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Grounation closes with call for Africa, Caribbean to unite

Published:Friday | March 14, 2025 | 12:06 AM
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Professor Rosalea Hamilton (left) of Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance leads the panel discussion with (from second left) Professor emeritus Dr Ishenkumba Kahwa of the UWI Mona and honourary council for Tanzania; Dr Gregory Roberts, UK Caribbean Advisory on
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Professor Rosalea Hamilton (left) of Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance leads the panel discussion with (from second left) Professor emeritus Dr Ishenkumba Kahwa of the UWI Mona and honourary council for Tanzania; Dr Gregory Roberts, UK Caribbean Advisory on Cooperatives; UWI Mona Professor Ian Boxill; and music producer Dennis Wright at Jamaica Music Museum’s (JaMM) ‘Grounation’, held at the Institute of Jamaica during Reggae Month. The JaMM symposium was this year held under the theme, ‘Bob Marley At 80: His Music, Legend and Legacy’.
Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn (left) and Director/Curator of the Jamaica Music Museum (JaMM) Herbie Miller groove to the music of Bob Marley & The Wailers, courtesy the JaMM Ensemble at the close-out session of Grounation held at the Inst
Contributed
Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn (left) and Director/Curator of the Jamaica Music Museum (JaMM) Herbie Miller groove to the music of Bob Marley & The Wailers, courtesy the JaMM Ensemble at the close-out session of Grounation held at the Institute of Jamaica last month.
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It seemed only appropriate that the organisers of this year’s Grounation should dedicate the final week of its annual Reggae Month symposia to the African continent, since the man at the centre of the discussions had done an entire album on it.

‘Africa Unite! Marley’s Vision For A United Africa’ – the week’s central theme – saw a near full room at the Institute of Jamaica lecture theatre on Sunday, February 23, much to the delight of organiser, Jamaica Music Museum (JaMM) director/curator, Herbie Miller.

Setting the tone for the discussions on ‘Bob Marley At 80: His Life, Music and Legacy’, moderator, Professor Rosalea Hamilton, noted that too often events of this kind ended with much talk but little follow up or action. She challenged attendees to reflect on an area in which they would further the message, unite Africa and take Marley’s vision to the next generation.

Conceptualiser of the Centre For Global Africa in Ethiopia, Professor Ezrah Aharone, in a video, shared his country’s progress with Marcus Garvey’s pan-Africanism and their proud history as “one of the African nations that was never colonised”.

He went on to express optimism for African diaspora engagement in the face of the reparations movement and other initiatives underway.

Music producer Dennis Wright, who worked with Marley as a young man, believes his music amplified Garvey’s teachings, as his message had resonated with the people. According to Wright, in the late 70s, Marley had made it clear he wanted to do the ‘Survival’ album, but Blackwell and his team had planned to pitch the reggae singer as a pop artiste.

“ ‘Survival’ came at a time when apartheid was the most brutal situation throughout Africa. Bob was affected by this situation and he wanted to make his voice heard. …He and Chris Blackwell had a lot of fight about ‘Survival’, but ‘Survival’ was the message he wanted to get out there,” Wright said.

“When you listen to the track ‘Survival’, it gives you a very deep feeling of what he was trying to get across to the Africans,” he added, pointing out that Africa at the time was having difficulties transitioning to a unification state.

Meanwhile, UWI Professor Ian Boxill, who has worked with the African continent, said the message in Marley’s ‘Survival’ album not only fuelled admiration for Marley but also the island, which continues to this day in Ghana where “many aspects of Jamaica” are seen.

Equal reverence is held for Marley in Sierra Leone, the country “literally shutting down” in observance of his birthday, Professor Hamilton noted.

Hamilton, who is founder and chair of the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance, reported that the Sierra Leone government is currently taking steps to make Bob Marley Day official in that country.

Acknowledging the longstanding friendship between the countries, Professor Ishenkumba Kahwa of the The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and honourary council for Tanzania, also highlighted Marley’s powerful message as a unifying force in Africa’s move to become one in the sixties.

Echoing those sentiments, chair of the UK Caribbean Advisory on Cooperatives, Dr Gregory Roberts, credited Marley with being a galvanising force in the United Kingdom, even among young children.

Hamilton listed the African Union (AU), African Continental Free Trade Area, Africa Caribbean Summit which celebrates African Caribbean Day on September 7, and the Permanent Forum On People of African Descent as just a few of the institutional developments geared toward integration and which the Caribbean should keep an eye on.

These, she said, would propel the journey and give meaning to ‘Africa Unite’. She also highlighted the 2063 AU agenda, with the diaspora as the sixth region, which sets out to forge a single African currency and passport, allow for free movement among the nations and, effectively, bring nearly three billion people together.

Closing out the show one final time, the JaMM Ensemble with new vocalist Feelingz, transformed the lecture theatre into a dancefloor as it reeled off ‘Zimbabwe’, ‘One Drop’, ‘Bad Card’, ‘Chant Down Babylon’, ‘Exodus’, ‘Natural Mystic’ and a string of other Marley hits.