaders.

They gave him funding for a night school, and in return, he tried to prevent violence in Harlem.

Clarence 13X was fatally shot in June 1969; the identity of his killer is unknown.

The mayor of New York City and several other prominent leaders expressed condolences to his followers.

Although the Five Percenters faltered in the immediate aftermath of his death, the movement rebounded after new leadership emerged.

The group took a non-hierarchical approach to leadership, and no single leader replaced Clarence 13X.

He has been held in high regard by Five Percenters, who celebrate his birthday as a holiday.