(Photo: content.time.com)
Speech by H.I.M. Haile Selassie I to the United Nations in 1963
His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie was successful in turning Ethiopia into a modern civilization despite racist machinations against him. As emperor of Ethiopia, his influence far surpassed the boundaries of his country, inspiring the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica and throughout the African diaspora. This landmark speech to the United Nations in 1963 became popularized as the lyrics to Bob Marley’s reggae anthem, “War”:
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“…until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained; And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed; Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will; Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven; Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil…”
