Wed | Feb 4, 2026

Letter of the Day | Rasta justice, from Coral Gardens to redemption

Published:Thursday | August 7, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange (standing, centre) and Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for St James North West, Dr Horace Chang (standing, right), share in the signing of documents for the transfer of lands
JIS
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange (standing, centre) and Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for St James North West, Dr Horace Chang (standing, right), share in the signing of documents for the transfer of lands in Albion, St James to the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society (RCGBS) during a ceremony held at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston on Monday, August 4. Signing the documents are Commissioner of Lands Cheriese Walcott (seated second left); and RCGBS Treasurer Lewis Brown (seated second right). Waiting to affix their signatures are Legal Officer Janet Blackwood (seated left); and RCGBS Chair, Gregory Taylor (seated right). Observing (standing from left) are the Culture Ministry’s liaison officer for Rastafari affairs, Barbara Blake-Hannah; RCGBS Secretary Pamela Williams; and RCGBS Public Relations Officer Donovan Murdoch.

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I write today with deep respect and a spirit of reflection to commend the Dr Andrew Holness-led Government for transferring two plots of Crown lands in Albion, St James, to the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society for the development of a permanent elder care facility. This decision is not merely administrative, it is historic. It signifies a long-overdue but welcome act of restorative justice.

For decades, the Rastafari community has borne the scars of State-led persecution, often criminalised, misunderstood, and marginalised for their spiritual beliefs and cultural identity. The most chilling memory remains the Coral Gardens incident of 1963, when Rastas were rounded up, brutalised, and dehumanised under orders to “bring in all Rastas, dead or alive”. These were not the actions of a democratic society but of a system that feared what it could not control.Though an official apology came in 2017, and a reparations fund was established, it is this tangible act of land transfer of sacred land to house and honour Rastafari elders that feels like a true movement toward healing.

It says: we remember, we acknowledge, we are ready to repair. In a culture that owes so much of its global identity its music, spirituality, language, and resistance to the Rastafari faith, this gesture is not a favour. It is justice delayed, now delivered.

DEEPER RECKONING

But let us not stop here. Let this be the beginning of a deeper reckoning. There are sacred sites to protect, cultural symbols to preserve, and legal gaps to close. The journey toward full recognition, inclusion, and equality for Rastafari must be sustained by policy, education, and national narrative.

The Rastafari have long called Jamaica to its higher spiritual self preaching unity, consciousness, self-reliance, and reverence for the Most High. May this act of redemption not only restore land, but restore trust between a people and their government.

Well done to those who made this possible. The ancestors are watching. Let us not turn back.

And, what a time for this to happen on the eve of Jamaica’s 63rd year of Independence. As we celebrate our freedom from colonial rule, how fitting it is that we begin to free ourselves from internal injustice as well. True independence is not just political, it is spiritual, cultural, and communal.

Recognising the Rastafarian community in this way deepens the soul of the nation. It shows that Emancipation is not a date on the calendar, but a continued journey of respect and repair.

CIVANNA COTTERELL