I wanted to convey that freedom has not yet been attained by black people in America, or South Africa, as long as those people are kept in poverty. Marley's speaking voice falls easily into reggae's familiar,rhythmic cadences when he's making a point. If black people are killing each other, that is slavery. And the poverty that our people is in, that is slavery. And disunity among black people, that is slavery.
Many black people are still in spiritual and mental slavery.
I want to be free, but I don't want to be free to kill. I want to be free to love, and to live. That is a question for people to answer when they think about their own lives. Kevin Ransom is a Detroit area writer and music critic.