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The Flattening of Bob Marley’s Radicalism
The biopic One Love continues a long tradition of downplaying the late reggae star’s lifelong commitment to the liberation of Black people.
Most casual pop-culture observers know a few basic facts about the late icon Bob Marley: He was a devout Rastafarian, he fathered 11 children with a number of women, he appreciated marijuana, and he tuned the world’s ears to the beat of reggae music, often with songs that called for peace, love, and unity. It took the Pan-Africanist teachings of Marcus Garvey (who prophesied the rise of a Black king in Africa) and the preachings of Leonard Howell (regarded by many as the first Rasta), and it combined them with aspects of the Hindu practices brought to the island by indentured Indian workers in the late 19th century. It also avoids dwelling on the ways that Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, the man labeled as Marley’s discoverer, wanted to market the reggae singer as a Black rock star in the vein of Bob Dylan to soften his image to white fans.
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