I suspect that some people are having trouble with this thread because they conveniently forget that the Rastafari Movement is a Black African Liberation Movement. They really should not expect the focus of restoring pride and dignity to Black Africans to be subverted to accommodate whites or anyone else for that matter.

We still exist in an anti-Black climate, and until there is redress for the crimes committed against the humanity of Blacks all over, and a cessation of hostilities to Blacks, then the focus should remain black African pride and dignity.

Restoring pride, respect, and perceptions of love towards the blackest of blacks should be among the primary objectives of any black movement. It is quite appropriate for blacks, especially dark-skinned blacks, to advocate that blacks should only marry, mate etc with blacks, and not to contribute to the fading out of blackness to appease the racial insensibilities of others. A black movement is primarily about building blacks, and all whites and others who get involved should only do so for this purpose. I have already explained the benefits whites can get from this. Since dark-skinned blacks were/are the worst victims of racial insensitivity, with the ongoing unconscious and conscious preference for paler skins, then a strong Black focus to counteract all the obvious and subtle ways dark-skinned blacks are disfavored, is quite in order.

Excuses about 'love' for someone of another race do not make the case, unless those who want to use that argument can define love as an objective, and they can explain a principled road map to it. I say this because if it was not for slavery and colonialism most blacks would only 'feel love' (strong psychological, emotional/romantic attachments) towards other blacks. Slavery and colonialism have resulted in many blacks not being easily able to 'feel love' for other blacks, through the psychological damage brought on by false white superiority that placed lighter shades closer to material progress, positions of authority, and the leading symbols of beauty. So the 'love' blacks claim to feel for people of other races could very well be part of the anti-Black slavery and colonial conditioning.

There is no reverse racism in shifting the paradigm in favor of the blackest of us, especially in a climate when dark-skinned blacks are most disenfranchised. There is no sexism in shifting to benefit dark-skinned black women. Generally speaking people did not think it was racism when Native American Indians set up programs to address the disenfranchisement of Indians. People do not think it was bias for Jews (which is not a race) to set up programs to redress the wrongs done to them by Germany. Their programs are primarily about addressing wrongs done to them as a group, with the expressed purpose of trying to derive benefits for their groups. Nowhere do these groups openly advocate that they should go and mate with other people. I am not saying that these groups are any standard for us, but I am saying it is widely understood that groups of people who have been oppressed are quite in order to set up organizations to address their concerns.

Far too often the blackest and the most indigenous of our people have to wait in line behind some lighter shade in hope of getting some trickled down benefits. Of course this has only served to breed and strengthen a light-skinned black type of caste system, much to the determent of dark-skinned blacks. Blacks are always the field workers in these movements and are not expected to take a stand above lighter shades. Much has not changed for darker-skinned blacks in general.