Bob Marley

Bob Marley’s Redemption Song was his last single before his death on May 11, 1981. It sums up what he stood for in his songs: freedom and redemption. Jamaica’s history started off in overcrowded barracoons surrounded by human filth and waste. Jamaican leaders were faced with the challenge to find way to overcome the trauma of slavery and colonialism. Marley was a very spiritual singer who gave hope to the downtrodden in his native Jamaica, and whose message spread to the United States and around the world when he became a star. The song’s lyrics are inspirited by a speech given by Marcus Garvey in 1937. Few know the story and the song’s true meaning. Bob Marley paraphrased Marcus Garvey’s speech, “The Work That Has Been Done,” where Garvey speaks in Nova Scotia and summarizes the achievements the UNIA reached to raise consciousness “to the race that never existed before.” Marcus Garvey worked to stress a philosophy called “African Fundamentalism” in which he called for African-Americans recognition of their roots in Africa. In building this nation, Garvey came up with the phrase “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.”...

Bob Marley

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