Get Ready For Independence Day

 Get Ready For Independence Day:

The Liberation of Liberia


       Liberia is no stranger to the idea of liberation and freedom. In fact, its name entails the phrase Land of the Free in its Latin etymology. Due to colonization, Liberia was initially established by the American Colonization Society back in 1822. The American Colonization Society (ACS), formed by Quakers and slaveholders, came together with differences on slavery with the common understanding that the slaves "should go back to Africa." While the Quakers thought that the slaves could have a better life in their ancestral home, the slaveholders wanted to avoid another rebellion like the slave rebellion in Haiti against the French. This particular incident in history resembles the vision that Marcus Garvey shared in his "Back to Africa" speech for he also desired for the "Africans" scattered throughout the world to come back to their ancestral home so that it can be for them just as Palestine is for the Jew. 


    By the mid-19th century, there were reportedly over four million slaves within the United States. As these slaves transitioned to immigrant status, they gained a new identity as "Americo-Liberian". While they gained this new identity, they didn't immediately appropriate themselves to the "foreign" African culture. They still identified with America and the indigenous peoples of Africa treated them as such. Much of their governmental structures and customs reflected the South before the Civil War. While they are separated from the United States, the U.S. government never retracted aid and alliance from Liberia. Many of today's Liberian inhabitants associate themselves with those original repatriates who declared Liberia an independent republic in 1847.  

Word Count: 262

Bibliography: 

  • Liberia - history, and culture. Adventure Tourism - Experiential Travel Guides. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2021, from https://www.iexplore.com/travel-guides/africa/liberia/history-and-culture. 
  • All about Liberia. Africa.com. (2021, September 15). Retrieved November 25, 2021, from https://www.africa.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-liberia/. 
  • Mokry, A. (2014, September 24). The interesting history of Liberia. AFR 110 Intro to Contemporary Africa. Retrieved November 25, 2021, from https://sites.psu.edu/afr110/2014/09/24/the-interesting-history-of-liberia/. 
  • "If You Believe the Negro Has a Soul": "Back to Africa" with Marcus Garvey. HISTORY MATTERS - The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2021, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5124/.

    

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