In the 1980’s as Ethiopia battled a devastating famine, the world’s biggest pop stars staged a number of events that raised money to help the famished. In the United Kingdom, the reggae community did their part with the song, “Let’s Make Africa Green Again” by British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal (BRAFA). 

Released by Island Records in 1985, it preceded a concert at Shoreditch Park in Hackney, London that year. That show attracted top acts like The Blackstones, led by Leon Leiffer, who spearheaded the initiative. 

This summer, a new space at the entrance to Britannia Leisure Centre in Hackney, will be renamed BRAFA Square. During meetings for the Shoreditch Park Improvement Project in 2019, members recalled the groundbreaking concert which raised thousands of dollars for the Ethiopia relief effort. 

Administrators at the Hackney Council decided to let the public vote on a name for the location and BRAFA Square was the unanimous choice. 

Leiffer, a Jamaican who has lived in the United Kingdom since the early 1960’s, is overwhelmed at the gesture. 

“This thing will be here for the rest of time. It’s amazing, I still can’t come to terms with it. Everybody played a major role,” he said. 

Some of the other persons who helped organize the recording session for “Let’s Make Africa Green Again” were Fay Addison, Courtney Carr, Ras Elroy Bailey, Tony Douglas, Raymond Dangarembizi, Jah Bunny, Ken Kendricks and Gene Rondo. 

The song, co-written by Leiffer, Douglas, Rondo and Addison, was recorded at Hive Studios, owned by Guyanese singer/songwriter Eddy Grant. It featured Dennis Brown, Aswad, B. B. Seaton, Ken Parker, Winston Reedy, The Chosen Few, The Pioneers and Janet Kay. 

Written By Howard Campbell