Social Change and the Development and Co-Optation of a Black Antisystemic Identity: The Case of Rastafarians in Jamaica
Titel:
Social Change and the Development and Co-Optation of a Black Antisystemic Identity: The Case of Rastafarians in Jamaica
Auteur:
Price, Charles Reavis
Verschenen in:
Identity
Paginering:
Jaargang 3 (2003) nr. 1 pagina's 9-27
Jaar:
2003-01-01
Inhoud:
In this article I offer an overview of the social processes that helped to define the Rastafari as an antisystemic group and identity, and how they came to be celebrated as embodying a liberating ideology and a positive expression of Black identity, by people in Jamaica and throughout the world. The Rastafarians of Jamaica, from their emergence in 1931, were vocal critics of colonialism, imperialism, labor exploitation, discrimination, and class and race-based stratification. They melded their activism and social critique with a religious ideology that holds Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie to be the Christ returned. However, the Rastafari's views made them very unpopular among Jamaica's general populace. They were frequently punished because of their beliefs and practices. I provide an example of how historical legacies, social change, watersheds, and social institutions interact with the formation of group identity.
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