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Posted by Robert
Rap News Network
10/25/2004 4:55:54 AM
Tags and topics realted to this article include 2Pac.
They are people whose achievements transcended mere fame. In an age characterised by synthetic celebrity, they are recalled as figures of substance and longevity.
The newspaper The New Nation reports, the individuals most worthy of iconic status are Jesus, the Rev Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. As such they have been allotted the top three places in a 100-strong list of the greatest icons ever.
The fact that all three can be said to have fought injustice only to have their contributions curtailed by untimely death seems to have enhanced their appeal.
There is also a distinctly political element to the ranking. In keeping with some academics' opinion of Jesus' likely physical appearance, the newspaper depicts him as black.
The figures placed fourth and fifth, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali, are both still alive but also share the common trait of having rebelled and prevailed against overwhelming odds.
An expert panel of the publication's editors, writers and contributors selected the list, published by the newspaper today as its finale to Black History Month.
It is almost evenly split between living and dead icons. More than three quarters of them are men and more than a third of them are entertainers.
The highest ranking British icon and woman on the list is the pioneering nurse Mary Seacole, followed by the politician Bernie Grant and the former Olympic champion Daley Thompson. There are 12 Britons in the list.
None of the current black MPs makes the list, nor do such international figures as the UN secretary general Kofi Annan, and the US secretary of state Colin Powell and security adviser Condoleezza Rice
The golfer Tiger Woods, the newscaster Sir Trevor McDonald and the comedian Lenny Henry are not there either.
But it does contain many names that might appear on such a list compiled by a cross-section of Britain's various communities - Oprah Winfrey is placed seventh and Bob Marley eighth. Pele is 11th.
But there are also inclusions which say much about sections of the black community and a particular world view.
At number 12 is Tupac Shakur, the controversial rapper and actor whose advocacy of gangster rap is reviled by mainstream America although his thoughts on black life resonated with many in black communities on both sides of the Atlantic. He was shot dead in 1996.
The next is Michael Jackson who, despite the child abuse allegations which have lowered his stock with mainstream audiences, retains much affection.
At number 14 is the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. He is banned by the Home Office from entering Britain on the grounds that his "anti-semitic and racially divisive views" would "inevitably inflame tensions between the Jewish and Muslim communities and therefore pose a threat to public order".
But many black people agree with his comments about the need for more black empowerment and self-determination, and respect him.
Justin Onyeka, New Nation's deputy editor, said: "I think if you look at the top 10 there are two or three who would make it into the top 10 of a mainstream poll. The others would not.
"Although there are many things we share across the communities - particular the obsession with celebrity culture and sport - people of different races and cultures have things they are more passionate about that the mainstream would not be."
He said the figures chosen "represent a mood or an era", adding: "They are the personal embodiment of a national or indeed international sentiment.They can also provoke a collective emotion or represent something bigger than just themselves."
He said many of the paper's readers would think of Jesus as having been black. "In the Bible he is described as dark skinned. Throughout history we have been presented with him having blonde hair and blue eyes, but that idea is not commonly believed.
"He never wrote a book, never recorded a hit song, never made a movie, never sought political office, nor did he ever have his own official website - yet he remains a major figure in the world's two leading religions."
Music and politics from Prince to King
1 Jesus
2 Martin Luther King
3 Malcolm X
4 Nelson Mandela
5 Muhammad Ali
6 Mary Seacole
7 Oprah Winfrey
8 Bob Marley
9 Marcus Garvey
10 The black inventors, including Garrett Morgan, George Washington Carver and Elijah Mccoy
11 Pele
12 Tupac
13 Michael Jackson
14 Louis Farrakhan
15 Bernie Grant
16 Mike Tyson
17 Steve Biko
18 Shaka Zulu
19 Tommie Smith and John Carlos
20 Jimmy Cliff
21 Haile Selassie
22 Kwame Nkrumah
23 Fela Kuti
24 The Black Panthers
25 James Brown
26 Jimi Hendrix
27 Sojourner Truth
28 The Williams sisters (Venus and Serena)
29 Rosa Parks
30 Louis Armstrong
31 Maya Angelou
32 Michael Jordan
33 Nefertiti
34 Kunta Kinte
35 Michael Manley
36 Josephine Baker
37 Miles Davis
38 Angela Davis
39 Harriet Tubman
40 Daley Thompson
41 Jesse Owens
42 Stephen Lawrence
43 Chuck Berry
44 Shaft
45 Denzel Washington
46 Carl Lewis
47 Marvin Gaye
48 Sidney Poitier
49 Public Enemy
50 Aretha Franklin
51 Walter Sisulu
52 James Baldwin
53 Paul Robeson
54 John Barnes
55 Prince
56 Sammy Davis Junior
57 Richard Pryor
58 Jackson Five
59 Samuel L Jackson
60 OJ Simpson
61 Samuel Coleridge Taylor
62 Dennis Brown
63 Madame Walker
64 Soul II Soul
65 Jesse Jackson
66 James Meredith
67 Jackie Robinson
68 Don King
69 Naomi Campbell
70 Toussaint L'Ouverture
71 Paul Bogle
72 Viv Richards
73 Bruce Lee
74 Billie Holiday
75 Diana Ross
76 Spike Lee
77 Linton Kwesi Johnson
78 Oladuah Equiano
79 Derek Walcott
80 WE DuBois
81 Gary Sobers
82 Superfly
83 Biggie Smalls
84 John Coltrane
85 Sade
86 Reggae Boyz
87 Thierry Henry
88 Stevie Wonder
89 Little Richard
90 The Huxtables
91 Brenda Fassie
92 Rodney King
93 Flo Jo
94 Hector Petersen
95 Dr Mae Jemison
96 Halle Berry
97 Ian Wright
98 P Diddy
99 Grace Jones
100 Harlem Globetrotters
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