Truth and Rights: Celebrating Martin Luther King in the Caribbean

Words by Jesse Serwer—

Martin Luther King Day might only be a federal holiday in the U.S. but the late civil rights leader’s memory is celebrated throughout the Caribbean. MLK visited Jamaica in June of 1965, giving a speech to graduates at the University of West Indies-Mona and addressing large crowds at the National Stadium, where the Jamaica Gleaner photo above was taken. King also made several visits to the Bahamas, where he wrote two of his best-known speeches while on vacation in Bimini; that island recently unveiled a bronze bust in tribute to the late civil rights leader and his time there. (Read more about MLK’s time in the Bahamas here).

Like Haile Selassie (though to a much lesser extent), MLK’s brief visits to the region left a lasting impact on the culture as well as its music. Scroll through the thumbnails for a selection of Martin-themed tunes from the islands.

Max Romeo, “Martin Luther King”

“No one remembers Martin Luther King,” Max Romeo sang on “Martin Luther King,” which appeared on his 1978 album, Reconstruction. “Wasn’t he lovely?” While that might have been something of an exaggeration, Romeo makes his point by comparing the memory of King with that of other folk heroes like Marcus Garvey, President Roosevelt (Franklin, we’re assuming) and Jose Marti.

Scientist, “Martin Luther King”

Legendary dub producer Scientist paid tribute to 18 different black heroes and icons on his album, International Heroes Dub, including Marcus Garvey, Toussaint L’Overture, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and, of course, MLK.

Mighty Sparrow, “Martin Luther King For President” and “Martin Luther King”

Trinidad’s calypso king paid tribute to MLK not once but twice, advocating for the civil rights leader’s election to higher office with “Martin Luther King For President,” and then again shortly after his 1968 assassination. One line in particular stands out from that tune, called “Martin Luther King,”: “He walked in the footsteps of Jesus, and just like Christ, he died for us.”

Daddy Colonel and Tippa Irie, “To Martin Luther King”

More recently, Daddy Colonel (at left, with Tippa Irie) of Britain’s pioneering sound system Saxon Studio gave MLK his own cockney-and-yardie tribute on “To Martin Luther King.”

Sizzla’s ’97 classic, “Praise Ye Jah” is, of course, about Jah and Selassie but Martin, along with Malcolm, gets a brief mention you might have missed: