Oral history interview with Patrick Hylton

Patrick Hylton explained he came to the United States from Jamaica in 1968 to attend Howard University, and how Howard University was a "hub" for the civil rights movement. Hylton described the geography, social and political environment, living conditions, quality of life, race, and racism in Jamaica and the Caribbean. His explanation included how prime minister Hugh Shearer and later prime minister Michael Manley governed the country, the banning of Walter Rodney from the country, demonstrations, and comparisons and contrasts between Jamaica and the United States. He spoke about the effects of colonialism on Africans and people of the African diaspora. Hylton spoke in detail about Marcus Garvey, and the formation and history of the Rastafarian movement, including Haile Selassie, Leonard P. Howell and the Dreadlocksomes, Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert and the Combsomes, Archibald Dunkley, beliefs, police violence against Rastafarians, and the mythical belief of "black heart man", later personified by the Rasta man. He described the violence, discrimination, and oppression Rastafarians experienced; the visit to Ethiopia by a Rastafarian delegation, organized by Norman Manley, to meet Haile Selassie; and Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica. Hylton also spoke about his involvement in the civil rights movement in Jamaica and in the United States; what he witnessed in courtrooms as an attorney; plays and poems he wrote; development and history of reggae, ska, rocksteady and dancehall music; and the evolution of music as a whole. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static, and a little background noise; interviewee's voice is soft and difficult to hear at times.