November 2, the day on which Haile Selassie was crowned emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, is a very significant day on the Rastafari calendar and, in fact, besides the birthday of His Imperial Majesty (HIM) Haile Selassie, which is July 23, is probably the most important.

In fact, Wednesday, November 2, 2022 was exactly 92 years since HIM was crowned emperor of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The coronation of Haile Selassie was a grand affair and garnered attention worldwide, with, notably, at least 72 countries sending representatives. King George V, who was the reigning British monarch at the time, sent his third son, the Duke of Gloucester, to represent him. The US also made sure to send representatives to the coronation. In fact, most of the major world powers sent representatives to Haile Selassie’s grand coronation.

This was an event that took place in the Horn of Africa, which one might assume was a relatively obscure region of the globe. But this was certainly not the case. Ethiopia had earlier gained the reputation of being the only African country, at that time, that remained uncolonised, sovereign, and independent.

The entire multiple-day splendour of the intricate royal ceremony was captured on silent, black and white film, providing a powerful historical record of the pomp and pageantry of the whole affair. Additionally, the coronation was widely reported across the world in newspapers and magazines. Jamaica’s very own The Gleaner newspaper reported on the event. Time magazine, out of New York, did a front-page special on the coronation, which was published the next day on November 3, 1930; this is now a collector’s item. National Geographic published its first-ever colour edition in 1931 featuring colour photographs of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen, his wife, who was coronated right alongside her husband, thereby breaking with tradition. One thing is certain, on this particular occasion the Ethiopian monarchy made its presence was felt.

After the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 at which the plan for the carving up Africa to be shared among European powers was formulated, all of Africa’s communities became bound up in European colonies with borders not of their making. All except Ethiopia, that is, which successfully fought off the Italians at the famous Battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896. This was under the generalship of Emperor Menelik II, and, in fact, the Italians were beaten soundly.

So, in short, November 2 is a ‘big deal’ for the Rastafari movement in Jamaica and globally.

It was the grand coronation of Haile Selassie on November 2, 1930 that led to the birth of the Rastafari movement right here in Jamrock, and it was thanks to early, relatively vocal Jamaican proponents of the ancient and royal lineage that Haile Selassie represented, such as Leonard Howell, Robert Hinds, Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert, and Archibald Dunkley, that there was a movement at all. Of all these early proponents, Leonard Howell was the most prolific and the most strident in promoting the significance of the crowning of a black king in Ethiopia, Africa, in a world where the vast majority of the global black population was living under colonial rule.

Earlier this year Leonard Howell was conferred with national honours, which offered some type of recognition for the sterling contribution he has made to the genesis of the Rastafari movement. He was conferred posthumously with an Order of Distinction (Officer class), and I hope that sometime in the future it will be deemed fitting by the powers that be to upgrade him to one of Jamaica’s national heroes.

As some of us reflect on the legacy of HIM Haile Selassie, I think that Jamaica and the rest of the world would do well to take on board some of his pronouncements, especially during these turbulent times.

One of the speeches that HIM Haile Selassie gave on the importance of world peace has been published by Frontline Books, based in Chicago, in a book entitled: The Wise Mind of H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie. An excerpt from his speech reads:

“The major challenges confronting the world today are two: the preservation of peace and the betterment of the living conditions of that half of the world which is poor. These are, of course, mutually interdependent. Without peace it is futile to talk of improving man’s lot, and without such improvement the task of guaranteeing peace is rendered manifold more difficult. The assault on these problems must be made more simultaneously, and all of our actions should be taken with an eye to the solution of both.

“Were a real and effective disarmament achieved and the funds now spent in the arms race devoted to the amelioration of man’s state, were we to concentrate only on the peaceful uses of nuclear knowledge, how vastly and in how short a time might be changed the conditions of mankind. This should be our goal.

“There s no doubt that the wealth wasted in the destruction of humans could, if properly utilised, have contributed enormously towards the welfare of men and the worldwide advancement of civilisation.”

Herein we see just a sample of the wise words that HIM Haile Selassie had to offer decades ago on the predicament of the world and that paradoxically ring so true today, especially with the war still raging between Russia and Ukraine. And, as far as Jamaica is concerned, crime and violence is so high right now that, in my opinion, we are, for all intents and purposes, at war with ourselves.

Another excerpt from one of Haile Selassie’s speeches that I consider particularly relevant is that of ‘Character’, in which he says:

” Do not be the victims of temporary contentment and petty satisfactions. Aspire for worthwhile aims that shall be ideals for succeeding generations.

“If we permit ourselves to be tempted by narrow self-interest and vain ambition, if we barter our beliefs for short-term advantage, who will listen when we claim to speak for conscience, and who will contend that our words deserve to be heeded?”

Clearly some food for thought for our troubled nation.

Dr Michael Barnett is a senior lecturer in sociological theory and critical race theory at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or barnett37@hotmail.com.