Words by Martei Korley, Photos by BenGee—
The granddaughter of the greatest reggae artist, Donisha Prendergast is taking a page out of her granddad’s book with her energetic activism. When not busy working on her Rastafari documentary, the daughter of Sharon Marley is involved on a grassroots level with a number of charitable and community related functions. The fact that she summoned her grandmother, Rita Marley, to participate in a panel about the experience of Rastafari women (A first for Rita) in conjunction with a celebration bringing awareness about Empress Menen (wife of H.I.M. Haile Selassie I and an ardent activist in her own right) speaks to the significance of the event.
Staged as an intimate function in the yard of the Bob Marley Museum, and supported by BenGee of Ababa Janhoy (who has been working tirelessly on establishing a dedicated Haile Selassie I museum), the program included documentary screenings and reasoning with Queens from all of the main houses of Rastafari: Bobo Shanti, Nyabinghi, Twelve Tribes of Israel and even the Ethiopian World Federation. The Black History Month event doubled as a women’s history event, as panelists answered questions and shared their wisdom. And, as part of his Jamaican tour de force, Snoop Dogg stopped in and paid his respects. Click through for more photos from the event.