Should Bob Marley be a National Hero?

Here’s why Bob Marley should be made a national hero in Jamaica.

Now this isn’t the kind of thing that I usually make content about, but every now and then I feel compelled to comment on certain social issues.  And this one’s been burning me for a while. It baffles me how there are people in Jamaica, including multiple governments over the years, who don’t think Bob Marley is worthy of being named a national hero.

No one – and I repeat – no one has contributed more to Jamaica’s cultural, political, historical, economic, social and even religious identity, than Bob Marley.  

His cultural contribution is obvious.  Even more than forty years after his death, Bob Marley is still the number-one selling artiste out of Jamaica.  And when any Jamaican travels anywhere in the world even today, the first thing that a foreigner says is, oh you’re from Jamaica?  Bob Marley! Yeah mon!  They might even start singing One Love.

Bob Marley globalized an original artform indigenous to and created in Jamaica – reggae music.  He took the sound of this little Caribbean island to the world, and the world loved it!  And loved us!

And with the globalization of reggae music came an economic contribution that continues to this day – I would dare say unmatched by any other Jamaican in history.

A music industry that today remains vibrant.  How many new, young, extremely talented singers have come up wanting to be like Bob Marley?  How many record studios have been built? How many sound engineers have a job? How many guitarists and drum players have been able to travel the world?  And how many stylists and fashion designers?  Because you know once you’re an artist, you gotta have swag!

And how many stage shows feature local talent?  How many sound systems get a work?  How many peanuts man make a money?  How many promoters?  And graphic designers to make the flyers?  And how many radio stations get paid to run the ads?  How many jobs do they all support?  All off the back of Bob Marley?

Not to mention tourism.  How many people have visited this island because of his legacy?

And then there’s his social and political contribution.  

Bob Marley came “this close” to sacrificing his life for peace and political stability in Jamaica.  So much so that the recent biopic about his life chose this as its overarching focus.

Bob promoted peace during the most violent and politically turbulent period in this country’s history – famously holding up the hands of the two warring political leaders at the One Love concert, just days after an assassination attempt on his life.

He was willing, and almost did, make the ultimate sacrifice for this country, despite being warned.  And yet, there are people who say he is not a national hero.

Truth be told, Bob Marley was and still is an International Hero!  A hero to people all over Africa, the Caribbean, and Black people around the world.

As a young black girl growing up in Belize, my father’s Bob Marley records were the beginning of my black consciousness, my introduction to Garvey and Selassie, which became my gateway to Malcolm and Martin, DuBois, Van Sertima, and other noteworthy black thinkers.

Marcus Garvey said, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.  None but ourselves can free our minds.”  

Most of us today only know those words because Bob Marley put them to music in Redemption Song.  And I venture to say that those words have had a profound impact on almost every black person, and every oppressed person, who has ever heard them.

Those words have given us courage, and compelled generations of people to educate ourselves.  Yet there are people who do not believe this is heroic. 

Bob Marley globalized an entire religion that originated in Jamaica.  There are now Rastafarians worldwide!  And whether or not you agree with the principles of Rastafarianism, who else can say that they popularized an entire religion?  I mean in history!  There are only a few figures who stand out.  

Which other Jamaican has had the same impact on the culture, the history, the politics, the religion, the economy and the entire society of modern day Jamaica?  Not one, not even any of the seven people who have previously been granted the honor of national hero.

He was willing to sacrifice his life like Nanny, Sharp, Bogle and Gordon. He promoted political stability like Manley and Bustamante. He evangelized black consciousness like Garvey.  That’s all of the heroes combined.  PLUS he globalized music and religion that originated in Jamaica.  And helped to establish Jamaica as a music and cultural Mecca, indirectly contributing to the economy and tourism for decades to come.

Yet there are people who still say, Bob is not a hero.  It feels like that meme from Tyrese, “What more do you want from me?”

Now Bob’s detractors say that he is not fit to be named a national hero because he fathered many children outside his marriage, and smoked ganja.  They say that for these reasons, he is not a fit moral character.

However, marijuana has been decriminalized in Jamaica since 2015.  And the issues with his marriage, well, that is best for his wife to judge.  She moved on a long time ago.  It’s time the haters did too.

Sure, Bob had flaws.  But who doesn’t?  To let these two flaws overshadow the impact Bob Marley has had on Jamaica and the world, and tell the world that Bob Marley is not one of your heroes, is not only disrespectful to Bob, but to Jamaica itself.

And that’s the Bottom Line!