Remembering Bob Marley
CVK
Last month marked the 25th anniversary of Bob Marley’s death. (Sorry, I told you I’ve been behind!) This article has some interesting stuff on his mixed identity:
It was 25 years ago, on May 11th, when reggae music icon and international star Bob Marley died. Marley’s name keeps on resonating because of his contributions in projecting reggae music and his country (Jamaica) unto the world stage. He was born Robert Nesta Marley in Rhoden Hall Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. His absentee father was a white British captain and his mother, Cedella Booker, was a black Jamaican…
Later when his peers taunted him about his mixed race status, Marley replied: “I don’t have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-cast or whatever. Me don’t dip on nobody’s side. Me don’t dip on the black man’s side nor the white man’s side. Me dip on God’s side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.”
If you want to read more about Bob Marley and the politics of racial identity, I recommend a book called On Racial Frontiers: The New Culture of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison and Bob Marley
Bohwe wrote:
It appears that Bob Marley wasn’t addicted to his racial identity as his family is so consumed by it. From Bob’s interviews he was realistic about race. That he was more concern about his music and women(lol), and being a rasta. But his family is always talking about him being 1/2 white. I mean his daughter Cedella, is always doing interviews saying she has white relatives. Ok, that’s good but where were these white relatives when her dad and mother was living in the ghetto suffering. Bob had to struggle as a black man, not as a white man. And the world saw him as a black man, so we need to accept that and moved on. Bob saw himself as a rasta, can we move on already. It’s like the Marley family know that for the most part, Black folks ain’t jocking Bob music like the white fans are, so they have run this Bob being 1/2 white into the ground. That, and the fact that in Jamaica they are obsessed with whose a browning and whose more accepted because of non-African background. I’d say they need to focus on making that contury better economically, instead of what color one is, because it’s a 3rd world contury, and to the rest of the world, Jamaica is nothing but a poor island full of poor negroes.
Posted 19 Jun 2006 at 1:56 pm ¶
Aerosolee wrote:
wtf Bohwe..
Posted 20 Jun 2006 at 10:40 am ¶
Aerosolee wrote:
I liked what you said about Bob Marley, but I HATE what you said about Jamaica. I don’t want to start nothing but how can you stay there and say Jamaica is this and that. Are YOU Jamaican?! Damn. Have some integrity. Every Country has there flaws. Just because Jamaica is a third world country, does not give you the right to say that. Would you say the same about Belize? It’s not Jamaica with that ideology of ”whose a browning and whose more accepted because of a non-African background”, It’s the individuals that happen to populate the island.
And plus, Jamaica is not full of negroes as I am a FULL Jamaican with a mixed background. Jamaica has alot of diversity. So HA!
Posted 20 Jun 2006 at 10:50 am ¶
Bohwe wrote:
Sorry for the whole Island full of negroes, but I guess it was my attempt to critiicize the various reports or commentary from other Jamaicans online and online sources that seem to be overly concerned about not being considered black. I just feel that Jamaicans and the Marley family seem to , in my opinion seem to try so hard to claim their white heritage or not being black as a badge of honor. And what I was trying to say, was that instead of focusing on whose black and whose not, focus on something more important like developing a better economy, and better environment for the countless poor, which is more than 1/2 the population. Even Cindy Breakspeare , Marley’s baby mama commented on the fact that many black Jamaicans are bleeching their skins. She being a woman that is able to pass as white, mentioned how, there was nothing glamorous about being able to pass because they were the ones being the house whores or something to that affect. So, I’m going by that along with the fact that even though as you say, Jamaica has a mix history doesn’t mean that much to the world, becuase stereotypically Jamaica is full of poor blacks. And sorry to say but even those of mix background or of other races are considered poor and black to everyone else.
Posted 20 Jun 2006 at 7:39 pm ¶
mr guy wrote:
Bohwe:
I really hate it when people like you make assumptions about other people you are not even part of.As a jamaican myself I can tell you really don’t know what the hell you are talking about.You’re making it sound as if jamaica is full of nothing but self hating people…………
Posted 22 Jun 2006 at 3:44 am ¶
Jamal wrote:
I have been Bob Marley’s fan since 1979, I am 44 years old now and i live in Yemen. Mu grandmother is pure African from Kenya. my dad was a pure Arab and my Mum is a half-cast.
In my country i am still considered as a half -cast.
Bob was trying to send a message the world that there is no difference between Black or white since they were created by God. He loved peace and tried to spread it all over the world, of which I believe that he succeeded better than many politicians.
He was a spiritual person, gifted by god.
Posted 23 Jun 2006 at 1:15 am ¶
brad wrote:
Bohwe:
Wasn’t Marley trying to say that he was mixed and didn’t want to have to choose sides? Furthermore, he was quite blunt about the bigotry he faced from blacks and whites.
As for the world seeing Marley as ‘black,’ what does that have to do with Marley’s view of himself? If someone, like Marley’s family, does note that they are mixed, how does that disparage their African ancestry? Jamaica is a poor country that needs to make improvements. However, why should mixed-race people deny their ancestry for a false sense of racial unity when instead there should be a sense of national unity?
I’m not a Jamaican and I’m not an expert on it’s culture. However, I have read that there are a lot of mixed-race people, like Michael Lee-Chin (who recognizes his African and Chinese ancestry), who are striving to build a better place for all. Let’s be honest, no country that considers itself all “Black” or all “White” or all Chinese will automatically become a great nation thanks to its “racial” unity. Such thinking leads to a dismissal of ethnic minority rights (see Rwanda, Ireland, USA, Bosnia, etc.).
Posted 03 Jul 2006 at 11:39 am ¶
Alex Morrison wrote:
Bohwe :
Your brain is full of assumptions and this i think really holds you back.
“bob had to struggle as a black man, not as white man”
-white doesnt mean rich and black doesnt mean poor. –stop stereotyping
How can you say the world saw him as a black man, only narrow minded ppl like yourself see people as color only.
Dont start picking a race for him
he is half “black” half “white” …nothing more nothing less
its really not difficult to understand. the race doesnt make the man.
you dont live your life as a black man or white man. you make your own decisions, that measures your true identityand success.
“jamaica is just a poor island full of poor negreos”
-thats probally the most discusting statement i have ever heard.
wow i can go on forever.
you said, “instead of focusing on whose black and whose not….
STOP
YOU are the one focusing that he is “BLACK” or not.
NEXT QUOTE- “and sorry to say but even those of mixed backround or of other races are considered poor and black to everyone else.”
everyone else is not just you. dont speak for other people.
I am extremely offended by this quote.
i am of mixed backround and my whole family is. In my family there are 5 succesfull doctors all mixed. and others that are engineers. AGAIN IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOUR ARE, YOU ROUTE YOU WANT TO TAKE IN LIFE. regardless of what your origin. ^CHOOSE THE
and im sorry to say but you are the most bigited minded person i have ever heard of.
my mother is from ethiopia
and my father is caucasion from germany.
so i pretty much proved your theory wrong that all people from poor countries are poor being my mom is a doctor and is from a third world country and we are not POOR.
there are many ppl that work hard and become successful that are mixed or “black”
all this talk makes me curious what your origin is?
Posted 17 Aug 2006 at 8:59 pm ¶
monkeylumps wrote:
Bohwe…without offending you, what do you really know about most Jamaicans? How can you broadly state that Jamaicans downplay their roots? If anything, most of them “big up” their roots more than black Americans! I know many people who claim to be part Cherokee Indian or part Japanese or part Irish or Puerto Rican or Creole…nearly all of these people are black Americans. They call themselves “light-skinned” even if they aren’t and talk about their so-called “good” hair. Now that’s downplaying blackness.
Most Jamaicans don’t do this and it is a very diverse society. In Jamaica, you’ll see all types of people and while there is somewhat of a class/color division, it is nothing like the US. You’ll walk into schools there and see white Jamaicans, black Jamaicans, mixed Jamaicans, Chinese, Indian, Syrian, Lebanese, etc. People treating one another with respect without all the racial stuff. The Jamaican motto is “Out of Many, One People”. Bob Marley believed in the concept of unity and brotherhood. One love. There are Jamaicans who bleach their skin without a doubt but most love their country and their roots.
To say that it is a land of “poor negroes” is f’ed up. It is a poor country filled with poverty and violence, but it is also a country that believes in hard work and simplicity. BM conveyed this attitude in his songs. He is respected b/c of this attitude! You say “black folks ain’t jocking his music like the white fans”? OK…his music is something most people can relate to, whether black or white, so your comment makes no sense. He had a vision of people being united through music, it was never about race or color. People didn’t see him as anything but a talented individual. If you go to Jamaica and attend a live show like Sumfest or Sunsplash or one of those, and Bob’s music is played, you’ll see how his work moves people from all around the world.
You’re the one who has a problem with the fact that he was mixed. His family has never said he wasn’t black, how could they? They simply don’t hide the fact that he had a white father. I know his family, in fact. Mother Booker, Cedella, and two of his sons. They’re nothing like the people you describe. You’re very hostile in your posts about Jamaicans as well. OK…like you’ve never observed blacks from America or other countries who deny their African roots? No, you specifically say it like it is primarily something Jamaicans do. Like the person above me asked, what is your origin? What makes you the voice of authority on an entire culture you seem to know very little about?
Posted 17 Sep 2006 at 9:03 pm ¶