How Marcus Garvey Became the Prophet of Rastafarianism

Painting By KavionArt

In 1920s,  Marcus Garvey said "Look to Africa, when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is at hand". It is this ideology that eventually led to the growth of Rastafarian. Though Marcus Garvey was not directly involved in Rastafarianism, he is considered to be one of the religion's prophet. Marcus Garvey teachings on black empowerment, black unity and Africa being black people's rightful home served as the foundation for the Rastafarian movement. By the 1920s, he had almost had a million followers and one could say Rastarianism developed as an outcome of overall black empowerment.

However, the official commencement of Rastafarianism as we know it became came after Ras Tafari Makonnem was crowned the emperor of Ethiopia & became known as Haile Selassie in 1930. Many took that crowning as a materialization of Marcus Garvey's words in 1920 hence the "prophet". This connection was made by Marcus Garvey’s followers in Jamaica when they heard the news of Haile Selassie’s coronation. To them, that meant to prepare themselves to return to Africa as the king was crowned just like Marcus Garvey had predicted.

In the 1930s, pockets of people in Jamaica started forming groups on this belief. In 1935, Benito Mussolini’s troops invaded Ethiopia. A year later, Haile Selassie fled in exile with his family. He stayed away for five years. It is said Marcus Garvey criticized him for leaving his own people in that time of crisis. By 1940, Marcus Garvey died and did not witness how impactful Rastafarianism grew to be.

In 1966, Haile Selassie came to Jamaica & was greeted like a king. Many still believed in the vision of an African exodus. In that audience, there was a 21-year-old woman who was the wife of someone the world grew to love. Her husband’s name is Robert Nesta Marley. He had just formed a band with two musicians, Peter Tosh & Bunny Wailers. Together, they made the Wailers and continued a profound historic chain. 

Get a print of Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie and or Bob Marley here: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/marcus-garvey-negro-world-leader-kavion-robinson.html