Jamaica legislator calls for reggae legend Bob Marley to be named a national hero. A Jamaican legislator is asking the country’s parliament to name reggae legend Bob Marley a national hero, an effort that comes amid rising nationalism in English-speaking Caribbean countries that are distancing themselves from their colonial past. The proposal by lawmaker Lisa Hanna would make the iconic singer a national hero, a title already held by seven Jamaicans including Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey and the nation’s first prime minister Alexander Bustamante. It comes months after Barbados bestowed a similar honor on pop singer Rihanna during a November ceremony in which the island severed its ties to the British monarchy and created a republic – a process Jamaica is also considering. “Bob Marley deserves that recognition because he lived a very short life that transformed the thinking of people around the world,” Hanna told Reuters in an interview at her Kingston office. It is not immediately evident when parliament will vote on the measure. Hanna hopes it will be approved in time for the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence on Aug 6.
