How has the perception of Rastafari in Jamaica changed since the 1963 command,
“Bring in all Rastas, dead or alive!”
Ongoing development since November 2023
Through conversations with influential Rastafari elders, this work explores the historical atrocities against Rastas and how the perception of people with dreadlocks or resembling a Rasta has evolved in Jamaica. Rastafari reggae music icon Bob Marley pioneered Jamaica’s global prominence, which benefits the island’s thriving tourism industry. However, institutional discrimination against Rastafari has been deep-rooted into the fabric of Jamaican society since colonialism by the British government and perpetuated by the Jamaican government post-independence in 1962. As a result, there is ongoing prejudice against individuals with dreadlocks or resembling a Rasta in schools and the workplace.
Rastafari is a religious movement that originated in Jamaica and has roots traced back to Pan-Africanism, which aimed to unite people of African descent and eliminate colonialism. Marcus Garvey influenced its early beginnings. He convinced his followers to look to Africa for the crowning of a Black King who would be the redeemer. The movement rose to prominence following Ras Tafari Makonnen’s coronation as Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia on November 2, 1930, and assumed the titles of King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Rastafarians believed his coronation fulfilled Garvey’s prophecy of a Black King.
Followers of the Rastafari movement are known as Rastafarians or Rastas. Since the 1950s, they have been recognizable by their dreadlock hairstyle, believed to have been inspired by the Mau Mau revolutionaries who fought British colonialism in Kenya. They typically wear the green, yellow, and red tricolor and the Lion of Judah, a symbol of the Ethiopian Empire.
Former member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Leonard Percival Howell is known as the first Rasta and one of the first preachers of Rastafari. Since the 1930s, Howell and other Rastafari pioneers, including Robert Hinds, Joseph Hibbert, and Archibald Dunkley, suffered targeted persecution for sedition by the State and were sentenced to a mental asylum for preaching on the streets of Jamaica about divinity and allegiance to the Ethiopian Emperor while rejecting the British monarch.
Targeted suppression of Rastafari by the State also manifested itself in raids, eviction, and destruction of their communes. Arrests were innumerable for cultivating and possessing ganja, sacramental to Rastafari. Despite the oppression, the movement organically grew throughout Jamaica.
Rastas were also treated as social outcasts by civilians and, as a result, often avoided public places and transport. They were frequently referred to as a cult and denigrated in periodicals as dirty, lazy, and criminals, which aided in their denial of essential social and economic well-being needs, such as education, employment, and safety. Farming eventually became their most viable source of income and survival.
A defining moment in Rastafari's history occurred in October 1961. Leading up to that moment, Rastafarian farmer Benjamin “Rudolph” Franklyn farmed a plot of land on the Rose Hall estate in Montego Bay, which he reportedly inherited from his father. His farming and smoke from burning wood to make coal caused conflict with the Rangers for being too close to Rose Hall property. Property Manager Edward Fowler, with the help of the police, made efforts to push Rudolph further away. During attempts, the police raided, reaped, and bulldozed Rudolph's crops. On their 3rd attempt, Corporal Williams of the Rose Hall police station challenged Rudolph on suspicion of having ganja. He shot Rudolph for brandishing and menacingly advancing toward him with a machete. Rudolph was left for dead but taken to the hospital hours later and admitted with the expectation that he would only live a few months.
Upon Rudolph's release from the hospital, he was arrested and sentenced to nine months in prison for assault and cultivating ganja. His health deteriorated while incarcerated due to a lack of access to appropriate medical care. Believing he did nothing wrong, he vowed revenge after serving his prison sentence. Early morning of April 11, 1963, allegedly, Rudolph and five other Rastafarians attacked and burned down a gas station in the Coral Garden area of Rose Hall estate. Three civilians, including Rose Hall Property Manager Edward Fowler, were killed. Three other Rastafarians and two police officers also died during a confrontation.
By midday, the police and military had the situation under control. However, three men remained wanted. Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante flew into Montego Bay and stated there was no cause for alarm. He directed law enforcement to “Bring in all Rastas, dead or alive!” Citizens joined the police and military in the hunt for men with dreadlocks or a beard resembling a Rasta. By the end of the next day, Good Friday, April 12, 1963, over 150 Rastas had been arrested following raids in St James, Hannover, Trelawny, and Westmoreland. Law enforcement and civilians trimmed, beat, and killed an unknown amount of Rastas. Many cut their dreadlocks and beards in fear of ramifications. The events of Holy Thursday and Good Friday are commonly referred to in the Rastafari community as “Bad Friday.” It is also referred to as the “Coral Gardens incident” or the “Coral Gardens massacre” because Coral Gardens was the epicenter of the attacks.
In 2015, the Office of the Public Defender published a report detailing the events that led to the Coral Gardens incident. The report provided an official account and analysis of the incident and outlined recommendations, including requesting the State apologize to individuals not involved in unlawful events or activities but impacted by the incident.
April 2017, 54 years after the incident, Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness apologized to the Rastafari community in Parliament for what occurred in Coral Gardens and stated that the incident “stands out as an example of the use of violence by the state against its citizens” and acknowledged that the Rastafari community drew on its turbulent experiences to create “unique and innovative sound, images, icons and a way of life” that have brought Jamaica “recognition and pride.” He ended by outlining agreed-upon actions for the Public Defender to locate survivors in consultation with the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society (RCGBS) and the Member of Parliament. Also, the government is to establish a Trust Fund for survivors of the incident and develop six lots as a protected heritage site for a Rastafari Heritage and Cultural Center.
Wesley "Ras Peaky" Brown, 1963 Coral Gardens Incident Survivor
“The Prime Minister came down and said “Lock them up, bring them in, dead or alive! What the jail cannot hold, the cemetery will hold”. They battered us. Some bled all over. Then they hosed us down. It was one of the most disgraceful experiences I ever had. Some of my bredrens were elderly and didn't live long afterward”
Verald “Ras Iyah V.” Vassell, Chairman of the Rastafari Nyahbinghi Administrative Council
“Marijuana was used as an avenue to harass and brutalize Rastafari. For example, if the police knew the Nyahbinghi was taking place here for Rastas to assemble and engage in worship, they would have roadblocks because they know Rastas are coming and always have marijuana on them. We knew it was highly discriminatory, used to uphold colonialism and the suppression of the activities of our people towards liberation. It was terrible, and some things were unbelievable. As I remember, the police approached the Nyahbinghi, tied Rasta dreadlocks to their jeep, and pulled them on the road. Vicious things.”
Joseph “Ras Bongo Roach” Roach, Herbalist
“The stigma and barricades are still there. However, there is a better conception now as people are climatized and know the laws. During my time, you couldn’t go to school if you had dreadlocks. We had to lobby for our rights to equal education for Rastafarian children to be allowed in schools. Now, Rastafarian students attend universities.”
Joel “Ras Binghi Pele” Dyke, 3rd Generation Rastafarian
“As soon as we would make a mistake, the teacher would treat us differently. We would hear the name “one room child,” “Ganga smoking parents,” and some things that hurt. Children would call us names such as “centipede in your head, lice in your dreadlocks. And even though the system told us we should wear the rasta hat, the children would pull it off looking for lice and centipedes. It caused us to fight in anger and distracted us from focusing on learning, which the institution was supposed to allow us. It's disturbing."
Pamela “Sistah Nanny” Rowe-Williams, Secretary of the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society
“Students going to school are questioned about their dreadlocks, and some principals turn them away. If they wear a rasta cap, principals want to know what is under it. If they do not wear a rasta cap, the principals are offended by their Afrocentric look.
I’m the secretary of the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society, and every academic year, Parents request us to write letters because some schools demand letters from a Rastafarian organization that indicates that the students are Rastafarian. No other religion or race is treated in this manner in Jamaica. If a Chinese student has long hair, there is no problem with it, but the dreadlock is what the schools have an issue with.”
Lewis “Ras Brown” Brown, Treasurer of the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolence Society
“Black people's hair is despised, and this concept is still a stigma. The situation is much better, but it needs to go away. And it can if the government sets up the right policies so Rastafrians with dreadlocks can go to work without issues. Jamaica is where the religion Rastafari originated and is growing worldwide. So, in Jamaica, it should be recognized. The music is also worldwide. It’s not just the love and peace we are spreading. The government needs to understand that they should be doing more for the Rastafari community.”
Donavan “Ras IVI Tafari” Wright, Rastafari Advocate, Ambassador and High Priest
“Rastafari, in its early inception, people thought of all kinds of things based on their upbringing because the state marginalized us: no jobs, no tenancy, Rastafari children couldn’t go to school, and dreadlocks deemed as filthy. Having interacted over time with Prime Ministers and agitated for our rights, we have a united body now that can dialogue with the government for rights and justice. Respectability towards Rastafari is now better. At least the younger generation enjoys more privileges as Rastafari than the elders. The battle is still ongoing, and many items need to be sorted out. But regarding the Rasta position, it's up to us to get our act together, put some more economic ventures in place to balance the spiritual with the material, and advance as a people.”
Pearline “Mama Fayah” Wolfe, 2nd Generation Rastafarian
“We should not let the system drag us down and tear us apart because that is their plan. To use, refuse, and confuse us. To have us in a divided situation so that they can rule us. Divide and rule is their only plan. What affects one affects all. So, if we want to escape it, we must unite. And then I think we will better see how to move on. And set more examples for the younger generation because this generation does not know how to be humble and learn like us. If we are not there to teach them, they will get hurt by the system because they do not have the faith that we have to persist within the tribulation. Most get rebellious, but sometimes, the guidance presses them on with more confidence. So we must ensure we are living to be an example to them, and they will see that they have some foundation they can follow. I think that will keep the future generation grounded.”
Sources:
Various Interviews with Rastafari Elders
Jamaica Gleaner (Kingston Gleaner) Archives
An investigation into the April 1963 incident at Coral Gardens (Office of Public Defender)