Jubilee Greetings and Rastafari Blessings from Chicago on June 8,
2004: 1,189 days before the Ethiopian Millenium
Exactly fifty years ago today, Haile Selassie I came to Chicago and
made an unscheduled visit to the south side to visit South Park
Baptist Church, 3722 S King Drive. I and Sister Myrah decided it was
important to go to the church in an attempt to get a
"touch"--an insight, an inspiration -- from remembering
HIM's presence at that very spot exactly one jubilee later. I&I
visit was all the more significant due to the fact that this morning
at 6:05 am CST the path of Venus directly crossed over the disc of the
Sun, an event known as the Venus Transit. This event happens every 130
years and, according to Kiara Windrider and The Global Oneness
Foundation, "The energies of Sun and Venus blend together, and as
these blended radiations make their way into the Earth's
electromagnetic fields, it weaves the energies of love and unity into
the mass consciousness of the planet, and potentially into the hearts
of every man, woman, and child alive on Earth!" During this
"astronomical event of the year" writes Carl Johan Calleman,
PH.D, it is hard to avoid the impressions that the very transit of
Venus across the Sun has somehow served to concentrate these energies
and has sent an intensifying beam to planet Earth. During the Venus
transits the cosmic energies were thus strongly amplified. There are
however many good reasons to believe that the Venus transit on June 8,
2004. . . will herald a development of communications between human
beings that is not based on technology. The chief reason is that we
are now at a stage . . . that favors the right brain half and the
intuitive faculties of our mind that are mediated by this. And so, we
may expect that the upcoming Venus transit will launch an era of
communications utilizing mental rather than electromagnetic fields. .
. . Since there is no person alive today who was born in 1882 or
earlier the Venus transit in 2004 will be everyone's first such
experience. What may we then expect from this occurrence?"
Given that I and Sister Myrah were the only two people able to
experience the Venus Transit in the very City where Haile Selassie was
a full Jubilee ago, and in the exact location where His Imperial
Majesty, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of Judah
uttered His special message to the African in American's I
raspectfully ask for the attention of the Rastafari Family Worldwide
at this time.
Haile Selassie's message spoken at the South Park Baptist Church
exactly fifty years ago today was that if the United States has been
able to assume its outstanding position as leader in the world today,
"it has been due, in no small part, to your [i.e descendants of
Africa] profound religious faith and ideals." His Imperial
Majesty also said, "The high station which the United States has
attained has also been due to the devoted labours of every American
citizen. And not the least of the credit for these achievements is due
to the numerous gorups of American citizens who have made their home
on the great African continent of which Ethiopia is proud to be a
part." Recalling his 1936 warning to the League of Nations, when
Italy was invading his country, Haile Selassie said that in those
"difficult hours in our fight for independence, we were not
standing alone because peoples of African origin throughout the world
were with us in spirit through their moral and spritual support. It is
only natural, therefore, that we Africans should follow with deepest
interest the inspiring achievements and contributions of the peoples
of African origin in the United States. By your actions, your
devotions and your sacrifices you are justifying throughout the world
the advancement of the cause of racial and social equality and the
right of all peoples to freedom, independence and
self-expression."
In His Imperial Majesty's first exclusive interview since His
arrival to the United States on May 25, 1954, Emperor Haile selassie
told the Chicago Defender newspaper that, "My message to the
colored people of the United States is that they continue to press
forward with determination, their social and intellectual advancement,
meeting all obstacles with Christian courage and tolerance, confident
in the certainty of the eventual triumph of justice and equality
throughout the world." During the brief but exclusive interview
the Emperor also exploded the oft repeated rumor that the people of
Ethiopia do not wish to be identified with the colored people of
America or associate themselves with their problems. With this rumor
in mind, the Emperor, the Emperor was asked, "Is there a kindred
feeling between your people and the colored people of America?"
The Emperor replied: "The people of Ethiopia feel the strongest
bond of sympathy and understanding with the colored people of the
United States. We greatly admire your achievements and your
contributions to American life and the tremendous development of this
great nation. I have been deeply impressed with the warmth of the
reception which the colored people of the United States have reserved
for me." Next, the Emperor was asked, "What do you feel is
the best solution to the unrest found in Africa today?" Emperor
Haile Selassie replied, "The orderly progress of the African
people toward self-government and the increasing participation by the
people themselves in the institutions of their government, is, in my
opinion, the best long term solution to the political tensions which
exist in parts of Africa where self-determination has not yet been
fully achieved. [Ras note: Remember that HIM is speaking in 1954,
before even Ghana had independence (1957)-- nine years before the OAU
was formed.] The expansion of opportunity for education and the
improvement in living standards through development programs will also
be important factors in any such program." Finally, the Emperor
was asked what had been the hihglight of his visit to America thus
far. Haile Selassie replied, "I have of course been greatly
impressed by the warmth and cordiality of my reception, including of
course, the overwhelming warmth of the reception extended me by the
colored people of this great nation."
That was His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I's message exactly
fifty (50) years ago today. This message came at a time when His
Imperial Majesty had already invited Africans in America to repatriate
to Ethiopia in 1919 (Ethiopian Empress Zauditu’s nephew and
Commander of the Imperial Army Dedjamatch Nadao's secretary Ato Sinkas
to Harlem’s Black Jewish leader and Musical Director of the UNIA
Rabbi Arnold Josiah Ford); again in 1922 at the UNIA Convention; in
1927 through Dr. Workeneh Martin; and in 1929 to Rabbi Arnold Josiah
Ford through Ato Gabrou Desta, who carried Ras Tafari's message that
"“We would welcome them back to Ethiopia, their Fatherland . .
. . There is plenty of room for them here and we are certain they
would be of the greatest aid in restoring their ancient land to its
pristine glory.” [see http://rastaites.com/report4.htm#7
]
Recognizing the need of incoming Repatriates to become Citizens of
Ethiopia, His Imperial Majesty issued in the Consolidated Laws of
Ethiopia that become part of the 1931 Constitution, under Section 9
NATIONALITY 12(2), the following provision providing for Citizenship
for Black people of the West:
“12(2) If the Imperial Ethiopian Government deems any foreigner
who applies for Ethiopian citizenship to be of value or if it finds
other special reason which convinces it that the applicant should be
granted citizenship it may grant him/her Ethiopian citizenship even if
he/she does not fulfill the [residency and language] requirements
prescribed in Article 12(b) and (d) of the Nationality Law of 1930.”
By 1931, with a framework in place for the full Repatriation of
Blacks from the West, Ato Gabrou informed Rabbi Ford and Eudora Paris
of land concessions granted.Of course, the Fascist invasion of
Ethiopia in 1935-36 interrupted the Repatriation movement of Africans
in America until 1948, when, in a letter to the Executive Committee of
EWF Local 31 in Kingston, Jamaica, EWF Executive President George
Bryan announced the 500 acre Shashemane land grant, which was the
personal property of the Emperor, given on a trial basis, "since
the way it is utilized will be the touchstone for additional
grants." In 1953, His Imperial Majesty sent Madame Sahara on an
18 month repatriation-recruiting mission through Black communities in
the United States. A year later, Mamie Richardson of the EWF, went on
a similar tour in Jamaica. In the twelve years since His Imperial
Majesty regained His Throne in Addis Ababa, Haile Selassie had
quadrupled His national economy, Ethiopia was exporting meat, cereals
and vegetables to the Middle East, had established a state of the art
telecommunications facility in Kagnew, and had made Ethiopian Airlines
one of the best and most competititve in the world. That is why
Emperor Haile Selassie told a special joint session of the US
Congress, on May 28, 1954 that,
"In consequence, in many respects, and particularly since the
last world war, Ethiopia has become a new frontier of widely expanding
opportunites, notwithstanding the tremendous set-back which we
suffered in the unprovoked invasion of our country nineteen years ago
and the long years of unaided struggle against an infinitely stronger
enemy. The last seventeen years have seen the quadrupling of our
foreign trade, currency and foreign exchange holdings. Holdings of
American dollars have increased ten times over. The Ethiopian dollar
has become the only US dollar-based currency in the Middle East today.
The assets of our national bank of issue have increased one thousand
percent. Blessed with what is perhaps the most fertile soil in Africa,
well-watered, and with a wide variety of climates ranging from
temperate on the plateau, to the tropical in the valleys, Ethiopia can
grow throughout the year crops, normally raised only in widely
separated areas of the earth's surface.
Since the war, Ethiopia has become the granary of the Middle East,
as well as the only exporter of meat, cereals and vegetables. Whereas
at the end of the war, every educational facility had been destroyed,
today, schools are springing up throughout the land, the enrollment
has quadrupled and, as in the pioneer days in the United States, and
indeed, I presume, as in the lives of many of the distinguished
members of Congress here present, school-children, in their zeal for
education, take all sorts of work in order to earn money to purchase
text books and to pursue their education. Finally, through the return
in 1952 of its historic ports on the Red Sea and of the long-lost
territory of Eritrea, Ethiopia has not only regained access to the
sea, but has been one of the few states in the post-war world to have
regained lost territory pursuant to post-war treaties and in
application of peaceful means and methods. We have thus become a land
of expanding opportunities where the American pioneering spirit,
ingenuity and technical abilities have been and will contribute to be
welcomed."
Agian, on June 8, 1954, His Imperial Majesty told 1,1000 of
Chicago's top business, civic and governmenta leaders that,
"Unllimited opportunites exist (in Ethiopia) for American capital
and pioneering spirit . . . " Having recognised the "no
small part" that Africans in America contributed to what Haile
Selassie called America's "phenomenal progress", Emperor
Haile Selassie I, by the time of His visit to Chicago on June 8, 1954,
was well-ready to make good on his "Repatriation Offer"
which the Chicago Defender newspaper reported as follows: "a
house, rent-free, a salary at least equalling that which applicants
are now earning or could earn in America, free transportation to
Ethiopia for applicants and their families, annual three-months
vacations with pay and -- in some instinces -- automobiles provided by
the government. . . . Persons interested in applying for employment in
Ethiopia or receiving additional information are advised to write the
Ethiopian Embassy in Washington."
Given that June 8, 2004 is a day of intensified energies for mental
communications on the Jubilee Anniversary of His Imperial Majesty, the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of Judah's presence
in the place where I was born and raised, I can't help but to take
time to Commemorate the message that the Almighty Himself gave fifty
years ago, and its relevance to today. Now, I have a message for the
whole Rastafari Family Wordwide.
The message is this:
Exactly fifty years ago, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came
to carry I&I home to a place He Himself had prepared that where He
lived, I&I shall abide. It was open to all, yet, even unto today,
few have forwarded? Why? Why did I&I fail to claim and manifest
I&I deliverance fifty years ago? Ras Mora, during the Jubilee
Commemoration Exhibition in Brooklyn, New York, gave the reasoned
answer summed up thus: faced with the choice between Repatriation and
Integration, the people of African descent in America chose
integration. On the heels of the integrated military coming out of
World War II and the Korean War, having, apparently, triumphed in the
Brown vs. Board of Education decision, We, the Black people of the
West, MISSED I&I DELIVERANCE!
Consider this: Ethiopia in 1954 was an emerging world power every
bit as much as the United States, who itself had just suffered a
"Great Depression" in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Like
Ethiopia in 1935-1936, America became embroiled in War in 1941, having
been attacked at Pearl Harbor. Today, America is celebrating her
"D-Day" victory at Normandy, just as Ethiopians celebrate
the Great Ethiopian Anniversary of May 5, 1941 when Emperor Haile
Selassie entered Addis Ababa to regain His Throne. Fifty years after
the Emperor of Ethiopia came and visited the President of the United
States, Ethiopia, the first civilization on earth which gave all
peoples religion, science and culture, has now become the last in
nearly every major index of quality of life, while America has become
the world's only superpower nation.
What happened? Now, fifty years later look at the facts:
Ethiopia is no longer a "well-watered" food exporter with
a sky-rocketing econmy. Though I&I never give up hope for a
glorious Ethiopian future, the fact is that Ethiopia is ravaged by
drought, famine, illness, and lack of development. Ethiopia again lost
her access to the Red Sea when Eritrea separated. Is this what Haile
Selassie invisioned in 1954?
Haile Selassie was recruiting I&I to play no small part in
Ethiopia's development, no less than I&I played in America's of
which he said I&I had reason to be proud. Thus, I&I have to
take some responsibility for the conditions in Ethiopia just as
I&I have to take responsibility for conditions in our communitites
in the west. To the degree that Haile Selassie already set I&I
free, so is I&I responsibility at home and abroad. Ar the prophet
Marcus Mosiah Garvey said in a speech delivered at Madison Square
Garden on March 16, 1924:
“The thoughtful and industrious of our race want to go back to
Africa, because we realize it will be our only hope of permanent
existence. We cannot all go in a day or in a year, ten or twenty
years. It will take time under the rule of modern economics, to
entirely or largely depopulate a country of a people, who have been
its residents for centuries, but we feel that with proper help for
fifty years, the problem can be solved. We do not want all the Negroes
in Africa. Some are no good here, and naturally will be no good there
. . . . “ [Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey]
What effect has the thoughtful and industrious of the race had on
Ethiopia fifty years after Haile Selassie, the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, Conquering Lion of Judah actually came to carry I&I
home? From this perspective, one must honestly answer, very little.
Did not Haile Selassie have great expectations from I&I? Yes!!!
Shashemane has not been developed, additional grants were not given,
and "phenomenal progress" in which our ancestors played no
small progress has not been achieved.
Thus, the true meaning of the Jubilee Commemoration of His Imperial
Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I First Visit to the United States,
1954, for We, the descendants of Africans in America, is the mercy and
forgiveness of His Imperial Majesty for having failed to "Come
out of her my people".
As Rasses in America, our God and King came to carry His people
home and did not fail to provide everything I&I need for a better
life in our Forefather's and Foremother's land. Emperor Haile Selassie
came and gave His people citizenship and their "forty acres and a
mule" in a Black Empire at a time when America was practicing Jim
Crow apartheid. We chose to integrate into America. Our experts,
reflecting on fifty year after the Brown v Board of Education
decision, have concluded that the sitution of public education for
Black youth is worse than fifty years ago. Likewise is the situation
for Black people in the criminal justice situation, for Black farmers,
in every field accept sports and entertainment. In all, the
descendants of Africans in America have not become free from the
legacy of slavery and racism.
Now, at the outbreak of hostilities against America which started
on Septemeber 11, 2001 (Ethiopian News Years), the descendants of
Africans in America have become second class citizens and have
integrated themselves into the judgment which is coming to America.
When weapons of mass destruction are used again against America, in
America, there will not be any distinction or discrimination made. The
integrated African Americans will suffer America's fate right along
with her first-class citizens.
I&I are in the same position as descendants of Africans in
Europe, who were looking at the outbreak of hostilites in Europe. At
that time, enlightened people could see the soon-to-come consequences
of failed foreign policies. Haile Selassie himself said at the League
of Nations, "Today it is us [Ethiopia], tomorrow it will be you
[Europe]. You have struck the match in Ethiopia, but it shall burn
Europe!"
Imagine you were a Black person , living in Europe, and forseeing
what was to come. The Voice of Ethiopia, which became the official
organ of the Ethiopian World Federation, Inc., as early as 1937,
published articles every week foretelling of the "doom" of
Europe. All the bombs, air raids, tanks, trenches, dead bodies,
millions of dead bodies, war, poverty, famine, millions of dead
bodies. Ask anyone to tell of their struggles surviving World War II
in Europe . . . . Back then, there was no "Africa for the
African's" to Repatriate to. Haile Selassie was himself living in
Bath, England! There was no place to run to, to escape to. Haile
Selassie had only just begun to prepare a place that where He is,
I&I shall abide. Black people in Europe must have been horrified
upon the realization that they could not escape the same dark fate
which befell Ethiopians at home! Well, that same fate is about to
befall America. Yet, descendants of Africans in America were given an
opportunity for deliverance in 1954 and instead chose to integrate
into America. Not knowing this history, descendants of Africans in
America could not properly respond to the destruction of the World
Trade Center on September 11, 2001. That is why, in the just published
book Paradox of Loyalty: An African American Response to the War on
Terrorism edited by Julianne Malveux and Reginna A. Green with a
Forward by Cornell West, published by third World Press in Chicago,
among the twenty-six (26) submissions purporting to represent the full
range of African American Response to the War on Terrorism, none of
them express an emigrationist, repatriation response. Given the
blighted condition of Black life in America, along with the fact that
America was now the target of hostilities and has become the most
vulnerable in her history, there is now, more than any period in
African American history, reason to embark on a "Back to
Africa" program. With diminished quality of life and the
impending "doom of America", Repatriation to Ethiopia, our
divine heritage as HIM said, represents today, as it did in 1937, our
best and last hope for existence itself.
