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Jamaica and it’s people have been involved in a constant struggle for
prosperity. After gaining independence from Britain on August 6, 1962, Jamaica
attempted to flourish under a democratic system of their own. The formation
of the People’s National Party and the Jamaica Labor Party marked the beginning
of this movement. During this time of exploration, Rastafarians residing in
Jamaica were faced with little political support. Government objectives and
reform were generally not concerned with the plight of the Rastafarians, and
they were treated as a group of vigilantes. Michael Norman Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972-1980 and 1989-1992,
was the first political figure to provide support for the large population of
Rastafarians residing in Jamaica. It was under the rule of this man that reform
for the people began to take place. The following paper analyzes Manley and
his influence on Jamaican society. To begin, it is important to understand some background information on
Michael Norman Manley. Born to a prominent political figure, Manley attended
Jamaica College in Kingston from 1935-1962. He was also in the Royal Canadian
Air Force during 1939-1945. After earning a bachelor’s degree and leaving
the air force, he attended the London School of Economics from 1945-1949. Hoping
to explore the world, he remained in London and took a job as a journalist with
the BBC. In 1952, Manley decided that he wanted to return to his homeland. Being
a strong-minded individual striving for change, Manley took on the responsibility
of becoming a trade union negotiator, and the president of the National Workers
Union of Jamaica. He strove to provide a better life for all those who lived
on Jamaica. (Encarta.msn.com) In 1969 when his father, Norman Washington Manley passed away, Michael took
over his position as leader of the PNP. Norman Manley was the original founder
of the PNP, chief minister of Jamaica from 1955-1959, and prime minister from
1959-1962. With the 1972 election quickly approaching, the PNP began campaigning
for Manley. It was at this time that they set two primary goals: 1. Not to rock class coalition 2. To gain support of the traditional Christian community and the Rastafarian
community. One Jamaican historian said, "The reality of the Rasta’s cannot be
ignored by the politicians: their voice is the voice of the people and the success
or failure of Jamaican leaders henceforth must grapple with the power of these
modern day "John the Baptists" whose voices call out from the electronic
wilderness." (rg pg 174) With these goals in mind, Manley began to attend
rallies, and speak about promised election pledges. These pledges were critical
to his campaign because they represented many hopes of the Rastafarians. Among
the stated pledges were: (dsij pg. 67) When appearing at these rallies, Max Romeo, Clancy Eccles, and Bob Marley often
accompanied Manley. The performers showed their support by performing live music,
and standing with the candidate. Two of the concerts preformed by Marley were
the "Smile in Jamaica concert" in November 1976 and the "One
Love Peace concert" in 1978. Bob Marley, a Rastafarian himself, endorsed
Manley because he saw his potential for change. "Clancy even placed a Manley
campaign speech over the rhythm of his own ‘Power For the People,’
releasing it as a two-part 45 with the same title."(rg pg 105) Other Manley
supporters included Delroy Wilson and Junior Byles. Wilson is quoted as saying,
"I made songs like ‘Better Must Come’ for the politicians and
the youth, and the PNP used it to help win the election…The election time
was coming on, and Mr. Manley and his party decide to use it. Then we, Clancy
Eccles and other singers, to state that Mr. Michael Manley should win the election.
And we go with him all over Jamaica." (rg pg 101) These men were essential
to the success of the Manley/PNP campaign. Without the support of these Reggae
performers, Manley would have been unable to obtain the needed support from
the Rastafarian segment. Before speaking, Manley would be met at these rallies by crowds of people chanting
"Joshua." This title had been re-given to Manley at a party conference
in the fall of 1971, after a speech in which he talked about God and the church.
In actuality Manley had acquired the title eight years earlier "when as
a trade unionist leading a demonstration of striking workers outside the Jamaican
Broadcasting building, he had declared: ‘There are the walls of Jericho’."
The Jamaican people cast him in the "role of a prophetic figure analyzing
society’s injustices and leading people to correct them." In addition,
Manley appeared before these crowds holding his "Rod of Correction,"
a cane given to him by Haile Selassie during his visit to Ethiopia in 1970(rg
pg 105). When the 1972 election finally arrived, the PNP won by the largest majority
ever. They gained 56% of the popular vote, and 37 out of 53 seats in the House.
(dsij table A.1) There is no record of how many Rastafarians voted, "but
many feel that if the Rastafarians were ever going to make an exception, 1972
was the year." (rg pg 220) This was a great accomplishment, especially
considering the Rastafarian word for politics is "politricks." It was at this point that Michael Norman Manley began to initiate the reforms
he had originally promised the Rastafarians and Jamaican people. In 1972 alone
Manley passed over 12 reform programs including: From 1973 to 1975 Manley instituted over 30 additional programs and policies,
some of which included: Each of these reforms affects the Rastas in one-way or another. Perhaps one
of Manley’s most important initial reforms was the lowering of the voting
age. This act alone allowed Rastafarians to take on a much larger role in the
democratic aspects of the government. They constitute a very large population
in Jamaica, seeing as six out of every ten Jamaicans are either Rasta’s
or sympathizers. (tr pg2) In addition, "the membership is young…up
to 80 percent of those seen in the camps and on the streets are between the
ages of seventeen and thirty-five." (tr pg2) The lowering of the voting
age was the first real hope of a voice, for a group who had been suppressed
and ignored for years. When thinking about the suppression of the Rastas, and their new-found
voting ability, I immediately think of African-Americans and women in the United
States. It wasn’t until the mid-late 1900’s, that African-Americans
and women gained the right to vote. Just like the Rastafarians in Jamaica, these
two groups in the United States make up a large majority of the population.
However, despite their presence as major groups, they were still denied voting
rights for many years. Unfortunately domination and superiority seem to fill our society as well as
most other societies in the world. Michael Manley was a politician, and therefore
upheld many of the disliked qualities associated with politics. However, Manley
was also one of the first Prime Ministers to advocate for social equality. "I
have suggested that self-reliance, equality, and democracy are the objectives
towards which we must strive. Without these we cannot build a ‘just society’."(tpoc
pg 51) Many Rastafarians and historians will argue that Manley’s promises
were just that, promises. They will argue that although the promises he made
sounded good, in actuality few of them were ever accomplished. This view is
epitomized in the epic poem "Dem Call Dem," written by Ras Gill tucker. "Dem call dem political bull frog Dem call dem shadow and brine Dem call dem teethless lovers Dem call dem white skin in black mask Dem call dem lion in Monkey clothes Dem call dem footstep without foot Dem call dem promise and empty promise Dem call demselves what others no call dem Dem call dem paper tigers Dem call dem bonehead dunces in the Queens court Dem call dem soft-face idlers hiding behind big desks Dem call demselves the people’s saviours Dem ride upon dem back and ride upon dem head Dem call demselves God-fooling and God-fearing Yet dem die without vision Dem die without us- Dem `trive `pon we children hunger Dem get drunk `pon we homeless and our fondest hope Dem call demselves democrats dying in lies Dem gwane living and dying in a wi nakedness Dem white God wi` bless dem for dem works And dem empty words and empty promise spread before wi empty table Dem call dem." These feelings of disappointment are common throughout the world. If you look
at democracy in the United States, many people feel that our presidents have
made promises they have not kept. I don’t think that you will ever find
a political figure that has gained the respect and trust of all members of his
society. In actuality, each leader is plagued with the reality of being deemed
sub-par. Therefore, the accomplishments achieved by our leaders must be viewed
in perspective. It is important for us to realize that no one leader will ever
have the power to "change the world." Despite the negative feelings epitomized in the previous poem, there are those
Jamaican citizens that have nothing but good things to say about the Manley
administration. "When a Rastafarians professor at the University of the
West Indies was asked the question, "What role did the Manley government
play in the growth of Rastafarianism?"" he responded: "Since 1975 the most important influences of the growth of
Rastafarianism have been the impact of Bob Marley and Michael Manley.
The Manley regime provided a backdrop in which the Rastafarian movement
could reveal itself to the Jamaican society. Manley provided space
for the Rastafarians because he articulated a Third World philosophy
and Marley opened up that space. It was during this frame of time
that we saw the massive expansion of the Rastafarian value system
throughout the Caribbean and North America." (rg pg 221) Michael Manley’s reforms reached a wide array of Jamaican citizens.
In 1973 Manley announced his plan to make secondary and university education
free of charge. He received much opposition from the middle and upper class
citizens, and also from members of his own staff. The finance minister David
Coore had vetoed the plan, and Manley was ridiculed for not consulting him,
prior to announcing it’s implementation during his 1973 budget speech.
I think the announcement of this education plan exemplifies Manley’s commitment
to both the Rastas and other financially challenged citizens. Right before the
budget speech, there had been an inflow of back taxes, due to a grace period
within which no tax penalties had been charged. Manley saw this as an opportunity
to help the people who had supported and counted on him to lead their country
out of devastation. The latter part of 1973 brought on even more reforms. Manley and his administration
began what is known as one of their greatest accomplishments, the National Bauxite
reform. In the 1972 PNP election manifesto, the party had promised to establish
a National Bauxite Commission. This commission would "investigate what
the country ought to do about increasing it’s revenue from and control
over bauxite production and the idle bauxite land." (dsij pg 76) Several
goals set by the commission in late 1973 were: The bauxite reforms affected the Rastas in several different ways. First,
the allocation of land and decrease in private enterprise provided the opportunity
for greater class equality. In a survey regarding opinions on government ownership
and the private sector, 64% of the Jamaican people supported government acquisition
of private enterprise. (dacij pg 191) The study also found that the radical
people of Jamaica, primarily consisting of the Rastafarians, were in general
support of government ownership, viewed the private sector as exploitative,
and supported the government appropriation of land. (dacij pg 193) It was not until the bauxite reforms that the issue of land appropriation
became a major reality in Jamaica. This reform paved the way for rural development
and appropriation of land not related to bauxite production. Manley supported
these beliefs, and said in his book, The Politics of Change, "First
of all, resources must be allocated so as to ensure adequate rural development
and the commitment of capital to the provision of infrastructure and industry
so as to create the basis for a balanced and satisfactory life for rural dwellers…At
present rural communities in Jamaica are places where old men get ready to die
and from which the young flee in search of contemporary dreams." (tpoc
pg 115) Manley recognized the overpopulation of Kingston and it’s suburbs,
as well as the need for urban alternatives. "At present Kingston and its
suburbs contain nearly one third of the Jamaican population (600,000 out of
two million)." (tpoc pg 115) In order to address the housing problem in Jamaica, the Manley administration
also set up the PNP public housing program and later The National Housing Trust.
The PNP housing program created over 40,000 new homes, and also instituted rent
control policies. (dsij pg 292) The National Housing Trust used payroll tax
and contributions from gross earnings to provide financing for the construction
of houses. The problem of over-population occurs here in the United States, as well.
There are over 7 million people living in Manhattan and it’s suburbs. (publicpurpose.com)
This means that there are more than 24,400 people per square mile. (publicpurpose.com)
It has also been estimated that there are over 15,000 Rastafarians living in
New York City and it’s suburbs. (rg pg 198) The attempt to re-locate people
to rural areas was a brave move by Michael Manley. He was attempting to look
out for his supporters, and the needs of the Rastas. "Today, the Rastafarian
communities are no longer so depressing, although conditions are in no way ideal
among the new camps…Many Rastafarians who once lived in broken down shacks
were now living on the same grounds in middle-class dwellings made of concrete
blocks with running water and other amenities." (rg pg 169) Whether or
not his initiatives were thoroughly successful are not that important. What
is important, is the motivation and perseverance that Manley exhibited. In general, there is one thing that most Jamaican historians and Rastafarians
agree on, the belief that the Manley government provided the Rastafarian community
with "space" and "freedom" to conduct their routine activities.
This freedom was exhibited by the new ability to import Black literature from
both the United States and England. It also allowed radical black leaders, previously
banned from the country, to visit and speak. In addition to these reforms, the
new "freedom" allowed the Rastafarians to use government facilities
and properties anywhere on the island. This idea of "freedom" can also be attributed to the foreign
policy reforms enacted by Michael Manley. The primary goals of the PNP foreign
policy during the 1970’s were: The combination of the domestic reforms and the foreign policies are what really
provided a greater degree of "freedom" for the people. One Jamaican
said, "Along with the opening to the Rastafari, the foreign policy initiatives
strengthening ties with Africa, and other policies such as the Status of the
Children Act which gave full legal status to children born out of wedlock, they
helped to give the black masses of Jamaica the feeling that they were full members
of the Jamaican community and first-class citizens for the first time."
(dsij pg 83) Strengthening foreign policy allowed the Rasta’s access to Ethiopia
and Africa that they had been previously denied. It allowed them to interact
with those leaders that they respected and worshiped. Prime Minister Michael Manley also made significant strides regarding food
farms and land lease. These programs attempted to increase domestic food production,
and decrease Jamaica’s dependence on external resources. Under the land
lease program, private land was leased by the government and then re-leased
to small farmers for 5-year periods. During 1973, the first year of operation,
2700 farmers were placed on 4300 acres of land. The PNP party and Manley were
determined to extend the program, and set an additional goal of placing 10,000
farmers on 6,000 acres of land. (dsij pg 74) The combination of these programs
allowed citizens with little economic wealth to generate both food and moral. In 1973, the Jamaican Nutrition Holdings was established. This was a government
company formed for the purpose of handling nutrition issues, primarily in schools.
The program provided milk and lunch for school children, and also took over
the task of bulk importing. These key imports included wheat, soya, corn, rice,
and salt-fish. Michael Manley explained, "Through this nutrition and milling
complex, working in partnership with private enterprise at some points but providing
our own milling capacity at others, we intend to pursue the objective of an
adequate, high-content, low cost diet to the population (and particularly the
children) along with industrial and agricultural linkages in which we tie our
own agricultural development to our objectives in nutritional and other fields."
(tpoc pg 207) These nutritional reforms are important to Rastafarians, because food symbolism
is an integral part of the Rastafarian religion. Rastas are primarily vegetarians,
and generally consider meat injurious to the body. Fish is a staple part of
the Rastafarian diet, however it must be small, measuring no more than twelve
inches in length. Vegetables are the primary food consumed, and the common belief
is "Like ganja, the earth brings forth all good things." (tr pg 141)
Rastas are very careful about how they prepare their food, and thus care a great
deal about where it comes from. "The Rastafarians also prefer to eat food
from their own plantations. For this reason, one of the most coveted items among
the cultists is land on which they can live and cultivate their own foods."
(tr pg 142) These beliefs show the necessity for both the Nutrition and the land lease
reform. It is the combination of these two initiatives that are essential to
the beliefs of the Rastafarian cultists. The land lease program allowed Rastas
to thrive in their religious beliefs, because it gave them the opportunity to
grow and cultivate their own fruits and vegetables. I don’t think that
Manley implemented these programs with these goals in mind. Instead he was hoping
to re-locate people to rural areas, and improve general nutrition, thus giving
citizens a better way of life. Regardless of his intentions, Manley once again
showed his support for the Rastafarians. I think that it is extremely important for any political leader to support
different beliefs and traditions. In the United States there are hundreds of
religions represented, and within these various groups, there are thousands
of traditions. Perhaps the group with the most similar dietary restrictions
is that of the Jewish faith. Kosher meals and foods are a large part of the
Jewish religion, and they often take precendence in daily activities. Whatever
religion or tradition, it is important that the political leader respect the
faith of his citizens. The leader may not necessarily share the same ideals
and values, but it is imperative that he/she respect their decisions. For example,
the president may be Catholic, but that does not give him/her the right to denounce
Christianity or Hinduism. During Manley’s second term in office, 1989-1992, he was seen to be
significantly less effective. He passed fewer policies, and the party concentration
no longer revolved strictly around class equality. However, it was during these
years that he advocated free-market principles. It was also during this time
that the PNP concentrated on enlarging the economic opportunity available in
Jamaica. Michael Manley and his administration planned to do this by: Manley addressed the issue by saying, "Between small farmers, new businesses,
industrial democracy and the rapid spread of shareholding there will be a constant
pressure exerted to widen ownership in keeping with the natural cultural dynamics
of the society."(tpoc pg 242) In order to create a society that would be
able to prosper in a free-market economy, these goals were necessities. With
greater food production domestically imports would respectively decrease, and
the export market would be that much more feasible. Michael Manley was both an effective and efficient leader. He made significant
strides for the people of Jamaica. Manley made a great deal of promises, and
he actually fulfilled most of them. Not all of Manley’s reforms worked
as well as he planned, however the fact that he tried makes him that much better
than his opponents. When we review the careers of politicians, it is important
to remember that they are only human. With this in mind, it is also important
to view their accomplishments and failures in perspective. What resources did
they have to work with? What previous battles were they facing? In regards to Rastafarianism, I believe that Michael Manley made great
strides. As a prime minister, he implemented many policies that directly benefited
Rastas, and additional policies that indirectly benefited Rastafarians. Sources The Politics of Change: A Jamaican Testament. Michael Manley. Howard University
Press. Washington D.C. 1990. (tpoc) Democracy and Clientelism in Jamaica. Carl Stone. Transaction Books. New Brunswick,
NJ. 1980. (dacij) Democratic Socialism in Jamaica: The Political Movement and Social Transformation
in Dependent Capitalism. Evelyne Stephens and John Stephens. Princeton University
Press. Princeton, NJ. 1986. (dsij) The Rastafarians. Leonard Barrett, Sr. Beacon Press. Boston, MA.1997. (tr) Class, State, and Democracy in Jamaica. Carl Stone. Praeger Special Studies.
New York. 1986. (csadij) Reggae: The Rough Guide. Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton. Rough Guides Ltd. London,
ENG. 1997. (rg)
Michael Manley
and
Rastafarianism
Margaret Hill
WWW.encarta.msn.com - online encyclopedia