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"Leonard P Howell, universal prophet"
by Louis EA Moyston - Jamaica Observer

This article was originally published on Saturday, February 23, 2002 and is property of the
"Jamaica Observer" dayly newspaper, Kingston, Jamaica, W.I.

This is a response to "Who was this man, Leonard Howell? Father of the Rastafari movement relegated to
obscurity" (Observer, Feb 9). Published as part of Black History celebration, it contributes to an upsurge
on interest in the man, Leonard P Howell, the universal prophet. There are a few points in the article I
would like to clarify and take the opportunity to answer the question, "Who was this man...?" by examining
how some leading figures in the Jamaican society of the time saw him.

Though I am not a celebrant of Black History Month, I never refuse to write or speak on activities regarding
the period. On this basis, I take the opportunity to congratulate the Rastafari brethren in May Pen,
particularly, Ras Carver and Ras Iver for the significant occasion on Sunday, February 3 that was held in
the "yard' of the courthouse. Among the speakers, I must single out Mr Mike Henry, member of parliament.
I listened to his honourable pronouncements with sincerity. Since Michael Manley's 1977 speech at the opening
of the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari Cultural Centre, it is, indeed, the first time I have heard a
politician having anything of high quality to say about Howell and the Rastafarian movement. In the
meantime, I hope Mr Henry will lend his voice to the support of the restoration of Pinnacle as a
national heritage site honouring the man and the movement.

This piece aims to clarify some of the points in the article. One of the best sources to introduce readers
to Leonard P Howell, the founder of the Rastafari movement is Dread History: Leonard P Howell and
Millenarian Visions by Robert Hill. Howell was born in Redlands, Crooked River, Clarendon. There is no
evidence that he was a member of the US armed forces but it is certain that he has done some travelling.
He left Jamaica as a youth and returned in 1932. In 1933 he began preaching "Ras Tafari as messiah returned
to earth". Unable to get the attention of the urban crowd, he went to St Thomas -- areas such as Seaforth,
Trinityville, Morant Bay and Port Morant -- where he found a most fertile soil for his new idea and message.
It is important to bear in mind what was happening in that parish during the period (1933-1938). Also
important to note are the antecedents of "skin for skin" message and uprising by Bogle in 1865 and the peculiar
characteristics of the parish regarding African retentions in religion and other cultural activities.

According to his testimony, Howell began preaching in 1933. He was arrested in Seaforth on December of 1933.
He was tried for sedition at the High Court in Morant Bay under the leadership of Chief Justice Sir Robert
William Lyall-Grant. He was imprisoned for two years. While he was incarcerated, the movement grew. He was
arrested a second time but was diverted to the asylum. It is observed that at the 1934 trial in Morant Bay,
he put forward the most illuminating treatise on the origins of the philosophy Rastafari. The colonial
authorities wanted to prevent a second chapter in that book of philosophy, described as "devil doctrine"
by the chief justice.

Howell was described by the newspaper reporter as "dapper" having a beard resembling that of the Emperor
of Ethiopia. He wore a three-piece black suit with a rosette of black, green and gold. The same was worn by
his followers in the audience. Indeed, most recently, Mr Frank Gordon OD, wrote on the national flag and
its colours. I am sure Frank will be surprised that Howell was the pioneer in capturing the combination of
these colours as a symbol of the movement. Regarding the article, it is important to note the timeline in
the history of Howell and the movement. He was released from prison in 1936; went back to St Thomas in
1938-1939. He was driven violently out of the parish by the terror of the police, politicians, planters and
trade unionist mob from Port Morant. He established the Ethiopian Salvation Society in 1939, bought Pinnacle
in 1940 and by 1954 the government, in its anti-communist drive, invaded and destroyed Pinnacle,
the first Rastafari commune.

Some observers, for example Ken Post, argue that the role of the Rastafari movement was not significant in
the activities of the 1930s. If this were so, then why were Howell and the movement under such scrutiny by
the local police and Scotland Yard? His letters abroad to people such as George Padmore were intercepted
in England and packages from Padmore to Howell were seized in Jamaica. A "secret" correspondence from
Colonel Sir Vernon Kell to Colonial secretary C L Wollery dated 1938 states:

"Howell has apparently started a movement which he calls the African Salvation Union of Jamaica. He
described it as an international organisation pledged to support morally and financially the continued
independence, national integrity and complete sovereignty of Africa."

There are many more "secret" correspondences from the Colonial Office in Jamaica to London and from the
police to the attorney-general. These are correspondence about a significant personality and idea, making
Howell a serious political figure of the period.

Howell was indeed "dapper", the most militant Rastafari. According to the Observer article (Feb 9), militant
Rastas did not embrace his conservative image so they began to grow dreadlocks. Not so. The emergence of
the dreadlocks came at a certain time in the movement. It emerged about the time when Ethiopia was
invaded by Italy. It was influenced by the unfolding of new images from Africa especially from Kikuyu
fighters and others who established solidarity with Haile Selassie against the Italians. The article,
however, carried a significant statement by Howell: "We the living members of the Ethiopian Salvation society
shall serve Haile Selassie to the end and all well-thinking men and women regardless of colour and creed will
do likewise." Indeed, today, Rastafari is not just a Jamaican phenomenon. It has become a universal force. What
the planters, the trade unionists, the colonial authorities, established churches and the police tried to crush
in infancy has emerged as a new centre of power in the world. Howell, in my thinking, has to be one of the
most influential Jamaicans of the 20th and the 21st centuries.

It is important to note that Howell was put under the police microscope the moment he arrived in Jamaica
in 1932. The book La Premier Rasta by Helene Lee mentioned his troubles with the police; how the raids and
seizures destroyed evidence vital to the history of the man and the movement.

The leaders of the established and evangelical churches worked hand in hand with the police to terrorise
and uproot Howell from St Thomas. Including the planters, they were all violently opposed to the
"race conscious' doctrine of Rastafari. Apparently, there was a fear that the message would dislodge the
"ex-slaves" from the plantation culture. In an effort to answer, "Who is the Man?" I will examine the
reactions of individuals and institutions in their speeches and letters about Howell.

On May 14, 1933, the inspector in charge of the Morant Bay police station, W A Adams, had this to say in a
"confidential" correspondence Rex vs Leonard Howell for sedition:

"The Detective instructed me to keep an eye on a man named Leonard Howell, a Jamaican, who has been holding
meeting in Kingston on the subject of Rastafari, King of Abyssinia, and whose speeches at his meetings might
have a bad influence on the less educated people."

The chief justice, Sir Robert William Lyall-Grant, lived in Africa before serving in Jamaica. He presided
over the trial of John Chilembwe's followers in the 1915 rising in Nyasaland. The rising came about as a
result of Africans asserting themselves to reclaim land stolen by the British. In 1934, he had this to say
as he sentenced Howell for preaching "devil" doctrine:

"Howell, you have been convicted by the jury for uttering seditious language: this is such language as is
calculated to cause disturbance and violence among the ignorant people of this country...to stir up the people
against the government and to do acts of violence and I mistake not, you have already succeeded in making
people discontented and committed acts of violence."

While Howell was in prison, the movement grew. Many events occurred between 1934 and 1938. In 1938, the
people of Seaforth, St Thomas led the way for the famous "uprisings" of the 1930s. After his 1938 return
to St Thomas, Howell, responding to the fierce laws, began to have his meetings indoor. This did not prevent
the mob related to the trade union leader and the planters, under the protection of the police to raid
Howell's headquarters. The place was pillaged and destroyed. Bearing in mind the events of Serge Island
earlier, planters and labour leaders were still apprehensive of Howell and the movement of Rastafari. It
is important to note what Alexander Bustamante had to say about Howell and the Rastafari Movement prior to
the events in Pt Morant. The following is an extract from a letter dated July 6, 1939 from Bustamante:

"Serious trouble is brewing at Port Morant in St Thomas, owing to a mischievousness of a man whose name is
Howell, leader of this terrible thing they called the 'Rastafari'. In St Thomas, he is endeavouring to put
one group against another and would not be surprised if something serious happens to him; and for that a riot
does not take place here because he is fomenting serious trouble...It seems to me the only right and proper
place for this man is the asylum. He is a danger to the peace of the community. I think he is the greatest
danger that exists in this country today, and I believe the police can confirm this."

Indeed, a riot was fomented against Howell. It was this early experience of political violence that ran
Howell out of St Thomas. He returned to Kingston and in 1940 he bought Pinnacle. The latter was crushed by
the same Bustamante in his 1954 anti-communist drive.

I am asking the police to look at its history and turn over a new leaf. What a better time to do this, Peter
Phillips. I urge the members of the Rastafari movement to take heed of the experiences of Howell and look to
a new future. Indeed, what the original Gong started, the new Gong, Marley, continued. Tuff Gong takes
Pinnacle beyond Sligoville.