Oral History: Louise Allen (D. Haughton)

Abstract

On May 9, 2015 at 6:30 pm, Daina Haughton and her grand-aunt Louise Allen talk about Jamaica in the 1960s. Daina and Louise talk about where Louise was born, what she did for fun as child, how many siblings she has and more. The interview has more of Louise’s life than what Jamaica was like in the 60s but it does offer an important event which happened in Jamaica.

Research

Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on Thursday April 21,1966. About 100,000 Rastafari was at the Palisadoes Airport awaiting the man who they thought of as a god. Awaiting his arrival, they smoked marijuana and played drums. When he arrived and stood on the steps of the airplane, the crowd beat calabash drums, lit firecrackers, waved signs and sounded Abeng horns. The crowd pressed past security and was on the red carpet they laid out for him. He returned inside the plane and after a few minutes sent for one of the Rasta leaders. He told him to tell the crowd to be calm. He told the crowd to step back and let the Emperor land. The leader escorted Selassie to his limousine. Selassie did not walk on the red carpet.

Selassie’s visit had an impact on a few lives in Jamaica. Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley, converted to Rastafari faith after seeing Haile Selassie. In her book and in interviews, she says she saw a stigma on Selassie’s hand and was instantly convinced of his divinity.

His visit had a great impact on the Rastafari religion. They gained respectability from outsiders for the first time. By making Rasta more acceptable, it opened doors for the commercialization of reggae, which lead to more global spread of Rastafari.

Sources

http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2014/02/haile-selassie-in-jamaica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grounation_Day

Transcript

DH: What is your name?

LA: Louise Allen.

DH: When and where were you born?

LA: February 22nd 1947 , Westmoreland, Jamaica.

DH:How many brothers and sisters do you have?

LA: 8 brothers, 7 sisters.

DH: What do you remember about your parents?

LA: They were, they always worked very hard and provide for us, very supportive, kind and gentle.

DH: What  did you do for fun as a child?

LA: Play a lot a games and I use to crochet a lot.

DH: What big world events were the most memorable while you were growing up?

LA: When Queen Elizabeth and Haile Selassie visited Jamaica in 1966.

DH: What was it like growing up in Jamaica in the 60s?

LA: …. Growing up in the sixties was good although there are a lot of changes over the years.

DH: What was it like before Jamaica gained independence?

LA: Before Jamaica gained independence everything, laws had to be ratified in England by the Queen and signed.

DH: Was this good or bad ?

LA: It was good to a point and umm , well at least it had its advantages and disadvantages.

DH:What was it like after Jamaica gained independence?

LA:That was good for Jamaica because everything was done there and they didn’t have to depend on England for everything although they still had to get some laws ratified there.

DH: What was the education in Jamaica like in the 60s?

LA: Education in the 60s umm were good because we have to study very hard because without, without studying and ahh the education you couldn’t get into college. You had to have pass like a GCE and JSC.

DH: What is GCE and JSC?

LA: GCE is uhh General Certificate of Education, JSC is Jamaica School of Certificate.

DH: What, when did you move to America?

LA: In the late 70s

DH: What was it like when you got here?

LA: I had, it was a little difficult at first because I had to adapt to a lot of changes, which I did adapt very well.

DH: How was race understood in Jamaica?

LA: In Jamaica race was like, there was hardly any racial problem because since the population basically is, mostly black.

DH: How does it compare to the US?

LA: Much, there is a big difference because america is like people from all different parts of the world are here, different nationalities, so that makes a big difference and with so many people, over 300 million people live here.

DH: How has that changed over time if it has changed?

LA: Things have changed but still there are a lot of racial issues to be dealt with.