Grounation Day: Black Nationalism Will Succeed

Grounation Day: Black Nationalism Will Succeed.

   On April 21st, 1966, Haile Selassie I, landed in Kingston Airport in Kingston Jamaica. For the Rastafarians, followers of Rastafari a liberation theology/movement rooted deeply in Black Nationalism and Afrocentrism, Haile Selassie I was literally the second coming of God (Called “Jah,” a pronunciation of the word “Yahweh”). About One Hundred Thousand Rastafarians filled the tarmac of Kingston Airport, smoking marijuana and playing drums in the rain waiting for Haile Selassie I. As soon as the wheels of his plane touched the ground, the skies immediately began to clear, a sign to all that God had really arrived in Jamaica.
   Selassie’s visit to Jamaica was a sign. Not only a sign to Rastas that Jah was on Earth, but also that a Black Nation was more than a possible future, a goal unachievable by the current generation. Selassie’s visit showed that Black Nationalism can work in nations outside of Africa, in the West, and specifically in Jamaica. One may go as far as to ponder that Selassie I feels Jamaica will be the leading Western Black Nation, an example to all striving to achieve a Black Nation in the West.
   There are multiple reasons why Selassie’s visit can be interpreted as a sign of the beginning of successful Black Nationalism. Jamaica’s modern situation, Selassie’s interaction on his visit, and the time that Selassie I choose to visit can be broken down and investigated for symbols of Black Nationalistic hope.
   Selassie I visited Jamaica in 1966. This was four years after Jamaica’s independence from the West Indies Federation, a British based attempt at unifying the West Indies into what they expected to become a single nation (Similar to the European Union today). Even while under the West Indies Federation, Jamaica had the largest budget and political power, with the initial political parties being formed by Jamaican Statesmen.
Selassie I’s visit four years after independence from this Federation bolstered Rastafari acceptance and knowledge. Before Selassie I’s visit to Jamaica, Rastafarians were outcasts of society. In a majority Protestant nation, they were marginalized for their radical afro-centric based religious beliefs. Selassie I’s visit changed that entirely, the presence of a national leader outside of Jamaica acknowledging the existence of Rastafari positively led to Jamaica handling Rastafari in a less shamed manner. The acceptance of Rastafari in Jamaica and on the international stage created an acceptability of Reggae, a highly Afro-Centric and Black Nationalistic form of music abroad. With Reggae’s acceptance traveled Rastafari. With music media being such an easy spreading form of information transportation, Rastafari quickly spread globally when Reggae did. Rastafari therefore became a globally acknowledged way of life due to Selassie I’s visit to Jamaica.
Once Selassie I began traveling through Jamaica, he interacted heavily with Rastafari leaders and elders. These interactions show Selassie I clearly taking a position in favor of Black Nationalism outside of Africa. For Rastas, this literally means Jah (God) is taking the side of Black Nationalism. God taking the side of the down-trodden or over-pressed is a large part of Liberation Theology, especially Black Liberation Theology.
Rasta leaders were eager to inform Selassie I about their plans to move back to Africa to Zion (Ethiopia). Selassie I’s response to Rasta leaders though, wasn’t encouragement to move to Ethiopia. Selassie I encouraged Rastas to liberate Jamaica before moving to Africa. This led to the phrase “liberation before repatriation.” In telling the Rastas this, Selassie I is acknowledging Jamaica’s role as a leading symbol and role model of Black Nationalism outside of Africa. Before moving to Africa we must liberate ourselves in our hand-me-down lands. This lesson can be applied to many forms of Black and Minority organization. Before Black Organizations and Unions can interact with others to reach the ultimate goal of cooperation, they must be organized and aligned from within. Local branches must be organized and settled before one can expand or ally with other branches. A popular idea in many liberation theologies is that the followers don’t await the Kingdom of God. They believe the Kingdom is either here already or coming and the goal of the followers is to align themselves with the Kingdom. Emphasis is placed on local organization before external organization (we must align ourselves and make ourselves “proper” for the Kingdom of God before becoming part of it).
During Selassie I’s visit to Jamaica, Jamaican authorities expected Selassie I to rebuke Rastafarians for their belief in Him as the Messiah. To the contrary, Selassie I encouraged Rastafari movements. He gave Rasta elders Gold Medallions, national awards of Ethiopia. This move had a huge meaning to Rastas in Jamaica, especially considering gold is one of the colors associated with the Rastafari movement. The gold in the Rastafari color scheme symbolizes the riches that Africa holds.
On the opposite end, Selassie I gave Jamaica Politicians coffin shaped cigarette boxes. This move by Selassie I can be taken to mean multiple things. To start, the coffins are obviously symbolic of death. Selassie I is again openly taking a stance in favor of just Black Nationalism in Jamaica. Selassie I acknowledges that there is corruption in Jamaica’s political system, and that a Black Nation can’t truly be achieved unless it is just to its population.
To another end, Selassie I’s coffin shaped cigarette boxes could be Selassie I’s way of taking a stance on the legalization of marijuana in Jamaica and most of the West. By giving politicians coffin shaped cigarette boxes, Selassie I may have been saying that tobacco is more lethal than marijuana, and even went so far as to reward the Rastas for their use of marijuana.
One must ask, generations after Haile Selassie I’s visit to Jamaica, were His perceived predictions of a Black Nation found? Was His encouragement and words of wisdom enough to plant the seeds of what would be a new Western Black Nation? To answer this, one must analyze Jamaica’s present status. For the sake of readers, this will be briefly summarized.
Jamaica today is one of the few West Indian states to have never entered a civil war since its liberation (although there is consistent political violence), and one of the few to not have been under the rule of a dictator.
Although Jamaica maintains political and international stability, it’s far from the ideal of a Black Nation. There are many lessons to be learned from Jamaica’s follies. One of the most important lessons may be to avoid entangling loans from other Western nations or banks. Loans such as those accepted from the International Monetary Fund (primarily backed by the United States) have been crucial in destroying Jamaica’s economy. The IMF can easily be compared to a global loan shark, with interest rates at or higher than 25% per year. The IMF also requires with its loans drastic macroeconomic changes to a nation. Jamaica’s involvement with the IMF left it subject to IMF regulations, which sent the economy into a nose dive. In 1978, the first year of Jamaican involvement with the IMF, the Jamaican dollar was trading at a higher rate than the US dollar. By 1995, when Jamaica finally left the IMF relationship, the Jamaican dollar was worth about two U.S. cents. Jamaica was also left with 4.6 billion dollars of debt (To learn more about this huge IMF disaster in detail, I suggest watching the documentary “Life and Debt”). Jamaica wasn’t the only nation the IMF caused to fall into economic turmoil. Several third world countries that joined the IMF had their economies uprooted and destroyed.
Outside of Jamaica’s income, the nation’s second worst folly is probably its political corruption. Political groups affiliated with local gangs cause violence on some streets on the island. The violence can also be linked to Jamaica’s long standing position in the drug trade as an en-route point between Columbia and the U.S. For years, Jamaica has had one of the highest murder rates in the world, usually ranking somewhere among the top three. This violence is a limiting factor to both Jamaica’s organization and economy. Until this violence can be stopped or limited to a substantially lower percent, Jamaica can’t be a Black Nation. As Selassie I said, Jamaica must be liberated first.
In short, Selassie I’s visit to Jamaica has the signs of a predicted Black Nation in the West, specifically in Jamaica. Selassie I showed optimism and belief in this Black Nation, the same kind of optimism and belief we should all have. Jamaica and other West Indian nations are well on their way to this goal of being Black Nations, but entangling Western economic alliances such as the IMF, Political Corruption, and violence constantly trip them on their road. For a Black Nation to really exist outside of Africa we must be economically independent, politically just, and socially stable and peaceful. Once we liberate ourselves, then we may move on.