Greetings,

My intentions in the following is not to disrespect the sentiment of the original post, but rather to shed a bit of reality on the EXISTING RACISM in Jamaica. I will post several quotes below reflecting the racism which has always and continues to exist in Jamaica, from socio-economics, politics, etc. An interesting thing to note here is that for the exeption of one or two BLACK men, the majority of LEADERSHIP in Jamaica has been held by “mulattos”. We can therefore conclude that the skin games are not only played out in ameriKKKa, but wherever Black People live anywhere in the world.

For a long time in Jamaica, persons of dark skins were not perceived as being capable of accomplishing superior things although the country is 95% black.. Because of their integration in the power structure by the English, The mulattos became since the country independence its political leaders and its only recently that Patterson, a black man, became the Prime Minister.

“The Mulatto leadership of the newly formed PNP and JLP embraced the cultural and political presence of the British Empire. As such, national identity during the transition period to independence did not represent the cultural or economic needs of the African Jamaican populous. The conservative rhetoric of both parties instigated the anti-capitalist rhetoric espoused by Rastafarians”(Lake, p.46-47).

Let us consider the Six Founding Principles given to InI by Leonard Howell:

1. Hatred for the white race.
2. The complete superiority of the black race.
3. Revenge on whites for their wickedness.
4. The negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica.
5. Preparation to go back to Africa, and
6. Acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of black people. 39

There was a big controversy in 1998 when Sizzla came on stage at Sumfest and went into a rant about "bun the white people in Jamaica." This was reported in Vibe Magazine and Reggae Nucleus Magazine, among other places. It was all over rec.music.reggae (RMR). Some got real shocked and indignant. It was certainly no surprise to me, cause this anti-white man strain has always been one part of Rasta culture, no? Sizzla is a Bobo, who are into the black supremacy thing. Bob was from the Twelve Tribes, which was always multiracial in orientation. But Nyabinghi, the heartbeat riddim which is the foundation of reggae, comes from Kenya, and refers to warriors in the 1930s who were fighting British imperialism. Their slogan was "death to white oppressors." By 1960 in Jamaica this had evolved to "death to black and white oppressors." But a certain binary racialism has persisted among many Rastas. Bob was uniquely situated to help push Rastas towards the "One Love" or "One Blood" ideal. But even when he does so, he's still talking about slavery and colonialism. When Sizzla says "run white people out of Jamaica," there's an echo of Bob's "chase dem crazy Baldheads out of town." But with Bob, there are always many interpretations possible. A Baldhead can be "the whitemon," but it can also be a blackmon without dreads. Or any unbeliever. So there are all sorts of ironies at play when Bob goes to England and sings "didn't my people before me slave for this country" and "chase dem crazy baldheads out of town." To an almost all-white audience!
http://www.bobmarley.com/blackhistory/stephens2.html

Can we really conclude that the racial issues are only experienced by “American based Rastas” and not Jamaican Rastas?