Who: Haile Selassie, also recognized by Rastafarians as His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I or King Selassie I.
How He Led: As Ethiopia’s 225th emperor, Selassie helped build structures in Ethiopia in the late 1920s and was an integral part of the rebuilding of his country after Italy, under Benito Mussolini’s rule, invaded the country in 1935. He went on to pass legislation and build learning institutions. He later, in the 1960s, became involved in the pan-African repatriation movement. Notably, Selassie is considered the reincarnation of God (Jah) in the Rastafarian movement.
“The preservation of peace and the guaranteeing of man’s basic freedoms and rights require courage and eternal vigilance: courage to speak and act — and if necessary, to suffer and die — for truth and justice; eternal vigilance, that the least transgression of international morality shall not go undetected and unremedied.”
“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned — well, everywhere there’s war. And until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race — it’s a war. And until there’s no longer first-class or second-class citizens of any nation … Until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes — it’s a war. Until that day the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship, and a rule of international morality will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained.” Some of these very words were used in Marley’s 1976 release of “War”.
