Arnold Josiah Ford

Arnold Josiah Ford (23 April 1877 – 16 September 1935) was a Barbadian American spiritual leader, recognized as a pioneering figure of the Black Hebrew movement.

Following Garvey’s arrest and conviction, Ford founded the Beth B’Nai Israel Synagogue in a Harlem storefront, and declared himself to be a rabbi.

In 1930 he and a small group of Black Jews went to Ethiopia, where they participated in the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie.

They created a school, and acquired 800 acres (320 ha) of land for the purpose of uniting Black Jews of the Diaspora with their brothers already in Ethiopia.

[3] Shais Rishon, a Black Orthodox Jewish writer and activist, has claimed that "Ford never belonged nor converted to any branch of Judaism.