Résumé:
This thesis investigates the role of the Nation of Islam (NOI) as a religious, social, and political movement in the United States, focusing on its efforts to reconstruct a distinct Black identity as a means of resisting White hegemony during the Civil Rights Era. In doing so, the researchers examined the discourse articulated by its key leaders namely, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X,and Muhammad Ali Clay as they contributed to the construction of a counter-identity. The aim
was to see how these figures articulated discourses that were employed to redefine Black identity
as a means of resistance. The study utilizes Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to
examine how the NOI’s rhetoric managed to forge a new consciousness among African
Americans. Such consciousness was built on racial pride, Islam, separatism and self-reliance, and
resistance. Theoretically, the research has drawn upon Antonio Gramsci’s Cultural Hegemony
theory and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Critical Race Theory (CRT), focusing on Intersectionality. This
triangulation approach allowed for a holistic understanding of how identity is discursively
produced, ideologically situated to resist dominant narratives, and socially lived; shaped by, and in turn revealing the complex realities of white oppression. By tying together religion, race, and power, the NOI managed to reimagine a new Black identity celebrating Black dignity.
