After attending the FUBOH One Heartbeat event and also Ras
Daniel Babu’s health event, I have been contemplating the real meaning of
culture and community.
It seems that we have a lot of work to do in order to get to
that position of strength where we can be completely independent and self
actuating.
It seems that even within a movement such as Rastafari,
which is so fundamentally grounded in the Afrikan experience confusion about
our reason for being is still prevalent.
Dr Dennis Forsythe states: “Rastafari...a mystic religion resurrected
...in the West...embodying the great Afrikan spiritual traditions in the
lineage of Ausar (Osiris), Ra, Christ and the ancient prophets.” (Rastafari –
Healing of the Nation, New York, 1999)
This clearly places Rastafari in the context of ancient
cultural traditions and proclaims Rastafari to be something which was brought
to the West when we were brought here. It is therefore not something which we
have a right to play with. Dr Forsythe also said: “ It is more than a religion,
it is a counter-culture, offering an opposing Afrikanist definition and
vision of life and is not to be confused with “dreadlocks,” “reggae,” or “dance
hall” cultural expressions.” ( Forsythe, 1999)
As a people we are now metaphorically in therapy. A great
psychological damage has been done and this damage is in need of repair. It may
be a truism, but you cannot love anyone until you first love yourself.
Therefore it is necessary for each and every one of us
“Afrikans” to be allowed to create for ourselves sacred space, where no one
else has a right to enter. This space must be both individual and collective.
So, for all of those amongst us who want to charge the
healer s with the same crime as our oppressors, I ask will a psychiatrist tell
their patient to carry all their friends and family to a session with them. No!
Why, because that would be foolish. That space, must be a place where the
person in therapy can vent fully, uninhibited by the fear that what they say or
do will/may be held against them by their loved ones.
Therefore, the use of His Imperial Majesty’ speech to slap
those of us that call for unification amongst Afrikans first and foremost, is
both naive and disrespectful. It is my contention that His Imperial Majesty was
not speaking to Afrikans particularly in his speech, but to those who have and
continue to denigrate Afrikan humanity, be they black, white or any shade
in-between. Blackness and Afrikanness are quite obviously not the same thing.
However, melanin is a primary determinant in the makeup of an Afrikan.
Therefore, as Pan-Afrikans, Nationalists, Spiritualists and Revolutionaries we
call to our people to put RACE FIRST or as His Excellency Marcus Mosiah Garvey
stated: “In a world of wolves one should go armed and one of the most powerful
defensive weapons within the reach of Afrikan people is the practise of RACE
FIRST in all parts of the world. Yes – PUT YOUR RACE FIRST like all other races
do.” (His Excellency Marcus Mosiah Garvey)
