Not every narrative of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) the body that established Africa Liberation Day (ALD) in 1963 emphasises the crucial role of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I’s in its creation.  Yet the truth of the matter the oppositional stalemate of the Casablanca and Monrovia factions threatened to derail the whole project were it not for the supreme statesmanship of the Ethiopian regent who personally intervened to rescue the OAU from the jaws of defeat. (1)

The OAU’s Liberation Committee designated May 25th Africa Liberation Day, “and will organize popular demonstrations on that day.” (2)  The observance quickly spread throughout the Afrikan world community, dovetailing with the Black Liberation ideology espoused by the Rastafari Movement, itself inspired by His Imperial Majesty, that had been blossoming from its Jamaican base since the 1930s. (3)

In the UK ALD reached its height in the 1980s and especially the 1970s as typified by Vanley Burke’s iconic 1977 photograph of African Liberation Day in Handsworth Park. (4)  It’s probably no coincidence that during this period, according to Art Historian Professor Eddie Chambers (University of Texas), “Rastafari gripped the imagination of young Black Britain in ways, and to extent, never known before or since.”  This of course was accompanied by the irresistible channel of roots reggae music to convey the message. (5):

“Rastafari was, from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, one of the largest and important contributory factors in the cultural making of Black Britain.” (6)

While ALD remains fairly widely observed with a good handful of events every season, attendances are nowhere near its late 1970s heyday.  The supplanting of Rastafari as the pre-eminent cultural dynamic by other emergent formations the Afrikan community must be seen as a major factor. (7)

It certainly wasn’t that Rastafari went anywhere, it has maintained a steady, faithful base but its impact beyond the faithful in the wider community was not sustained for a myriad of reasons.  Yet, we saw evidence that the foundation remained intact when Rastafari Movement (UK) organised the first Emancipation Day March from Brixton to Parliament Square in 2014 which has arguably been the best attended to date.  (8)  Alas, 2014 was the only march organised by RMUK with different groupings arranging the subsequent ones.

Interestingly, Bob Marley, reggae music’s (and some would say Rastafari’s) biggest icon, has achieved unparalleled popularity forty-one years after his 1981 death.  In 2021 his Legend compilation outsold the rest of the top-selling albums combined – six times! (9) There’s an award-winning West-End musical (Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical) based on his life (10) and recent exhibition (Bob Marley One Love Experience) at London’s swanky Saatchi Gallery. (11)  But although a reggae superstar and a purveyor of rebel music to boot, Marley’s global acceptance, driven by capitalist appropriation (with the active participation of the family according to some) couldn’t be further removed from the dynamic that fuelled the activism of the 1970s and 1980s. (12) Indeed, one young attendee of the One Love Experience remarked that all they learned about Bob Marley other than he was a singer was that he played football.  So any resurgence of the Rastafari influence in the wider community may have to negotiate the complex legacy of the “Reggae King of The World” to assert a clear vision.

As indicated above, the 2014 Emancipation Day March demonstrated the capacity of Rastafari to mobilise the community in large numbers and we can only speculate how things would have transpired had they stayed at the helm in subsequent years.  (13) Moreover, authors like Bro. Makonnen Sankofa have written about The Rise Of Rastafari, describing it as a “black nationalist and Pan-African movement that has a spiritual nucleus,” which has become a global phenomenon.  (14)  However, going forward he advocates “a new faculty of interpretation outside of the Bible… shaped more by drawing on our own primary information that we have acquired from our experiences of Africa in recent times.” (15)

So as we move into celebrating Afrika Liberation Day, it is appropriate to examine the contribution of Ras Tafari and the Rastafari Movement to the creation of the observance itself and the global liberation fight as a whole.

(1) Asfa-Wossen Asserate (2005) King of Kings: The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.  Haus Publishing. p. 253-4.; Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos (2017) Monrovia, Casablanca & Addis Abeba: The Struggle, the Story & Legacy  Of African Unity. Public Lecture – RL Vol XI No XVIII, CXXIV. https://www.academia.edu/34032567/Monrovia_Casablanca_and_Addis_Abeba_The_Story_and_Legacy_of_attempts_at_African_Unity_RL_Vol_XI_No_XVIII_CXXIV_MMXVII

(2) W. Mangwende (01/01/84) The OAU: An analysis of the function, problems and prospects of the organization. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/AJA03790622_28

(3) Makonnen Sankofa (2022) The Rise Of Rastafari: Resistance, Redemption and Repatriation (Revised Edition). Peaches Publications. p. 16

(4) Karin Andreasson (25/06/14) Vanley Burke’s best shot: African Liberation Day in Birmingham, 1977. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/25/vanley-burke-my-best-shot-ph()5)

(5) Eddie Chambers (2017) Roots & Culture: Cultural Politics in The Making Of Black Britain. Bloomsbury Visual Arts. p. 84

(6) Chambers. p. 100

(7) Ibid.

(8) Rastafari Movement (UK) (2014) Emancipation Day March 1st August 2014 from Brixton to Parliament Square. (DVD). Negus Talli Productions

(9) Dani Mallick (13/01/22) Bob Marley Outsold The Rest Of 2021’s Top 10 Reggae Albums Combined (And Then Some).  https://www.dancehallmag.com/2022/01/13/news/bob-marley-outsold-the-rest-of-2021s-top-10-reggae-albums-combined-and-then-some.html

(10) Caitlin Devlin (11/04/22) Who won this year’s Olivier Awards – and where to see the shows. https://discover.ticketmaster.co.uk/theatre/who-won-this-years-olivier-awards-and-where-to-see-the-shows-52927/

(11) David Katz (03/02/22) Bob Marley One Love Experience review – corporate exhibition can’t satisfy the soul. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/feb/03/bob-marley-one-love-experience-review-saatchi-gallery-london

(12) Beth Kelly (17/01/15) Capitalism and the Legacy of Bob Marley: An Influential History. https://musiccourtblog.com/2015/01/17/capitalism-and-the-legacy-of-bob-marley-an-influential-history/; gittapearl (29/03/15) Has Bob Marley’s legacy been tainted? https://gideongroove.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/has-bob-marleys-legacy-been-tainted/

(13) Ibuka (05/08/14) Reparations March 1st August 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X08uZgEwvE

(14) Sankofa. p. 4

(15) Sankofa. p. 147

we ask the question:

What is the Rastafari contribution to Afrikan Liberation?

1) Does the Pan-Afrikan community as a whole fully acknowledge the role of H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I in establishing the OAU and ALD?

2) How did Rastafari “grip the imagination of young Black Britain” in the 70s and 80s and did it loosen in the 80s and 90s?

3) How has the popularisation/appropriation of the Marley legacy affected the Movement?

4) Is Rastafari really on the rise again?

Our Special Guests:

Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant.  Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.

Empress Makeda: President of the Ethiopian World Federation Local 3 has lived in the city for over 50 years, having lived in Ghana for brief periods and visiting Jamaica many times from a child.  She has also visited Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Kenya, Barbados, St Lucia, Martinique & Trinidad.  Having grown up in the Rasta House in St. Agnes Place Empress Makeda now has Ghanaian citizenship, land, a registered business in Ghana and a Ghanaian passport.  Her lasting wish is to settle in Ghana, support #blur the borders in Africa and support brethrin & sistrin to repatriate. Those interested in finding more about the EWF can e-mail: ewfinclocal3@yahoo.com.

Bro. Makonnen Sankofa:  is a devout Rasta and journalist and author of the books, The Rise of Rastafari, which has just been revised in an expanded edition and Life In Gambia: The Smiling Coast Of Afrika, both Amazon best-sellers. Bro. Makonnen is also the founder of Africa Repatriation Group UK, which is a network to connect people together for those want to repatriate to Africa.  He is also founder of the Black Books Show an online webinar showcasing Afrikan authors from around the world and a fortnightly radio show of the same name on Saturday afternoons on galaxyafiwe.net.

Ras Cos Tafari: has been involved in community advocacy works for many years including the establishment of an African Caribbean Housing Association, a RasTafari Saturday School and a RasTafari Radio station. He is a Baptised member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.  Since 2012 he has Project Managed & Co-Directed the ‘RasTafari-In-Motion’ Exhibition, which has been displayed in Ethiopia, Jamaica and various cities in the United Kingdom, including the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton and the Hibiscus Centre in East London. He is currently a member of the Ethiopian World Federation in London and IDOR~(Iniversal Development of RasTafari) based in the US. Ras Cos is formerly Formerly a recording artist his current works are focused around publishing. (www.rascostafari.com;  www.rastafari-in-motion.org). He is also part of the Healing Heritage youth resource. (healingheritage.info@gmail.com)

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