When Bob Marley sang “Stand up for your rights… don’t give up the fight,” to what rights and what fight was he referring? Did (does) Jamaica’s constitution (or charter or whatever) not allow certain freedoms (i.e., religion and speech?) and thus Bob felt oppressed? Was Bob hassled by The Man because of his Rastafarianism or his music? Was Jamaica in Bob Marley’s day known for eggregious human rights violations?
[[Prior to the 1976 elections, partisanship inspired gang war in Trench Town and divided the people against themselves. By siding with prime minister Michael Manley — and by singing songs of a political bent — Marley angered some Jamaicans.]]
The two political parties in Jamaica continue to battle each other with most people fiercely supporting one and opposing the other. Elections still often inspire fights in the streets. Until Manley’s recent death from cancer, one party was pretty much personified by him and the other by E. Seaga. As a rastafarian, Bob Marley fought “babylon” which basically means the “establishment” I think. He did however get Manley and Seaga to join hands onstage at one of his concerts, though, and that was a famous moment. Bob Marley is officially considered one of Jamaica’s national heroes.