Greeting Baba

Give thanks for raising this topic.

Yes it is indeed a depressing situation. Where once we were kidnapped and taken by force from Africa across the seas, crying at being separated from our Homeland, and many of us not surviving the journey. And now, life is so terrible at Home, many of us are choosing to leave Home across the seas, at great danger, and again many not surviving the journey. So sad. Our ancestors of the first Maafa are crying as they watch this situation unfold. At Home and abroad Africans have much work to do.

As you will undoubtedly know - as a Ras who has Forwarded Home - one of the ways Rastafari people have been ridiculed by others is that we want to go to Africa when Africans themselves want to leave. This is why, as again you know, the Iducation (spiritual), education (practical) and employment skills of InI Rastafari family is essential as we can’t be Forwarding Home with nothing to contribute to Home society.

This makes me think about the role of politics and Rastafari, and the future of the African continent. I know from early days of pinnacle one of the Rastafari mantras has been that InI don’t deal with politricks. But we also know that Ras Sam Brown and others were political in their outlooks and saw that as a viable role for this trod. To say that Rastas don’t deal Party politricks is one thing, as it is all playing with a Babylonian system, etc. But not all politics is party politricks. One of the aspects of this trod I have always struggled with personally is the attitude towards politics – Ones who say they don’t vote, etc. I struggle with that as amongst African people in the diaspora, everyone knows it is Rasta people that have most to say about the political situation of the world (home and abroad). And that knowledge and Overstanding of InI people a waste if InI then say we don’t deal with Politricks and don’t vote – meaning that nothing ever changes and Babylon system continues to reign supreme.

Baba Marcus, I seek your guidance here. Is it the case that in the early days of Rastafari (in this modern dispensation), that the reaction again politics was not only a rejection of Babylon system, but also a trust in the more spiritual aspects of Rastafari? (Spiritual aspect it could be said we have somewhat lost or moved away from today, such as the teachings and trust in the Bible. And core spiritual beliefs such as “JAH will guide and protect.” and “Be in the world but not of it.”, etc.)

What Ras Sam Brown and others saw (from my humble Overstanding) is that Marcus Garvey and His Majesty were not only a Spiritual Leaders for InI, but also a Political Leaders, with a message of ‘Organise and Centralize’ and ‘Collective Security for Surety’. And we can see all over the word today that there are only two successful ways that people organise themselves are under the identities of religion and politics. (Not always successfully for the human rights of others admittedly, but the fact remains as models of organisation they are effective.) When ever people have tried to organise based only on ethnicity and race alone it has been a failure. Even White Supremacy has only been effective through it’s dominance of politics and religion, not solely based on ‘whiteness’.

My question then, with the situation of the African continent and in the diaspora at critical levels – isn’t it time that Rastafari became more politically active? Both by organising our own thing, and also working with likeminded others in political spheres, to get our voices heard and affect change. I know there are many Rases who may already work in this way, but at the moment that work, as valuable and important as it may be, does not usually have a Rastafari brand identity attached to it. (Here I am talking about in the diaspora. Obviously things will be different in Shashamane.)

The voice of Rastafari is missing from the world political stage, at a time when it is needed most. The everyday people in InI Africa Home needs InI to step up to the plate. In this Iwa, can we still say we are not interested in politricks and still remain a legitimate pan-Africanist movement?

Again, thanks for raising this topic. Blessed be the Elders.

Rastafari Ivermore

Ras Shawn Naphtali