Peter Tosh was a surprise performer at the Blackburn Center at Howard University on May 24, 1981 as part of African Liberation Day celebration. African Liberation Day is a celebration founded by the All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party, which promotes Pan-Africanism in the form of the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism. Tosh was a supporter of the organization, and was a personal friend of pan-african activist Stokely Carmichael.
According to our good friend Ras Karbi who attended the event, the cultural show and benefit was emceed by Stokely Carmichael.
It is during this trip to Washington, DC that Tosh is introduced to Paul Hudson AKA H.R., founder and lead singer of DC Rasta-hardcore outfit Bad Brains. Tosh and Hudson spend hours in Tosh’s hotel room reasoning while watching a Ku Klux Klan rally on the street below.
Here is an interview with Tosh that was featured in the September 1981 issue of the DC city paper Unicorn:
And from the Howard Hilltop on September 25, 1981…
LEGENDARY REGGAE 