Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer, musician, and activist born February 6, 1945. He died on May 11, 1981 and during his short tenure of life he composed and focused his energy on his ability to communicate to the masses, through music, his ideology of non-violence and peaceful resistance to the oppressive and violent warring Jamaican political organizations and civil rights abroad. Like other renowned activists it seemed that Bob was born with an innate ability to effectively communicate his message in a way that many people would both understand and feel a common connection to, his media was music. While there are many facets of non-violent resistance, Bob was really a maverick in this field and his ability to connect to the masses was unparallel.
[...] Bob Marley was born on February to Norval Sinclair Marley and Cedella Booker in the small town of Nine Mile. Norval was a white Jamaican English marine officer while Cedella was a black Jamaican and daughter of a slave. Because his parents were of mixed races young Bob was often teased and into his adult life he was ridiculed for the color of his skin and his mixed race. A famous quote about his mixed race by Bob goes: I don't have prejudice against myself. [...]
[...] At a time when little to nothing was said about the warring political groups, non-stop government violence, and pains of slavery from decades ago Bob brought these subjects into the light for millions. He held countless free concerts which were attended by thousands. These concerts were like political speeches, but with melody and harmony and the man delivering them was not a politician or an English aristocrat but a mixed race native Jamaican who felt a connection to everyone in the crowd, white or black. [...]
[...] That faithful night's concert by Bob reminded me of a story about Gandhi again. Near the end of his life there was a particular fast Gandhi held in order to bring two warring groups together and show that it was possible to live together, to interact, to love one another. As tensions rose between the Muslims and Hindus, violence plagued the region of Bengal. Gandhi, with a sense of urgency, immediately made his way to the province and traveled along the over two hundred miles of roads spotted with all Muslim villages. [...]
[...] However, two days later a recovering Bob was driven to the area where the concert was supposed to take place. He stumbled out of his vehicle, was brought onstage and asked to say just a couple words to the crowd of over 80,000. What was supposed to be a few peaceful words turned into a 90 minute performance by a wounded Bob and turned into one of the most influential and memorable concerts of his life. The crowd was awestruck at how he was able to put all the pain behind him from a shooting that almost took his life just days before but what stood before them was a man suffering from no mental pain or anger at all, only the physical which could be overcome. [...]
[...] (Yeah, yeah, yeah) and through the spirit of the Most High, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie we're inviting a few leading people of the slaves to shake hands . To show the people that you love them right, to show the people that you gonna unite, show the people that you're over bright, show the people that everything is all right. Watch, watch, watch, what you're doing, because . I mean, I'm not so good at talking but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. [...]
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