RPG®
FREEDOM IS A MUST !!!
FREEDOM IS A MUST !!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…..
One Million Rastafarian Strong March
A sea of red, gold, and green
When event organizer, Nijah Don witnessed the Million Man March, a few years back, it
triggered an idea, and lit fire to a vision. At that very moment, he thought about how powerful
it would be to organize a march for one million Rastafarians. Through months and months of
preparation, it has finally been put into motion. “Imagine looking out and seeing one million
“rastas”, emcompassed in a sea of red, gold, and green”, noted Don. To crest one million
people in a peaceful march on Washington D.C. admittedly is exciting. There has been nothing
like this scheduled to date, until now. April 15th, 2011, will mark the first march of this kind.
Don, who lives in New York, came to the States from St. Catherine Jamaica. He experienced
struggles and of course had to adapt to a totally different country and culture. It was at that
time that he embraced the Rastafarian way of life.
The Rastafari movement reared up in an already heavily Christian culture in Jamaica in the
1930s. Rastafarians or “rastas”, worship Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, who was an Emperor of
Ethiopia in one term from 1930–1936 and later in a second term from 1941–1974. Supporters of
the moment believe he is the Incarnation of God. Rastafarians believe in being afrocentric. They
emphatically claim the non-acceptance of Western (Babylon) society views. They are very spiritual
and refer to Africa as “Zion”, mankind’s original birthplace, and a common spiritual ritual is
smoking cannibus. Most Rastafarians have dreadlocks, and many say it symbolizes the mane of
a lion (Lion of Judah). As this movement progressed, it is no wonder that the teachings,
speeches and sociopolitical views of Marcus Garvey were constantly referred to. Rastafarians
speak of the "Mansions of Rastafari", with the most highly recognized as Bobo Ashanti,
Nyahbinghi, and the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Some Rastafarians refer to the belief as “Ethiopian
Orthodox Christianity” or even Judaism.
The movement pushed out of Jamaica, mostly due to the spread of reggae music. Global
awareness became evident by way of artist like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Gregory
Isaacs, Bunny Wailer, Dennis Brown, Black Uhuru, Aswad, Third World, and Steel Pulse. More
recent reggae artist have continued to keep Rastafarian awareness present, such as Buju
Banton, Sizzla, Capleton, Ziggy and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. To date, it is documented that
there are well over one million Rastafarians around the globe, with just shy of a quarter of a
million in Jamaica alone.
“We are so excited to see this big day take place. All in the name of the most High Jah.
Showing unity and togetherness is what this event is truly about”, says Don. “We will be
spreading the word through radio, news outlets and social websites to ensure a tremendous
turnout. We are working with event management teams such as Brooklyn Concrete and others
to focus on several cities, where we know the Rastafarian communities are prevalent. Word is
spreading like wildfire now, and avid interest continues to increase”. The event is open to the
public, it is for Rastafarians, for people who know of the culture and want to participate, for
those who love the music. It is for everyone. There will be clothes and food vendors, who will
be selling baked goods, and different foods including “I-tal” food, which derives out of the
Hebrew diet laws and is very similar to a strict vegetarian diet. After the march on Friday,
there will be a great line up of entertainment, speakers and special guests. Stay tuned, this
march is going to etch its mark on history. For updates and more information about the
event, check us on facebook @rastafarianpoliticalgroup or email us at: nijahdon@onemillionrastafrianstrongmarch.org
Stay tuned for website: onemillionrastafarianstrongmarch.org ONE LOVE
NIJAH DON
