Rastafari use Haile Selassie’s visit for own purpose
Ethiopian monarch His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie was in Jamaica for only three days, April 21 - 23, 1966. However, in a land where he is revered as God in flash by Rastafari, the welcome he received at the then Palisadoes Airport in Kingston is still talked about by those who were there and passed down in written, electronic and oral history to those who were not.
The arrival ceremony had to be abandoned, as Rastafari took over the tarmac whent the aeroplane, with its red, gold and green markings, landed, surrounding the aircraft and waiting - and waiting - and waiting - until HIM appeared at the door. It took the intervention of Rastafari, notably Mortimer Planno, to negotiate the deplaning.
What may have seemed as chaos and unruliness was evidence of a general resentment of against how Rastafari were being treated by the Jamaican state and, as Ras IvI stated at this year’s anniversary celebration of HIM’s arrival held at the UWI, Mona, a specific plan to use the opportunity to voice complaints.
“God a come, is not just a king a come,” Ras IvI said. And it was Rastafari’s chce to “:tell God what dem a do we dung ya.” So placards were prepared, stating the grievances, red, gold ad green clothing was fine-tuned and Rastafari went to the airport in numbers unmatched before or after for the visit of a head of state to Jamaica.
Ras IvI said "When the plane come with the red, gold, and green, people say, 'Rastafari!'" It is a reaction that is consistent through reports of the aeroplane being sighted and landing. Franklyn ‘Chappy’ St Juste, then a cameraman doing television coverage of the event, said at the anniversary ceremony there was an unforgettable roar from the crowd.
St Juste was literally caught up in the fervour as Rastafari drew closer to living deity. Posted on the tarmac, he said "I found myself heading towards the plane and I was not walking." It took some time for the door to be opened and St Juste noted that from his observation of Selassie just outside the plane, "he didn't look like he wanted to come down the stairs".
Of course, eventually he did, the throng moving with him so thick that St Juste up also prevented him from getting to his next location - the National Stadium. He also visited National Heroes Circle, Jamaica College,, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Kings House and the location for what has become the most lasting physical evidence of his visit, the Haile Selasie High School off Spanish Town Road in southern St Andrew.
Haile Selassie travelled by rail across Jamaica to Montego Bay for his departure from the international airport there. St Juste was on the train as it went across the island, with stops in Denbigh (Clarendon), Williamsfield (Manchester), Maggotty (St Elizabeth), and other towns. The planned stop in Spanish Town, St Catherine, was abandoned, as the crowds eager to see Selassie was too large to control and the set-up for the official ceremony was overrun.
However, after the Palisadoes experience the authorities were well prepared for JIM’s departure and all went smoothly in Montego Bay. Emphasising the impact of the visit, St Juste said “it is 50 years. I did not even realise it because it seems like yesterday.”
Fulfilling its role as a record of significant events, Jamaican popular music has inscribed the visit in song, deejay Early B doing Visit of the King:
“ It was the
year 1966
When Selassie I made a
visit
Mi seh Rasta make de wicked
dem look like rubbish
He sums up the crowd ("Thousan' of people Jah know de crowd
thick"), the weather ("It was good weather but the
rain did a drip") and an open use of the sacrament
("Mi seh every dreadlock a burn up a spliff").
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