Could Tupac be the Black Jesus?

Now before you go all ballistic and label this post as blasphemous, note I wasn't the first to inquire such parallelism. I am in my fav store , Barnes and Noble, (Shout out to Brooke!) and picked up a book of essays by one of my favorite authors: Micheal Eric Dyson. In Open Mike he has a chapter called "Searching for Black Jesus". It starts with a letter from a zealous reader asking him his position of Tupac being dead and alive at the same time. I stopped there. I want to hypotheticaly rant for a bit to see if my thougths aligns with my idol's.

Jesus died as an advocate. He taught what he believed was the best way to live life. Others opposed, and killed him. Three days later he rose and continued to make an impact on his followers millenia later. In the paintings they depict Jesus as this long haired, humble possession-ed, zealous white male. Many blacks in the Christian audience refute this imagery. They say the painters have no proof of Jesus's race and often color their own Jesus as black. They call him "Black Jesus". But take a minute to consider other advocates. Could Tupac or MLK be the black Jesus?

Tupac said take me how I am, Im gonna say what I feel my people need and if you dont like it-fuck you and the police. He continued to do such until (POP) he was shot to death. Long after his death he still is "alive" to some people and ironically continues to make influential and impacting works. It seems as if Hip Hop acknowledges him (or Biggie) as the higher being. Its like if they weren't alive and did what they did, Hip Hop would not be where it is now. As if Tupac was sent from a higher being to bring such an impact on the Hip Hop community.



Martin Luther King was, as everybody knows, a very important proprietor in the African American Community. He died fighting for a cause and after his death his impact reigned long after. The African American community also pays tributes to him acknowledging his greatness for if he hadn't done what he had done- African Americans would not be where they are. Its as if he is also seen as God sent.


Seeing that Tupac and MLK both have profound impacts on their audience long after their death, that they both died fighting and serving as advocates for what they believed -- just as Jesus did on the Christian community--can we make the assumption that these two serve as Jesuses to their audiences?




. . P.S. --> MLK went to Morehouse =)