On Monday, February 6, 2006 the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) marked the 61st anniversary of the birth of reggae icon Hon. Robert Nesta Marley, by unveiling a plaque that designated the Museum in his honour at 56 Hope Road, a Protected National Heritage site. The museum occupies the home where the reggae legend once lived.

The newly erected plaque is silver and has the word Protected National Heritage etched around a map of Jamaica. It is mounted on a wall with the signature red, green and gold painted on as border. There is also a storyboard beside the plaque that briefly summarises Bob Marley’s life and career.

Sharon Marley, daughter of the musical legend, officially welcomed everyone on behalf of the Marley family and expressed her pleasure that her father was being honoured in this way.

Guest speaker and Minister of Education, Youth and Culture Hon. Maxine Henry-Wilson reminded guests that “the words of Marley continue to reverberate in the minds of people everywhere – as they drive their cars or walk the roads, fight their battles or release their tensions, in personal and collective quests for survival.”

Speaking of the designated site, the minister noted that, “even though this was not the place of birth, it was this place that played a strong part in the construction of that mighty legacy, as the home of the legend in which he spent so many hours rehearsing, meditating, playing football and tending to his family.”

“The journey from Nine Miles to Trench Town to 56 Hope Road and to the many and varied metropolis of the world was to embalm Marley indelibly in the minds and hearts of a humanity thirsting for fulfillment and belonging, a humanity crying out against oppression and discontent, as the poor and dispossessed everywhere found a voice to echo their cry,” the education minister noted.

She congratulated the JNHT for making the historic declaration of the Museum, explaining that the site must constantly be reflected in the annals of Jamaica’s history. “56 Hope Road must be one of the symbols of our struggle and achievement, for here an ordinary Jamaican of the rural poor was able to carry out the activities that would help him to attain acclaim as ‘Man of the Millennium’ and ‘Composer of the Century’.

“Let this plaque reflect the humble acknowledgement of a grateful people for the contribution of one of our own,” she noted.

Mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie in bringing greetings also commended the Trust’s decision. “We believe that it is really a well deserved choice and we are sure that it is one that will be of tremendous benefit to the Trust, the Council, the government, the country and its people in the near future,” he said.

Of the late reggae superstar, Mayor McKenzie noted: “Bob used to warn us that, ‘Dem a go tired fi si wi face’. Today, some 25 years after his death, the world is still seeing his face and wanting to see more and more of him.

The mayor called on the authorities to invest heavily in the annual celebration of Marley in a meaningful way. “The investment would not be lost to Jamaica because the financial return as well as the benefit which will flow from tourism can only be of benefit for our economy and the works and the teaching of Bob Marley.