Who is ras?

Ras the Exhorter/Destroyer

Taking primarily the first title, but the second as the story progresses, Ras is the main black opponent to the Brotherhood whom the narrator has to deal with in Harlem. He espouses his beliefs loudly in the streets of Harlem, claims to be from the West Indies, and calls the narrator a traitor for not militantly supporting his race against the white establishment. He is first viewed when the narrator enters the city but becomes a much stronger force once he has joined the Brotherhood and stands in opposition to him. His supporters try to beat up black Brothers on numerous occasions and his tactics become more extreme as the book progresses. Once the brotherhood pulls its support out of Harlem, his power grows until he leads a race riot on horseback in the garb of an Abyssinian chieftain. As the Destroyer on this night, he orders for the narrator to be hanged. In primitive response, the narrator throws a spear at him which cleaves through his jaw.