haile selassie

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Haile Selassie

Haile Selassie who was believed to be a descendant from the line of David by Solomon, was a symbol to the black man. He exhibited that the black man had the capacity to be strong. This image that Selassie provided, was contrary to what blacks saw in Ethiopia, despite, Ethiopia being a black nation that had been independent for thousands of years. As a result of his assumed decadency and what he embodied, both Ethiopian’s and Jamaican’s assigned him as their savior. Within “Classic Black Nationalism: From the American Revolution to Marcus Garvey”, Young illustrates how Selassie was able to transcend form Africa to Jamaica proving that he is the black Messiah.
On November 2, 1930, Ras Tafari, at the age of thirty-seven, was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah. Form this point on, he ruled as Emperor of Ethiopia for the next forty-four years.
Haile Selassie accomplished many great things during his rein as Emperor of Ethiopia. Perhaps his most important contribution was his efforts to further the education of his people. “Education was pressed forward on all levels-primary, secondary, and at the university level” (Gorham 140). Selassie had also pushed for the abolition of slavery in the 1920s and made a new constitution in which the citizens attained the right to vote in 1958.
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