Tribute to Ras Historian

Life Tributes

BY BASIL WALTERS Observer staff reporter waltersb@jamaicaobserver.com

ON the eve of a week-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of UWI's (Mona) Report on Rastafari, as well as the Rastafari Millenium Council's seminar on copyrighting the intellectual properties of the movement, the Rastafari Community recently bid farewell to one its patriots, Ras Historian.

Born Eric Clement, Ras Historian as he is widely known, passed away on Sunday, July 13. A social and cultural activist in the affairs of the Rastafari Movement, as well as the wider Jamaican community, he will be remembered as was the founder/president of the United Vendors' Association, an organisation which had members throughout the 14 parishes of the island.

One of his closest associates, Ras Cover shared with Life Tributes his reflections on Ras Historian: "One of the things that strikes me greatly at the moment, is that before his body go down into the ground, the chant (reciting word sounds) that he always made, 'organise and centralise into one theocratic government' appeared to be working because you could see a coming together of all the Rasta organisations," Ras Cover, the former secretary of Ras Historian said.

"I have been with him ever since, because from the first day I saw Ras Historian, he spoke to me about the creed 'Let the hungry be fed, the naked be clothed, and the infants cared for.' I was going overseas and I promised that when I returned I would work with him. And since then I have been working with him. We have been able to establish a lot of organisations particularly the United Vendors' Association that has brought great success to the community," Ras Cover affirmed.

And Ras Marcus, another long-standing associate of Ras Historian, posted on his blog, the following comment about the United Vendors' Association.

"An organisation which had its members travelling to various countries of the world to buy merchandise, and to re-sell them at a more reasonable price than the established merchants whose prices were out of the reach of the poorer people in the land. Because the organisation was so very helpful in making life better for the Jamaicans, 26 1/2 Mark Lane in Kingston, which was the Headquarters of the United Vendors' Association, became a very busy place from early morning to late afternoon, every business day of the year," Ras Marcus stated.

"This is just a brief illustration of how active and useful the United Vendors' Association was to African people everywhere, and I must say to you all, that quarter of the actions which took place in those days are still not told, but I will say much more, as I turn the pages of my memories and more is revealed to me. So, now that Ras Historian has passed away, he and his great works shoud not be forgotten by African people who were helped by the United Vendors' Association of which Ras Historian was president, but he should be remembered and be respected, and a great tribute should be paid to him and his works by all African people in the island of Jamaica and by African people everywhere," he went on.

Another brainchild of the departed Rastaman was a perodical newsletter that was published for a number of years called the Rasta Voice.

"He had others, but the Rasta Voice, the last issue of which came out over three years ago, was special to him," Ras Cover recalled.