Home > About The Author

About The Author

According to Michael Crichton, “If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree. ” It is evident that Rastafarians still exist in Dominica –in schools, in our communities, at our workplaces etc- and most people (even some ‘Rastas’ themselves) are clueless as to where Rastafarianism originated from. We can distinguish the Rastafarians from many other people, by their dread locks, by their use of herbal medicines and also the colours they wear: red, green, gold/yellow, and black, which are known as liberation colours. Individuals in society, especially the youth, tend to imitate Rastafarian culture, such as growing locks and using marijuana, but are they aware of the reason as to why the Rastafarians follow these practices? Do they even know the history behind the Rastafarian culture? By doing this project, the author will not only be able to gain knowledge about the Rastafarian movement and how it came along, but also about the history of Rastas in one's own country. Readers of this resource will get the opportunity to grasp an understanding of the Rastafarians and their culture, and also view Rastas in a different perspective. Something the author of this resource is very interested in is the Prohibited and Unlawful Societies and Associations Act, infamously known as The Dread Act. Under the Dread Act, anyone who wore dread locks and who appeared in public was guilty of an offense and was subject to an arrest without warrant. The Act also protected those who killed or injured a member of the Dreads who was found illegally inside a dwelling house. Additionally, the security forces received immunity from the law for killing members of the Rastafarian movement. The act was passed in 1974 by the Patrick John-led Labour Party administration following violent attacks by certain members of the group against tourists and farmers, particularly in the southern part of the island. It was said that the legislation was enacted in response to a mode of panic that had hit the island. This was a quite disturbed part of Dominica’s history and the author desires to explore it in a much greater depth.