Robert Athlyi Rogers (6 May 1891 – 24 August 1931), born in

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

, was the author of the ''

Holy Piby The ''Holy Piby'', also known as the Black Man's Bible, is a text written by an Anguillan, Robert Athlyi Rogers (d. 1931), for the use of an Afrocentrism, Afrocentric religion in the West Indies founded by Rogers in the 1920s, known as the Afro-At ...

'', and founder of the "Afro-Athlican Constructive Church".

Biography

He was born on the island of Anguilla on 6 May 1891, and immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a youth. In 1917, Rogers wrote the ''Negro Map of Life'' and founded the ''United Home and Bank of the Negroes''.

Ministry

According to Alfredo Nieves Moreno in the ''Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico'', the 1920s and 1930s were an active and exciting time for the social movements that sought to highlight the importance of African heritage in the world. Among the most significant developments were the government of Ethiopian emperor

Haile Selassie I Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

and Marcus Mosiah Garvey's ideas of "Africa for Africans" and his

Universal Negro Improvement Association The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and his then-wife Amy Ashwood Garvey. ...

(UNIA), which also inspired the

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

an movement begun by Leonard Percival Howell in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

Robert Athlyi Rogers emerged from this evolution of thought and philosophy about the

black race Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical c ...

. Jamaican leader

Marcus Mosiah Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...

had immigrated to the United States in 1916 and established a chapter of the UNIA there. In 1922, Rogers attended a UNIA meeting in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, and was very impressed with Garvey's discourse. Rogers' admiration for Garvey was such that he declared Garvey an "

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

of God" and dedicated the seventh chapter of the ''Holy Piby'' to him. Written between 1913 and 1917, and published in 1924 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, the ''Holy Piby'' was a response to the western

Holy Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, which the author described as of "

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

origin". To Rogers, the

Promised Land In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

for Africans was

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. Considered "the black man's Bible," the ''Holy Piby'' was the first book published by an Anguilla writer in the 20th century. Although the ''Holy Piby'' is one of the foundational texts in Rastafarian theology, it is not strictly speaking a Rastafarian document. Rogers wrote it for the use of an Afrocentric religion he had founded, known as the ''Afro-Athlican Constructive Gaathly''. During that era, Pastor Rogers traveled to numerous cities in the United States, the Caribbean and South America preaching what he called the "law of Ethiopian redemption and liberation". In the city of

Kimberley, South Africa Kimberley is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal River, Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historica ...

, he established one of his religious organizations, which were known as "''Afro-Athlican Constructive Gaathly''". However, the

South African government The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...

attacked Rogers' settlement in the region. Parts of Jamaica also halted publication of the ''Holy Piby''. Charles Goodridge, one of the leaders of UNIA on the island, which was then a British colony, was imprisoned for spreading the doctrines of the religious text written by Rogers. Rogers' "Athlican" faith attracted a few followers, mostly in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, but never grew to the prominence he had envisaged.

Death and legacy

Pastor Robert Athlyi Rogers committed suicide on 24 August 1931, when he felt that his mission on earth had been completed. But as stated in chapter four of his spiritual

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

, the ''Holy Piby'', he left behind as a legacy the "salvation" of the Ethiopians.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Robert Anguillan people of African descent 1891 births 1931 deaths Anguillan writers 1931 suicides Suicides in the United Kingdom