Chronology of Rastafari

A RASTAFARI CHRONOLOGY

Taken from a collection of publications given for “Thunder “Magazine UK. Rasta and Resistance –Horace Campbell, DREAD-Rastafarians in Jamaica- Joseph Owens and Daily Gleaner publications –Jamaica
Guidance and blessings

Flako Tafari

1834 Abolition of Slavery in the British Caribbean, August 1st

1887 Birth of Marcus Garvey, St Anns Bay, Jamaica, August 17th

1892 Birth of Emperor Haile Selassie I, Ethiopia, June 23rd

1896 Emperor Menelik II defeats the Italians at the Battle of Adwa, March 1st

1898 Birth of Leonard P Howell, Clarendon, Jamaica, June 16th

1900 First Pan-African Conference convened in London, England, 23-25th July

1914 Marcus Garvey founds the United Negro Improvement Association and the African Communities League in Jamaica, August 1st

1924 Publication of The Holy Piby (or Black Man’s Bible) by Shepard Athlyi Rogers in Newark, New Jersey

1926 Publication of the Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy in Jamaica by Rev. Fitz Balintine Pettersburg

1927 Marcus Garvey deporte

1933 Leonard Howell, the first person to preach the Divinity of Haile Selassie, is arrested for sedition in Jamaica, January 1st

1934 On the 4th March Leonard Howell was tried for sedition in St Thomas

1934 On the 17th March Leonard Howell was given a two year prison term for sedition

1934 The Ethiopian Research Council is founded in Washington DC under the guidance of Dr Malaku Bayen and Professor Leo Hansbury

1935 The Italians under Mussolini invade Ethiopia, October 3rd

1936 Emperor Haile Selassie I leaves Ethiopia on May 2nd for a 5-year exile in Britain. He makes his historic address to the League of Nations on June 30th

1937 Dr Malaku Bayen founds the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF) in New York City, August 25th

1937 Local 17, the first EWF local in Jamaica, is established, with LFC Mantle as President and Paul Erlington as Vice President

1939 Leonard Howell establishes the Ethiopian Salvation Society

1940 Leonard Howell establishes Pinnacle, a Rastafari settlement based on communal principles

1940 Leonard Howell used his skills as an organizer for the Ethiopian Salvation Society by using his money to provide for the poor in the society

1941 Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert establishes a branch of the Ethiopian Mystic Mason, loosely affiliated to the Ethiopian Coptic Church

1941 Jamaican authorities raid Pinnacle and arrest Howell, the first in a series of colonial attacks on Howell’s Rastafari community, July 25th

1941 Emperor Haile Selassie I re-enters Ethiopia on May 5th after the defeat of the Italians

1943 Leonard Howell was released from prison and returned to Pinnacle

1947 Ras Boanerges, Bredda Arthur, Philip Panhandle, Kurukong, and others, found the Youth Black Faith in Trench town, West Kingston

1951 Longshoremen on the city waterfront refuse to work with “Rasta”

1951 “Rasta” Squatter problem under Government Study

1953 The first pictures of the dreadlocks that appeared in the local press became a lasting sign of black pride in Jamaica, a symbol which was to gain international significance

1954/5/6 Prince Edward Emmanuel, Ras Boanerges, and others, hold annual conventions in Back-o-Wall, West Kingston

1954 The Jamaican State raids Pinnacle on May 22nd, finally destroying the community

1955 Emperor Haile Selassie I announce the Shashamane Land Grant administered by the EWF

1955 Mamie Richardson visits Jamaica to publicise the EWF Land Grant, and to promote the organisation amongst Jamaicans and Rastafari

1958 Prince Emmanuel Edwards and other Nyahbinghi Rastafari convene the first 21 day groundation (March 1st to March 21st ) in Back O Wall, a Kingston shanty town and a Rastafari strong
hold. It was estimated that 3000 brethren attended. The event leads to the formal founding of the Ethiopian African International Congress, Order of Nyah binghi

1958 At the Nyah Binghi in Kingston a full length photograph ofEmperor Haile Selassie standing with his right foot on aunexploded Italian bomb was used as a symbol of defiance and invincibility

1958 Members of the Rastafari movement visited Police Commissioner regarding the relationship between police andthemselves

1959 Police and Rastafari clash in the so-called Coronation Market Riot on May 7th, which leads to Police destruction of the Rastafari community in Back-o-Wall, Kingston

1959 Rev Claudius Henry of the African Reform Church returned to Jamaica after a visit to Ethiopia

1959 Thousands of people mistakenly believed that the cards distributed to them by Rev Claudius Henry, “Repairer of the Breach “ would gain them passage on ships leaving for Africa on October 5th. Many sold their possessions, but no ship came.

1960 The University of the West Indies conducts research on Rastafari at the invitation of members of the Rastafari movement. Its report includes a recommendation that the government of Jamaica send a mission to Africa to explore possibilities of Jamaicans returning. The mission should include Rastafari

1960 On April 7th Rev. Claudius Henry, was arrested and charged for treason, later in the year Henry’s son got involved with the government of Jamaica, he was imprisoned then executed

1960 Trial of Rev. Claudius Henry 1 st October

1960 Rev. Claudius Henry and 15 associated found guilty on treason – felony charges and sent to prison for 10 years

1960 Emperor Haile Selassie returned from Brazil in triumph to Ethiopia in December after a failed coup

1960 Primer, Norman Manley schedule a meeting with leaders of the Rastafari movement to discuss migration of Jamaicans back to Africa

1960 Bongo Watto Camp off 19 Street Trench Town raided by police

1961 The government sends a mission to Africa which includes 3 Rastafari: Mortimo Planno, Douglas Mack and Samuel Clayton, this was for the purpose of studying feasibility of migration of Jamaicans to Africa.

1961 Three Rastafari members on the back to Africa mission had a private interview with Emperor Haile Selassie during the mission stay in Ethiopia

1961 Mission to Africa. A supplement publication by the Daily Gleaner July 31

1962 May. Letter to the Editor from Rastafari from Foreshore Road, Back O Wall Moonlight City, Trench Town and Tower Hill calling on the Primer Alexander Bustamante to remember the question of Repatriation

1962 Police raid and dismantle the Wareika Hill Camp of the I-ngelic House, a group of italist Nyahbinghi Rastafari

1963 On April 11th, in Coral Gardens, Montego Bay, killings blamed on Rastafari result in a nation-wide persecution of the movement

1965 A three –man delegation of the Rastafari movement compromising of Brother Douglas Mack, Philmore Alvaranga and Sam Clayton went on a fifteen month- tour USA Kenya Ethiopia and Ghana, seeking help for repatriation of Rastafari from Jamaica to Africa, a petition of 10,000 Rastafari was presented to Haile Selassie.

1966 Emperor Haile Selassie I makes a historic visit to the Caribbean, including Jamaica April 21st – 24th. The Emperor honours Rastafari, awarding gold medals to 13 leading brethren

1967 Emperor Haile Selassie I meets Rev. Winston Evans, Director of the EWF, Inc. in Chicago, Feb 13th and 14th. On behalf of his organisation Rev. Evans receives a grant reported to be 10,000 acres

1968 The Jamaica Council of Human Rights strongly protested against the manner and circumstances of the raids the police and military on Rev Claudius Henry and followers.

1968 Vernon Carrington, also known as Prophet Gad, founds the 12 Tribes of Israel in Kingston, Jamaica. The 12 Tribes becomes one of the most popular Rastafari organs with an extensive
international following

1968 Walter Rodney, a Black nationalist active amongst the Rastafari, is banned from Jamaica, October 15th, triggering widespread student protests

1969 Ras Solomon Wolfe leaves Jamaica for Ethiopia, where he receives the EWF administrative responsibility for the Shashemane Land Grant from His Imperial Majesty

1970 The head and administrator of the Ethiopia Orthodox Church in the USA Archimandrake Manfredo arrive in Jamaica on the 4TH May to establish the Ethiopian Orthodox Church

1971 July. Prince Emmanuel Edwards together with 18 other members seek Government Ministry aid in proposed emigration to Ethiopia

1973 Release of The Harder They Come, a full-length Jamaican motion picture, featuring prominent Rastafari

1974 Council of Nyahbinghi Elders formally establish the Theocratic Government of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I

1974 The Ethiopian African International Congress moves from Davis Lane, Kingston, to the community of Bull Bay

1975 Ras Boanerges carries the Nyahbinghi Order to Barbados in April

1975 Emperor Haile Selassie I withdraws from the world stage August 27th

1976 Prime Minister Michael Manley meets with a Council of Nyahbinghi Elders (Judah Coptic Issemble) at 11 Welcome Ave, Waterhouse, Kingston

1976 Prime Minister Michael Manley says it is wrong to cut Rasta’s Locks

1976 Delegation of Rastafari discuss problems facing the movement with the Governor-General Florisel Glaspole at King’s House

1976 The Ethiopian African National Congress wrote to the Security General of the United Nations on question of the Repatriation of black people to Africa

1976 Publication of Dread, The Rastafari of Jamaica, by Joseph Owens, a popular text on Rastafari theology and culture, largely in the words of Rastafari

1977 June 26, Prime Minister Michael Manley admitted that there were police and employment discrimination against members of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica

1977 Rastafari pilot was fired from Air Jamaica in July because he wore a beard and dread locks

1978 Three Kingston Technical High School students were dismissed from school in January

1978 Ras Sam Brown travels to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

1978 Rastafari Universal Zion, a community-based organisation, is established in the Tottenham area of London, in January

1978 Jahugliman, a Rastafari vernacular publication, is launched in Jamaica. It later moves to the UK, under the title of Jahug

1979 Dominican Rasta seek recognition on November 3rd

1979 Jamaica daily News reported on May 23 1979 that Pinnacle was robbed by armed bandits

1980 Rastafari celebrates the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Haile Selassie I’s Coronation. Rastafari Movement Association becomes International Rastafari Theocratic Assembly

1980 Bob Marley performs at the Independence Day celebrations in Zimbabwe, April 18th

1980 Rastafari Speaks, a Rastafari-produced newspaper, is launched in Trinidad as a vehicle for news throughout the Rastafari community

1981 Peaceful journey home of the Patriarch LP Howell in February

1981 Troding home of the reggae master the Honourable Robert Nesta Marley, 11th May

1982 A plea for Rastafari to be recognized as a valid religion and for Rastafari to be allowed full religious rights has being made by the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales in February.

1982 First International Rastafari Conference held in Toronto, Canada, July 23rd -25th

1983 Second International Rastafari Theocratic Assembly, July 18th – July 25th “RITA”

1984 Voice of Thunder: Dialogue with Nyahbinghi Elders, Toronto, September 23rd –October 21st. First official Nyhahbinghi Elders mission outside the Caribbean

1984 The Ministry of Education in Jamaica challenged to state position on Rastafari children in school

1985 Universal Rastafari Improvement Association of Tanzania sends a mission to Jamaica, December 29th 1985 to January 28th 1986

1986 Rastafari Focus, Commonwealth Institute, London, July 14th – July 27th. First International Rastafari Conference in the UK

1986 November. Rasta keeps his locks, New York’s highest court rules

1987 Visit of Prince Dawit, grandson of His Imperial Majesty to Jamaica and the USA, connecting with the House of Nyahbinghi and other Rastafari communities

1987 Nyahbinghi Project, a forum for Rastafari in Britain, based at the Yaa Asantewaa Arts Centre, is launched

1987 Centenary of Marcus Garvey’s birth, August 17th, is celebrated in Jamaica with month-long island-wide Nyahbinghi celebrations attracting international visitors

1988 The Rainbow Circle Throne Room of Jah Rastafari mission departs Jamaica May 23rd. The House of Nyahbinghi sends a 17- member delegation of Elders to New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington DC, May-August

1989 2nd trod of The Rainbow Circle Throne Room of Jah Rastafari visits Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia and New York, June-August

1990 British Government plans revealed plot to ask Emperor Haile Selassie he is God in February

1990 Rasta can keep their locks. USA court in Washington rule November 7th

1990 3rd trod of The Rainbow Circle Throne Room of Jah Rastafari. Elders participate in a public programme at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and later release an album Rastafari Elders, a compilation of Nyahbinghi testimony and chants

1992 Centenary Trod to Ethiopia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Emperor Haile Selassie I, June 28th – August 1992. The first International Assembly of Rastafari in
Ethiopia, co-ordinated by the Centenary Committee for Rastafari based in London

1993 The first Annual Rastafari-Ethiopian cultural celebration, Philadelphia, organised by Ras Al and Sister Kaya Selassie, November 13th

1994 First International Gathering of Rastafari, sponsored by ICOMRAS (International Communicators of Rastafari) in honour of African Liberation Day and the Organisation of African Unity, Miami, May 22nd – May 26th

1995 Second International Gathering of Rastafari, sponsored by International Rastafari Gathering Committee (ex-ICOMRAS), Toronto, July 15th – July 24th

1996 Rastafari gather in East King House Road on the100 Anniversary of the Hon Marcus Garvey and voiced demands for Emancipation Day August 1st to be reinstated as a public holiday

1996 International Nyahbinghi Mission to South Africa led by Ras Boanerges, October to November

1997 Ethiopian Crown Prince Emmias Sahle-Selassie and Bekere Fikre Selassie visit Jamaica August 16th-August 23rd

1997 First International Rastafari gathering in Guyana

1998 First International Eastern Caribbean Conference on Rastafari, in Barbados, August 17 to August 27th. Conference resolution to observe the birthday of Leonard Howell (June 16th) as a day of Rastafari celebration. Passing of Sam Brown 27th August, Barbados

1998 Emancipation 150: Trodding to Mt Zion, a Caribbean Rastafari conference sponsored by Rastafari Livity Educational Forum, University of the Virgin Islands, St Thomas, V.I. November 25th – 29th, December 5th-6th

1998 Rastafari delegation from South Africa visits Nyahbinghi in Britain

1999 Official opening of the Nyahbinghi Tabernacle in Shashamane, Ethiopia, and occasion of 2 international gatherings, July 22nd to August 5th, and November 1st to 14th

1999 From the Cross to the Throne. Rastafari Conference convened by Mortimo Planno at the University of the West Indies August 16th -17th

2000 Rita Marley organises massive Reggae concert in Ethiopia

2000 Jamaican Rastafari march on Kingston on Adwa Victory day, demonstrating for legalisation of the Sacred Herb (3rd March)

2001 World Conference against Racism held in Durban, South Africa

2002 Caribbean Rastafari Organisation (CRO) holds 8th Conference in St Martin and Anguilla May 23rd –29th

2003 South African President Thabo Mbeki was presented the keys to the city of Kingston Jamaica

2003 Rastafari Global reasoning on the University of the West Indies Campus (UWI) Mona

2006 Nyahbinghi National Council (NNC) established in UK

2006 March. The troding home of Rastafari Patriarch Mortimo St George Planno, he was 76 years old

2007 Ethiopian Millennium Celebrations worldwide

2008 International Rastafari Conference, Jamaica (July) Fulfilling the Creed

2009 September 17TH.The Millennium Council continued agitation for Rastafari want to control their heritage of Pinnacle in St Catherine

2010 Conference on Rastafari studies launched on the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona on August 19

2010 Sir Roy Augier on August 19th suggested to a large Rastafari gathering on (UWI) Mona Campus to accept Jamaica as their home

2012 July Rastafari left out of Jamaica 50th Anniversary celebration

2014 Rastafari makes case for reoccupation of Pinnacle in February

2014 Pinnacle Property Issue referred to the Land Ministry, February 8th