Is the Black Hebrew Isrealite Religion a cult?

Most people probably haven’t heard of the Black Hebrew Israelites. Those who have encountered them in American cities likely remember them as nothing more than street preachers in tacky garments, incoherently ranting on street corners.

But in recent years they have been gaining notoriety. During the viral standoff at the Lincoln Memorial with the Covington Catholic students, the confrontation started with Black Hebrew Israelites hurling insults at the students, calling them “a bunch of incest babies” and “dirty ass little crackers“. In December 2019, a gunman who adhered to an extreme version of Black Hebrew ideology shot up a Kosher supermarket in New Jersey.