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Marcus Garvey helped shape the expectation of African redemption, but the historical record does not show that he endorsed Haile Selassie as God, Messiah, or the specific king foretold in the famous prophecy attributed to him. Two major African Diaspora figures whose legacies became connected through Rastafari interpretation. Few statements are more closely associated with the origins of Rastafari than the famous instruction attributed to Marcus Garvey: “Look to Africa, when a Black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is near.” In the popular telling, Garvey delivered the prophecy, Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, and the prediction was fulfilled. That narrative carries deep spiritual and cultural meaning within Rastafari. Historically, however, the relationship between Garvey, Selassie, and the prophecy is more complicated. Garvey did not publicly declare Haile Selassie to be God, the returned...