Donisha Rita-Claire Prendergast

As the godfather of reggae, Bob Marley created a global soundtrack for the Rastafari culture, spreading its message of freedom around the world and encouraging the oppressed and impoverished: “Stand up for your rights.” More than three decades after the Jamaican singer’s death, his eldest granddaughter, Donisha Prendergast, 30, has adopted the same rallying cry as part of an effort to halt the seizure of the historic site on which the movement that inspired Marley’s music laid its first foundations. The showdown centres on Pinnacle, a 500-acre hilltop site in Sligoville, Jamaica, that was once home to the island’s first self-sustaining community of freed slaves and their descendants. Founded in the 1940s, it is considered the cradle of Rastafari, the African-based spiritual ideology that infused Marley’s anthems such as One Love, Buffalo Soldier, Iron Lion Zion, and Get Up Stand Up. “Rastafari and Bob Marley gave the world the ideology of ‘One Love’ and it all began at Pinnacle,” said Ms Prendergast. “Could you build on the pyramids of Egypt? Could you build on the historic spaces of Pittsburgh? No. Then why do they do this here?… We need the attention of the world to help us tell our people and our leaders how important it is to preserve this place, not because it’s prime land and can make a lot of money but because it’s our history.”

HASTINGS, Neb. — Bob Marley’s song “Could You Be Loved?” asks an important question, “Could you be love and be loved?” Marley’s question is still vital today, more than ever in a world that seems so indifferent and uncaring toward people, said Donisha Rita Claire Prendergast, granddaughter of reggae legend Bob Marley. Prendergast, 31, posed the same question as her grandfather Wednesday night at Hastings College. Her presentation “Could You Be Love?” was Hastings College’s Black History Month keynote address. Prendergast, who is an actress, a model, a dancer and a poet, used the title of her grandfather’s song to explore how individuals "can be love" when a world is at war and when they struggle to find balance between spiritual and material wealth. “Could you know what it is like to truly know love?” Prendergast asked the audience. “You know, the boyfriend/girlfriend kind of love. The mommy/child kind of love. But beyond that, do you know the love that it takes to love a stranger? Love an enemy? To love someone who looks nothing like you? Sounds nothing like you? Will never be like you? Could you?” “Could You Be Loved” was from Bob Marley and the Wailers' 1980 album, “Uprising,” which was the final studio album released during his lifetime. According to Wikipedia, “This album is one of Marley’s most directly religious, with nearly every song addressing his Rastafarian beliefs, culminating in the acoustic recording of ‘Redemption Song.’” Prendergast called herself a “soul in evolution.” “I have journeyed around the world like my grandfather,” she said. “I can’t sing like him, but I still use my voice. I use my voice to speak out when it demands it. I use my platform to fight. To fight because it is right. Why?...Why not?” Prendergast said her grandfather is still an important cultural icon since his death in 1981 at the age of 36. She said Marley found a way to “tunnel that hurt” he saw in the world through his music. “It was something that could grow ideas,” Prendergast said. “Something that could grow nations beyond the color of his skin.”

Hundreds of people lined up at the clinic. The line is long, but they are willing to wait hours for treatment. However, the aid effort isn’t just about medical care and feeding the hungry. And that’s why Donisha Prendergast, the granddaughter of the late Jamaican-born reggae performer Bob Marley, joined the group. Prendergast said nurturing these people is just as important as addressing their physical needs. “‘My belly full, but I’m hungry.’ My grandfather said that,” she said. 7News cameras captured Prendergast interacting with a young girl from Cavaillon. Marley’s granddaughter said it’s not enough to send money and toiletries. “We don’t just need clothes and shoes and medical supplies. We need you,” she said. “We need your humanity to get more active. ‘One Love’ is an action. It’s not just a song that you dance to.” It has been a life-changing mission for many of these volunteers, as their actions show the people of Haiti they are not forgotten. “It’s about being human,” said Prendergast. “It’s not just the bellies that need food. It’s the souls, too. People need hugs.”