CULTURE

His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia
This speeches selected by Carol Haile Selassie for the Beat
His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia
Speaks on Education
Humanity by nature is gifted to think freely, but in order that
his free thouht should lead him to the goal of liberty and
independence, his way of thinkingmust be shaped by the process
of education.
It is understood that the independence of mind created by
education individually will have as result the creation of an
independently minded nation.
When we compare the number of schools functioning in Ethiopia
today with those that existed before the occupation of the
enemy, we can view with keen ssatisfaction the advancement
achieved within the past five years.
We are sowing seeds on fertile soil and schools are springing up
throughout the land attended by a youth of today who is thirsty
for knowledge...
We are doing all we can to open thousands of additional schools
all over the empire. Preparation is well under way for the
opening of a large university in Addis Abeba.
Education, work and diligence are the main foudation of our
national existence. We call upon all Ethiopians to send their
children to the nearest school, for it is suicide and a crime
against the responsibility which God places on all parents not
to educate one's own children.
The catastrophe which was brought about by human hands during
the past can be avoided in the future by religion and hope in
God which should be the heart of the people.
And this can be achieved by education which if not borne by the
youth, the effort which is made for peace will be in vain.
We hope that at the Conference of Peace which will be held in
the near future those who will be responsible shall be inspired
with the profound idea of justice towards human cause and human
rights.
July 1946
His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia
Blessed are the Peacemakers
Address to the United Nations, 1963.
The United Nations' judgments have been and continue to be
subject to frustation, as individual mumber-state have ignored
its pronouncements and disregarded its recommendations.
The Organization's sinews have been weakened, as member states
have shirked their obligations to it.
The authority of the Organization has been mocked, as individual
member-states have proceeded, in violation of its command, to
pursue their own aims and ends.
The troubles which continue to plague us virtually all arise
among member states of teh Organization, but the Organization
remains impotent to enforce acceptable solutions.
As the maker and enforcer of the international law, what the
United Nations has achieved still falles regrettably short of
our goal of an international community of nations.
This does not mean that the United Nations has failed. I have
lived too long to cherish many illusions about the essential
high-mindedness of men when brought to start confrontation with
the issu of control over their security, and their property
interests. Not even now, when so much is at hazard would many
nations willingly entrust their destinies to other hands.
Yet, this is the ultimatum presented to us: secure the
conditions whereby men will entrust their security to a larger
entity, or risk annihilation; persuade men that their salvation
rests in the subordination of natinoal and local interests to
the interests of humanity, or endanger man's future.
These are the objectives, yesterday unobtaiable, today
essential, which we must labor to achieve.
Until this is accomplished, mankind's future remains hazardous
and permanent peace a matter for speculation.
There is no single magic formula, no one simple step, no words,
whether written into the Organizations's Charter or into a
treaty between states, which can automatically guarantee to us
what we seek.
Peace is a day-to-day problem, the product of a multitude of
events and judgments. Peace is not an "is", it is an "becoming".
We cannot escape the dreadful possibility of a catastrophe by
miscalculation. Bue we can reach the right decision on the
myriad subordinate problems which each new day poses, and we can
thereby make our contribution - and perhaps the most that can be
reasonably expected of us in 1963 - to the preservation of
peace. It is her that the United Nations hasd served us - not
perfectly, but well. And enhancing the possibilities that the
Organization may serve us better, we serve and bring closer our
cherished goals.
His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia
You know that there are a lot of reasons for Ethio-Eritrean
oneness> The relation of the people of Eritrea with Ethiopia is
not confined to the political aspect...
When our country was invaded, a great number of Eritreans who
were physically and otherwise fit, abondoned the enemy and
fought at our side... When later on the Federation of Eritrea
with the Motherland was being debated, they came on our side,
recalling their past historical riches, and proved our
historical oneness before the world forum.
Those who, in the light of all these historical ties and
evidenceds of unity, are coming betweenus on religious, ethical
and other grounds, are doing so not for our benefit but for that
of their own.
This can easily be understood. That former colonial powers are
benefitting from creating dicord among geographically,
economically, historically and ethnically linked people in
Africa and other parts of the world in order to maintain their
former authority is known not only to those who can read but to
the illetrates as well. Nobody knows better than we Africans
that the policy of divide and rule are the aspirations of those
who seek to benefit at others' expense.
Being aware of the attacks and tricks of imperialism, Ethiopia
has been the first African country who waged war against such
powers and through her unity, has presserved her liberty through
victories as in the recent case of Adua.
More than being an example to the rest of teh African states
after the Second World War, Ethiopia struggled alone in
International Conferences, for African independence with no
other free African nations to support her as at present. No
greater testimony could be available to the resistance made by
our patriots against the enemy on seven fronts with the use of
outdated weapons than the heroic activities of our fathers,
relying upon god the Almighty.
Existing conditions have made it impossible for the former
colonialist powers to remain in Africa. They have resorted to
the idea of dividing the peoples... There are certain states who
participate as supporters in conferences held for African unity
and are at the same time engaged in acts that would divide
Africa... No doubt that people of a country who have fought
incessantly for their independence understand that unity is the
foundation of liberty.
Cooperation and unity are the sources of respect. Itis also the
source of strength. It has been known from time immemorial in
human history that no person is able to understand and solve
one's own problem than one's self...
The age we are living in is one in which the value of unity is
being appreciated more than ever before. On our part, we have
triumphed over the attempt to divide us. A foreign hand is
concerned about itself; it will not work for us. It is essential
that we bear in mind the fact that at a time when we are
exploring ways and means of forging unity with neighboring
countries, divisions among ourelves will not only be an obstacle
but that it will also open the door to our enemies. May God the
Almighty guide you in the heavy resonsibility with which we have
entrusted you.
June 27, 1962 |
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| MARCUS GARVEY BIOGRAPHY AND FACTS

Marcus
Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
form a critical link in black America's centuries-long struggle
for freedom, justice, and equality. As the leader of the largest
organized mass movement in black history and progenitor of the
modern "black is beautiful" ideal, Garvey is now best remembered
as a champion of the back-to-Africa movement. In his own time he
was hailed as a redeemer, a "Black Moses." Though he failed to
realize all his objectives, his movement still represents a
liberation from the psychological bondage of racial inferiority.
Garvey was born on 17 August 1887 in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica.
He left school at 14, worked as a printer, joined Jamaican
nationalist organizations, toured Central America, and spent
time in London. Content at first with accommodation, on his
return to Jamaica, he aspired to open a Tuskegee-type industrial
training school. In 1916 he came to America at Booker T.
Washington's invitation, but arrived just after Washington died.
Garvey arrived in America at the dawn of the "New Negro" era.
Black discontent, punctuated by East St. Louis's bloody race
riots in 1917 and intensified by postwar disillusionment, peaked
in 1919's Red Summer. Shortly after arriving, Garvey embarked
upon a period of travel and lecturing. When he settled in New
York City, he organized a chapter of the UNIA, which he had
earlier founded in Jamaica as a fraternal organization. Drawing
on a gift for oratory, he melded Jamaican peasant aspirations
for economic and cultural independence with the American gospel
of success to create a new gospel of racial pride. "Garveyism"
eventually evolved into a religion of success, inspiring
millions of black people worldwide who sought relief from racism
and colonialism.
To enrich and strengthen his movement, Garvey envisioned a
great shipping line to foster black trade, to transport
passengers between America, the Caribbean, and Africa, and to
serve as a symbol of black grandeur and enterprise. The UNIA
incorporated the Black Star Line in 1919. The line's flagship,
the S.S. Yarmouth, made its maiden voyage in November and
two other ships joined the line in 1920. The Black Star Line
became a powerful recruiting tool for the UNIA, but it was
ultimately sunk by expensive repairs, discontented crews, and
top-level mismanagement and corruption.
By 1920 the UNIA had hundreds of chapters worldwide; it
hosted elaborate international conventions and published the
Negro World, a widely disseminated weekly that was soon banned
in many parts of Africa and the Caribbean. Over the next few
years, however, the movement began to unravel under the strains
of internal dissension, opposition from black critics, and
government harassment. In 1922 the federal government indicted
Garvey on mail fraud charges stemming from Black Star Line
promotional claims and he suspended all BSL operations. (Two
years later, the UNIA created another line, the Black Cross
Navigation and Trading Co., but it, too, failed.) Garvey was
sentenced to prison. The government later commuted his sentence,
only to deport him back to Jamaica in November 1927. He never
returned to America.
In Jamaica Garvey reconstituted the UNIA and held conventions
there and in Canada, but the heart of his movement stumbled on
in America without him. While he dabbled in local politics, he
remained a keen observer of world events, writing voluminously
in his own papers. His final move was to London, in 1935. He
settled there shortly before Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia and
his public criticisms of Haile Selassie's behavior after the
invasion alienated many of his own remaining followers. In his
last years he slid into such obscurity that he suffered the
final indignity of reading his own obituaries a month before his
10 June 1940 death.
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