ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada — Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell paid tribute to the Rastafarian community during African Liberation Day celebrations, crediting the movement with preserving African identity, advancing social justice causes, and keeping the spirit of liberation alive across the Caribbean.
Opening his remarks with a traditional Rastafarian greeting, Mitchell declared: “Haile I, Rastafari, Haile I!”
The Prime Minister said the Rastafarian community has played a pivotal role in ensuring that the significance of African Liberation Day is not forgotten.
“It is the Rastafarian community that has kept this event burning, imprinted in our minds when it was easy to forget it,” Mitchell said.
He also praised the movement’s contribution to promoting African identity and consciousness throughout the region.
“It is the Rastafarian community that has kept African consciousness and the reclaiming of our identity at the forefront of the diaspora in the Caribbean—not just in Grenada, but throughout the length and breadth of the Caribbean,” he stated.
Mitchell further acknowledged the community’s long-standing advocacy for the decriminalisation of marijuana and highlighted the challenges Rastafarians have historically faced.
“It is the Rastafarian community that has fought for the decriminalisation of the marijuana plant. It is the Rastafarian community that has often faced discrimination, prejudice, and victimisation simply for acknowledging that we are descendants of Africa,” he said.
Addressing the broader theme of African identity and liberation, the Prime Minister argued that embracing African heritage remains essential to achieving true freedom.
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“And as long as we do not accept, reclaim, and solemnise our identity as descendants of Africa, then the liberation and the freedom that we seek cannot happen,” Mitchell declared.
He concluded by formally recognising the Rastafarian community’s contribution to the observance and celebration of African Liberation Day in Grenada.
“And so, I go on record for saluting the Rastafarian community for ensuring that we can proudly host our brothers and sisters from Nigeria today to celebrate with us African Liberation Day,” he said.
The remarks underscored the growing emphasis on strengthening ties between Africa and the Caribbean diaspora while recognising the historical role of the Rastafarian movement in preserving African heritage, culture, and identity throughout the region.
