In 1979, Robert Mugabe was a candidate for Prime Minister of Rhodesia (colonial Zimbabwe) and was in favor of the country gaining independence from the white minority. For Mugabe to achieve his goal, he would need a lot of support. The country finally benefited from the support of an influential and popular individual at the time. As many of his lyrics dealt with topics such as world peace, equality and freedom, it was no surprise that this man was ultimately Bob Marley. By 1976, Marley was an international superstar recognized as a global political voice. Songs such as “War” and “Zimbabwe” advocated decolonization, the liberation of black people and universal peace. Marley was an activist and used music as a tool to raise awareness about the issues facing the poor and oppressed. Therefore, the aim of this essay is to demonstrate that Bob Marley was an inspirational and symbolic aspect of Rhodesia's independence and its rise to fame as Zimbabwe through his calls for Pan-Africanism and liberation. He will discuss the state of Rhodesia (colonial Zimbabwe) that led to their independence, why Bob Marley was an influential figure in the country at the time, what specifically brought him to perform during the independence ceremony and the effect his performance had. on those present. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In order to make sense of the many factors that contributed to Zimbabwe's independence, it is important to know why Zimbabwe was fighting for independence initially took place and why the country experienced oppression of the white minority until the 1980 elections. In 1965, the Prime Minister of Rhodesia, the Rhodesian Front (RF) government of Ian Smith, had signed the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). The UDI was a minority white settler government that aimed to rebel against the British Crown. The British Crown wanted to establish a black majority in Rhodesia and the UDI wanted to block this plan. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson refused to use military force to end this situation, forcing African nationalist parties, such as the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu), to carry out guerrilla attacks against Rhodesian settlers. in order to obtain the rule of the black majority. Much of the British government failed in its attempts to resolve the conflict and it became known as the "Rhodesian Problem". In 1971, Harold Wilson's successor, Edward Heath, introduced the then Anglo-Rhodesian Agreement which provided for the possibility of independence for Rhodesia. Black Africans had not participated in the negotiations of the Anglo-Rhodesian Agreement and therefore had nothing to say when asked to provide an opinion or argument during the Pierce Commission of 1972. This ultimately caused the resumption of the fight against Rhodesian colonial domination. In 1977, a new Anglo-American initiative was created by British Foreign Secretary David Owen to resolve the problem in Rhodesia. The initiative ultimately failed, but laid valuable foundations which consisted of an independent constitution, a ceasefire for all fighting, and elections. The ceasefire in particular, which was achieved thanks to British Foreign Secretary Peter Carrington and the Foreign and Common Rich Office, brought about the end of the civil war then taking place in Rhodesia between the forces of ZANLA, RSF andZIPRA. In 1979, "Britain took direct control of its wandering colony and sent Christopher Soames, a member of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, to Rhodesia as governor." Chris Soames' duty was to neglect Rhodesia's transition to independence, which would be completed once national elections were held in 1980. In 1980, black Africans in colonial colonies in Zimbabwe experienced a serious civil war, oppression , racism, segregation and white supremacy. Much of the civil war that broke out in the 1970s stemmed from the oppression black Africans felt they were experiencing at the hands of the white majority. In 1978, a man named Joshua Nikomo wrote a paper to a political committee to discuss the struggle of black Africans against white minority rule that was taking place in colonial Zimbabwe. Nikomo made it clear: “We are fighting for fundamental change. The war is not against white people, but against a system of racism that keeps Africans in a state of slavery.” It also discusses more heinous acts committed by the white majority, such as the detention of thousands of Zimbabweans, secret hangings and the legalization of torture simply to maintain power. Segregation was also an issue that plagued many black Africans in colonial Zimbabwe. For Mugabe, the elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, the end of segregation, the freedom for his children to attend any school and the possibility of professional advancement on the basis of merit and not skin color was what that he had envisaged for the country after independence. Factors that contributed to the independence of colonial Zimbabwe, black Africans suffering from the white minority were greatly inspired by Bob Marley and his music to fight for independence and change. Until the 1980 elections, Bob Marley had spent the last decade writing songs that advocated the very things that colonial Zimbabwe hoped to achieve through independence. A good example of this is his 1976 song "War." The lyrics of the song are based on a speech given to the United Nations in 1968 by the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie. The lyrics highlighted the causes of physical violence and ongoing war in Africa and referenced racism, classism, dehumanization and colonialism. A good example of this in the song's lyrics is: "Until the philosophy that holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned." And this until there are no more first and second class citizens in any nation. Until the color of a man's skin is no more important than the color of his eyes. And until basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, regardless of race. Marley believed that black populations suffered from the violence of colonial societies and his songs reflected this and presented him as a Pan-Africanist who wanted to see unity among African nations. Marley was attracted to Selassie's speech to the United Nations because "it showed that the emperor was a Pan-Africanist who saw the movement towards independence in the rest of Africa as a necessary part of the movement towards freedom in Ethiopia" . The “war” is as much about the liberation of the black population as it is about peace and decolonization. The song expressed the feelings of the oppressed people of Zimbabwe and the fact that a popular international personality sang a song that expressed the values ​​and benefits that would be achieved when a country was not under colonial rule inspired Zimbabweans. 26 (2015), 937-956.