Jamaica legislator calls for reggae legend Bob Marley to be named a national hero

FILE PHOTO: Tourists view a statue of Bob Marley outside the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston December 13, 2013. REUTERS/Gilbert Bellamy

KINGSTON (Reuters) - A Jamaican legislator is asking the country's parliament to name reggae legend Bob Marley a national hero, an effort that comes amid rising nationalism in English-speaking Caribbean countries that are distancing themselves from their colonial past.

The proposal by lawmaker Lisa Hanna would make the iconic singer a national hero, a title already held by seven Jamaicans including Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey and the nation's first prime minister Alexander Bustamante.