Farrakhan says Jamaica has let national heroes down ‘You are not free!’...."Breaking away from our colonial slave masters is what we started with in our Independence movement, but we never took it as far as it should be taken," said Farrakhan. DO YOU AGREE or DISAGREE?

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, October 20, 2014    

NATION of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan yesterday criticised Jamaican governments over the years for not adequately building on efforts made by the country’s late national heroes to create an independent Jamaica.

Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan

Addressing hundreds of Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals gathered at the National Arena to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the Million Man March (MMM) yesterday, the eve of National Heroes’ Day, Farrakhan said revamping the current education system was the place to start.

A Rastafarian man, who was among hundreds of
 people at yesterday’s 19th anniversary celebration
of the Million Man March, waves a pan-African flag
 while listening to an address by Nation of
Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan.

“If you want to be free, the first thing you have to think about is what kind of education should we possess that will allow us to continue the journey that Norman Manley, Bustamante and Michael Manley put us on,” said Farrakhan, noting that steps in recent time to introduce in schools the teachings of the country’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey, was a commendable first step.

He also suggested breaking allegiance to the queen of England, which he described as a necessary part of evolutionary growth and development, and a necessity if Caribbean countries are to become a regional power “with a voice that [will] affect the world”.

"Breaking away from our colonial slave masters is what we started with in our Independence movement, but we never took it as far as it should be taken," said Farrakhan. more