Liberia was a success story contrary to popular narrative.It was a republic that faced racism from its inception.Liberia gave hope to other African nations on the continent.The whole idea of Black self rule would have never been known if not for Liberia.https://youtu.be/Jhxoe8MI2U8

When talking about Liberians and so called Americo Liberians,they often get criticized for bringing Western ways to Africa.It is Western to think in terms of Geo Politics and race identity over tribal background.If Whites do it to take on Asia and Africa,why should not Black people do it?In this video the civilization of the ruling elite of Liberia,the Congo people or Americo Liberians is attributed to their 200 years in America.The narrator did not attribute it to the Black American culture in America but to praise White America.Even though the Liberian culture is exactly the same as any Southern African American community.So when Black people do something good or impressive it is not Black but White?So what is the point of getting an education and building anything if all it will do is get you condemned as aping the White race?

Let me tell you about the Christy Report which began in 1930 by the League of Nations accusing Liberia of slavery,and the inability to self rule..It was a total fabrication.I did an investigation and found out that there were,many objective people in the US State dept who  discredited the report.For one thing the people who instigated this were compelled by Lady Simon's anti Liberian book.Nothing in the book was based on facts.That was the whole reason for the report.She said that Liberians were American Negroes exploiting Africans, and therefor unfit to govern.She went on to say strongly, that no Black man should run a government even over other Black people.She called for White rule in Liberia like the rest of Africa.Remember the British,French Portuguese ect enslaved the entire continent.Liberia was the last hold out.It was obvious that, this had nothing to do with concern for the Kru Tribe.Because the Kru were migrating to Fernando Po for the past 100 years.The British were using forced labor in South Africa,Kenya,Malaysia,China,ect.The Belgium KiNG Leopold murdered 20 million Congolese to enrich himself at the same time period.Liberia never did such a thing.Now the Christy Report was flawed because Christy was a dentist whose only qualification was he spent a few months in Nigeria.He was a sincere man. They also chose African American Charles S.Johnson from Frisk University.Neither men were qualified interviewers or investigators.The entire investigation of this magnitude was only four months long.It was later determined that that was impossible to conduct full investigations with testimony of 250 witnesses half around the country.At the time it took days to travel around Liberia.They met with natives who were anxious to get rid of the Americo Liberians.Many Native Liberia thought the inquiry was the White man coming to take the Americo Liberians back to America. 

After concluding that Native  Liberians worked under brutal systems, they also blamed the chiefs of the villages for this.Then they looked at the whole system of contract labor and found that although it may have been abused by some Americo Liberians, but there was no evidence of forced slavery.The original charge.Now King was ready to accept the recommendations of the commission but the British wanted Liberia to be mandated.It was this that he stepped down.The British having lost its excuse still wanted Liberia mandated which showed it was never about the Kru's plight in the first place.Then the British tried to get Liberia to accept a loan with high interest Liberia refused to fall into the  debt.The last the Christy never visited Fernando Po nor did any of his commissioners see the conditions the Kru's worked under.That was the whole point they did not care about the Kruman.Finally Firestone came and the American government and the British for the first time was out witted.

This documentary filmed in 1960 shows the building of the Bong Iron Ore Mines in Liberia.Many do not know the significance of this project.This was the largest investment in Africa and the first major investment in Black Africa.While Nigeria and Ghana could not get the investments that they wanted because of political instability and not enough European presence,Liberia through years of independence and powerful diplomatic connections was able to lure this investment.Liberia was one of the worlds largest producer of iron ore and on its way to industrialization and first world status.Monrovia the capital is where the Africans returning from America first landed.In the short time that they were there they amazed the world..

This documentary filmed in 1960 shows the building of the Bong Iron Ore Mines in Liberia.Many do not know the significance of this project.This was the largest investment in Africa and the first major investment in Black Africa.While Nigeria and Ghana could not get the investments that they wanted because of political instability and not enough European presence,Liberia through years of independence and powerful diplomatic connections was able to lure this investment.Liberia was one of the worlds largest producer of iron ore and on its way to industrialization and first world status.Monrovia the capital is where the Africans returning from America first landed.In the short time that they were there they amazed the world..

This was a video promo for my novel on the Liberia Exodus of 1878 from Charleston SC.

Marcus Garvey once said "Up you mighty race you can accomplish what you will."Marcus Garvey was the most listened to Black man in history.At his peak in 1923 he had millions of followers around the world.W.E.B Dubois was also a top intellectual who had influence in the Black community.The staging group for all African humanity was in the United States.Marcus Garvey found ready followers and listener in America,where as he never could get a following Europe and the West Indies.In America he remarked that her saw Black men walking down streets,owning businesses running newspapers in America.He saw Black colleges,scientist,teachers,doctors.It was here he saw the vision for a redeemed Africa.But the problem as Garvey saw it in America was leadership.He saw that leaders were primarily light skinned Negroes,who in his opinion had questionable loyalties.His detractors accused him of separating Black and Whites even though America Jim Crow and racial discrimination was the norm.Marcus Garvey woke the conscious of Black people up.He captured the imagination of millions of poor Black people.He appeared genuine to most.It was this connection that his enemies feared.The appointed Black leaders of the day did not address the community.They spoke about the community not to the community.Their newspapers and essays were aimed at Whites to convince them of the need for intergration and that Black people were good Americans.All the while knowing that the masses would never benefit even from token intergration.So when Garvey told the Black man in America he should colonize Africa and be able to rise on his own merits and hard work,that resonated with the majority of African Americans.Only African Americans were in the position to challenge European powers in Africa.The issue was would they want to stay being Black Americans or would they want to be African nationalist?They majority choose African Nationalism.

The NAACP the oldest civil rights organization was opposed to African Nationalism.Most were light skinned and did not feel attached to Africa as the masses of darker skinned Black people.The presence of Marcus Garvey and the parades with military themes struck fear in the hearts of the old Negro guard and the White establishment.It did not matter that Garvey called the White man a brother and was respectful of the United States and its sovereignty.The whole idea of what America thought of Black men was being undermined.Most Americans thought of Black people as not quite human.The stereotypes and minstrel image of Blacks being ignorant,clownish,violent,lustful,petty,simple was what most White Americans believed.Seeing a big imposing man with a militant uniform speaking with a foreign accent alarmed the White power structure.On four continents the cry was"GARVEY MUST GO."Seeing this the old guard Negro leadership began reaching out to White Americans who were misinformed about who and what Garveyism was.These treacherous Negroes successfully convinced the powers in America Garvey was a danger to the good Negroes in America who only dream about being American.

The UNIA team to Liberia. The enduring goad to the Universal Negro Improvement Organization was the Republic of Liberia.The first independent African republic and second independent Black state.Liberia was at the center of an international scandal involving tribesmen being recruited for labor on an island called Fernando Po.The league of nations investigated and found no evidence of slavery but said the practice should stop.This was a ploy to get Liberia to relinquish her sovereignty.Liberia had two cards to play.Marcus Garvey offered to raise money to pay Liberia's debt.He organized a team of engineers,farmers,bankers ect to go to Liberia and build a new settlement.The Liberian government promised Garvey one million acres of land for settlement.This alarmed the colonial powers in the region who had banned all images of Marcus Garvey in their colonies.Now he would have a base to operate from.So threats came about an invasion if Garvey or his followers landed in Liberia.At the same time WEB Dubois heard that Harvey Firestone was looking at Liberia as a source of rubber.Firestone of Akron Ohio was one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world.But the British had a monopoly on the world rubber supply.WEB Dubois convinced Firestone to go to Liberia to give Liberia an alternative to Marcus Garvey.He then visited Liberia and convinced Liberian president CB King that Garvey was an undemocratic dictator who would take over Liberia.So Liberia rejected Garvey arresting his men when they arrived on the ship.They keep the ship and tools.Garvey's movement collapsed after this and Firestone signed a 99 year lease building the worlds largest rubber plantation on land promised to Marcus Garvey.

This is an article about the Tolbert Clan of Liberia.The Tolberts emigrated to Liberia in 1878 aboard the ship the Bark Azor.Racial violence caused many African Americans to want to emigrate to Liberia after Reconstruction.The Liberia Exodus company was formed to purchase ships to trade and send emigrants to Liberia.This is the story of my novel"Journey to the Promised Land"Voyage of the Bark Azor.Richard Tolbert the nephew of the last Americo Liberian president William R Tolbert sent me this article from the American Perspective magazine 2004.There is also a documentary on the Tolbert story in Journeyman films