The world is in the grip of a pandemic, deepening inequality and growing racism and discrimination. There is great uncertainty driven by politicians whose aim is to roll back personal freedoms and subjugate populations, even in countries that trade on their democratic credentials.
Divide and rule seems to be the new mantra. There is much to fear from this new world order. But unlike the past there is a growing lobby that is pushing back against this tide, and it is winning hearts and minds.
These movements are a cause to be optimistic, but we cannot be complacent ‘la lutta continua’ until equality and justice prevail. ‘Nothing in the Larder’, is a timely reminder that we must continue to promote equality, justice and enlightenment.
‘Nothing in the Larder’, is a timely reminder that we must continue to promote equality, justice and enlightenment. ‘Wisdom and knowledge are the food for life’. The message is that in the depths of despair there is hope for a better world to come, if not for us then for the youths.
The band sing of ’Free up the weed and let it inspire the youth of today, crack is not what you feed the youth conscious- ness’… advocating young people to ‘seek enlightenment, meditation with spirituality from the breath of Jah’, and not to be suppressed by the evil of ‘crack cocaine’ that will lead to addiction and corruption of the mind.
They remind us that families are caught in a cycle of poverty and hunger, struggling to put food on the table. ‘Wake up in the morning, nothing in the larder for the children today, say a hard-times, times hard…’ Solutions are difficult, but it is time to shine the light on the children. They are the future.
The cry for ‘equal rights and justice’ is a theme that runs throughout the album. The way for nations to heal is through equali- ty but is this what leaders want? Satan represents colonial power and corruption, and the Vatican is the symbol of the evil of Babylon. Zion awaits and is the part in our hearts that guarantees equal rights and justice. It is the place in our consciousness where we will find peace and reconciliation.
There are pleas to end the structural discrimination in education and in society that persists through ignorance and wilful- ness, leading to discrimination and the limiting of choice for people of colour and particularly those of African descent.
The pointless killing that is driven by a greed that remains engrained must end. It is destructive and promoted by this ‘system’ to control, divide and rule. For Black people there is a direct call to stop the senseless killing of one another and to re-focus their anger and frustration. It touches on slavery and the 150,000,000 that were torn from their homes, shackled in chains, transported like cargo across the Atlantic and put to work on the plantations far from home. It is this act of inhumani- ty that is blamed for much of the woes faced by the African diaspora and that each must purge from within themselves.
And as each theme is touched upon the message is clear ‘you have to know where you are from to know your way home’. For some this is a call to return to Africa, to go back home to renew oneself and rebuild. But there is a recognition that going back to Africa is not a return to a mythical land. It is a coming back to a continent that has suffered and is still suffering from the legacy of colonialism and imperialism.
Black Roots - Nothing in the Larder (Official Video)