By Chris Williamson-
Lisa Hanna, Miss World 1993 titleholder turned politician , has called for Bob Marley to be named a National Hero.
The Jamaican opposition spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade made her strong feelings known in an op-ed for The Jamaican Sunday observer , stating that the move would be a step in the right direction, in light of talks of Jamaica transiting to a Republic.
Lisa Hanna, Member of Parliament for South East St. Ann, moved a resolution calling for reggae icon Bob Marley to be named a national hero. In moving the resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon, Miss Hanna noted the global impact of Marley’s music.
Hanna pointed out that One Love was named the song of the millennium and his messages have spurred movements for revolutionary social change to improve conditions for the disenfranchised and black people.
Lisa, who made headlines in the Uk in March, for apparently snubbing the Duchess Of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, has been vociferous in her call for reparations and an apology for slavery, and its effects on Jamaicans, which she insists are till being felt in the present day.
Although, she denied snubbing the Duchess, insisting the clip was taken out of context, Ms Hannah has pulled no punches in her criticism of the British government in failing to address calls for reparations, also heaping unfair pressure on the royal family to implement the reparations and apology demanded by the Jamaican elites.
Reparations are a complex and sore topic for both colonial masters and countries affected by colonialism. The most appropriate approach in demands, and perfect response from colonial masters, have always been a long shot.
The natural beauty queen is back in the public glare calling for the highly acclaimed Bob Marley to be formally accredited with national status of heroism. Her call will be agreed to by most Jamaicans in the country, but is this call a reflection of her anger in relation to the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge to Jamaica? If her call for special status to be given to Bob Marley is another way of venting her anger and frustration at the slow progress in obtaining the reparations she considers long overdue, it may only have the opposite effect.
Hanna feels very strongly about the need for Jamaica to move away from its colonial past and become a republic. She condemns those who have fought back against the idea of making Bob Marley a national hero as being continuous victims of the Victorian-era old colonial values against the lifestyle of rastafarians. Taking steps like recognizing Bob Marley as a national hero is part of ‘seeking Republicanism from our colonial vestiges’, she says.
Bob’s Lyrics And Rythms
“When I look back now at how Bob’s lyrics and rhythms gave willing abandonment to the social mores expected of women from that generation whom British Victorian ideals of ‘respectability’ would have indoctrinated, I give thanks for his direct influence on them, which ultimately impacted me and so many others around the world,” she said in part.
“Forty years after his death, in our 60th year of independence from Britain, Bob Marley continues to frame the reference of Jamaica, reverberating with conscious noise, haunting the world with hopeful calls to action amid despair. How come? And what should this mean for us as a country seeking Republicanism from our colonial vestiges?” Hanna added.
Hanna, who created a stir in 2014 with a photo of herself in a two-piece orange bikini and Bob Marley tee, noted that much of her respect and appreciation for the Stir It Up singer was birthed after touring extensively to honor her Miss World duties.
“…From Columbia to Mauritius, Swaziland to Israel, or Scotland to Turkey, there was always one constant that framed someone’s reference to Jamaica, no matter their race, colour, language, or gender; it was our king of reggae, the Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley.”
Bob Marley Image: biography.com
Hanna, 46, who also served as Jamaica’s Minister of Youth and Culture from 2012 to 2016, added that Marley’s music was an integral part of her upbringing—and had helped to mold her.
“As a child, the framing of my understanding of growing up in 1970s Jamaica was inspired by listening to songs from the Exodus, Natty Dread, Uprising, and Survival albums. It was hard to escape, mainly because my Aunt Donna McIntosh would come over with my godmother, Winsome Miller-Harvey, to dance in our living room, singing with my mother at the top of their voices,” she added.
“He is a global hero for many nationalities, yet Jamaica has never found it fitting to bestow him with the honour of national hero. It’s time to ditch the attitudes of the miseducated Jamaican elite who continues to adamantly oppose such a designation based on their Victorian-era old colonial values against the lifestyle of Rastafari.”
Hanna believes the first step toward achieving this goal would be to pay dues to those who have earned them. “If we are serious about becoming republic, let us first demonstrate it by embracing our own, recognizing the monumental impact they’ve made on our lives and the global village. It’s time to make Bob Marley our eighth national hero,” she said.
The discourse about bestowing the high honor of National Hero on the Reggae King was rejuvenated after Bajan pop star Rihanna was named a hero in her home country in November 2021.
Last year, Jack It Up artist Spragga Benz was among those who called for Bob Marley to be declared a National Hero on his Instagram page, under an Instagram photo of Rihanna at the Barbados ceremony.
“While Jamaica seem to await the Queen’s approval to honor Bob Marley as a National Hero … Barbadian singer Rihanna joins in the celebration of Barbados becoming a Republic and will be appointed National Hero,” Spragga had said.
In February 2020, music industry veteran Tommy Cowan, who was once marketing manager for Marley, had argued that no other person, including the seven National Heroes, had the impact of the Exodus singer, but that there were people in Jamaica who cannot “get beyond the fact that they see this man with a spliff that he can’t be a National Hero.”
However, Professor of Culture, Gender, and Society at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Professor Donna P. Hope, had told the Jamacia Gleaner in a August 2017 article that, for a small nation, Jamaica already had “way too many national heroes.”
“I think we really have to be very careful as to how we go about apportioning that notion of heroine or hero status to individuals,” Hope said. The Professor, who is the publisher of several books on Jamaican music including Inna Di Dancehall and Reggae Stories, had also pointed out that some persons “want to incorrectly impose hero status on individuals based on achievements in their careers and the recognition they have gained internationally”.
In December 2021, Opposition Senator Floyd Morris served notice in the Upper House of the Jamaican Parliament that he would be moving a motion for Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Usain Bolt and Louise Bennett Coverly to be all made National Heroes, no later than Independence Day (August 6, 2022).
A spokesperson from the Jamaican Sunday Observer told The Eye Of Media.Com: ” The desire to recognize Bob Marley who is one of Jamaican’s historical greats, as a national hero, is not a bad thing at all. Bob Marley affected the lives of people all over the world.
Any context in which Lisa Hanna’s call for Marley to be made a national hero is connected to Jamaica’s political ambition to become a Republican, is a matter for Ms Hanna herself to discuss”.