Liberian Studies Journal

VOLUME 34 2009 Number 2

LIBERIAN STUDIES JOURNAL

Nation of Nation of Counties of SIERRA N LEONE Liberia

Nation of IVORY COAST

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Published by THE LIBERIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION, INC.

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The Liberian Studies Journal is dedicated to the publication of original research on social, political, economic, scientific, and other issues about Liberia or with implications for Liberia. Opinions of contributors to the Journal do not necessarily reflect the policy of the organizations they represent or the Liberian Studies Association, publisher of the Journal. Manuscript Requirements

Manuscripts submitted for publication should not exceed 25 typewritten, double-spaced pages, with margins of one-and a-half inches. The page limit includes graphs, references, tables and appendices. Authors may, in addition to their manuscripts, submit a computer disk of their work preferably in MS Word 2007 or WordPerfect 8.0 (or higher) for Windows. Notes and references should be placed at the end of the text with headings. Notes, if any, should precede the references. The Journal is published in June and December. The deadline for the first issue is February 28, and for the second, August 31.

Manuscripts should include a cover page that provides the title of the text, author's name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and affiliation. Anonymous referees will review all works.

Manuscripts are accepted in English and French.

Manuscripts must conform to the editorial style of either the Chicago Manual of Style (CMA), The American Psychological Association (APA), or Modern Language Associa- tion (MLA).

The opinions expressed in this Journal are those of the authors and contributors and should not be construed as representing those of North Carolina Central University, the Liberian Studies Association, or the editors of this Journal.

Authors should send their manuscripts for consideration by regular mail or e-mail attach- ments to:

James S. Guseh, Editor Liberian Studies Journal North Carolina Central University 1801 Fayetteville Street Durham, North Carolina 27707 Email: [email protected] Phone: 919-530-5201

All Book Reviews should be mailed to:

Emmanuel 0. Oritsejafor, Co-Editor Liberian Studies Journal North Carolina Central University Durham, North Carolina 27707 Email: [email protected] Phone: 919-530-7589

Indexing and Abstracting: The Liberian Studies Journal is indexed and/or abstracted by America: History and Life (1970-); Bibliographic Index (Jan. 1990-); Current Abstracts (Jun. 2009); Historical Abstracts (1970-); International Bibliographies of the Social Sci- ences International Political Science Abstracts; Linguistic Bibliography; MLA Interna- tional Bibliography (Modern Language Association of America); RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Littermate (Musicale) (1973-). Ebsco Index (2009).

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LIBERIAN STUDIES JOURNAL Editor James S. Guseh North Carolina Central University

Associate Editor Emmanuel 0. Oritsejafor North Carolina Central University

Book Review Editor Emmanuel 0. Oritsejafor North Carolina Central University

Copy Desk Editor Omar Reyes North Carolina Central University

Editorial Assistant Monica C. Tsotetsi North Carolina Central University

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD:

William C. Allen, Virginia State University Warren d' Azevedo, University of Nevada Alpha M. Bah, College of Charleston Lawrence Breitborde, Knox College Christopher Clapham, Lancaster University D. Elwood Dunn, Sewanee-The University of the South Yekutiel Gershoni, Tel Aviv University Thomas Hayden, Society of African Missions Svend E. Holsoe, University of Delaware Sylvia Jacobs, North Carolina Central University James N. J. Kollie, Sr., University of Liberia Coroann Olcorodudu, Rowan College of N. J. Romeo E. Philips, Kalamazoo College Momo K. Rogers, Kpazolu Media Enterprises Henrique F. Tokpa, Cuttington University College

LIBERIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Lama Wonkeryor, Temple University, President Mary Moran, Colgate University, Secretary-Treasurer James S. Guseh, North Carolina Central University, Parliamentarian Yekutiel Gershoni, Tel Aviv University, Past President Timothy A. Rainey, Johns Hopkins University Joseph Holloway, California State University-Northridge

FORMER EDITORS Amos J. Beyan Al-Hassan Conteh C. William Allen Edward J. Biggane D. Elwood Dunn\ Svend Holsoe

Edited at North Carolina Central University Department of Public Administration and the Office of International Affairs

The Editors and Advisory Board gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the Department of Public Administration and the Office of International Affairs at North Carolina Central University.

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TO LIBERATE FROM AN "ANOMALOUS CONDITION" OR "SECURE IN IGNORANCE AND WRETCHEDNESS"? REASSESSING THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY

Andrew W. Kahrl 1

MAKING HISTORY IN THE BEDROOM: AMERICO- LIBERIANS AND INDIGENOUS LIBERIANS SEXUAL UNIONS, 1880s-c. 1950s William E. Allen 16

A BUMPY RIDE: THE LIBERIAN MILITARY REGIME'S ACCEPTANCE IN AFRICA Yekutiel Gershoni. 35

"THE ROLE OF ICTS IN ILLITERACY ERADICATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN LIBERIA AND UNDER-RESOURCED COUNTRIES" Jennifer G. Bailey 59

THE LIBERIAN PHILANTHROPY SECRETARIAT: A CASE STUDY Donald L. Cassell, Jr. 82

BOOK REVIEW 121

DOCUMENTS: MINUTES OF THE 43RD ANNUAL MEETING OF THE LIBERIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION AT NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY 124

To Liberate From An "Anomalous Condition" Or "Secure In Ignorance And Wretchedness"? Reassessing The Intellectual Origins Of The American Colonization Society

Andrew W. Kahrl*

The impetus behind the founding and settlement of the state of Liberia remains an enduring source of confusion and contention. Frequently, the nation is described as having been founded by "freed slaves." Such a depiction of African colonization's origins supports the notion that white Americans formed the American Colonization Society in order to rid the nation of slavery. By extension, this defi- nition implies that purely humanitarian, albeit shortsighted and preju- dicial, motives drove the creation of the Liberian state. Cast in this light, the formation of the ACS appears as a last-ditch effort on the part of "enlightened" Anglo Americans to resolve a growing crisis before the young nation slid down an inexorable path to disunion, an attempt at national rebirth through a program of racial homogenization. And indeed, the ACS fits neatly into a popular historical narrative of post-revolution unity and possibility followed by descent into division and conflict. Founded during the "Era of Good Feelings," the ACS seemingly exemplified the founding generation's vain attempts to peacefully resolve the young nation's most glaring contradiction: the rhetoric of freedom and liberty and the reality of human bondage. Yet as this review of contemporary responses to and historical interpretations of the colonization movement reveals, the ACS's primary aims

* Andrew W. Kahrl is an assistant professor of history at Marquette University. He received his Ph.D. in history from Indiana University in 2008. His forthcoming book, The Land Was Ours: African American Beaches from the Jim Crow to the Sunbelt South, will be published by Harvard University Press in Spring 2012.

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defy easy categorization. Moreover, its practical effects on the institution of slavery were, in the minds of its proponents, opponents, and victims, far from clear. The organization's origins and impact on nascent debates over slavery complicates not only our understanding of the ACS in relation to antebellum era pro-slavery and abolition movements, but more importantly forces us to reassess popular conceptions of Liberia's founding generation. The uncritical designation of Liberia as founded by freed slaves, as this essay argues, not only distorts the diverse backgrounds of its African American settlers, but also grossly oversimplifies the complex and inchoate racial ideologies animating early nineteenth century Anglo American thought, and thus clouds our understanding of this critical stage in the histories of the United States, Liberia, and the Atlantic world.

Formed in 1816 by Rev. Robert Finley, a Presbyterian minister from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, the ACS professed as its goal a peaceful solution to the emerging crisis of slavery through the removal of African Americans from North America. To modern observers, such a proposal appears not only viciously racist but absurdly impractical. Yet to Finley's contemporaries, the idea fell squarely in line with emerging modes of white racial thought. The seeds of African colonization were first planted by Thomas Jefferson. In his Notes on Vir- ginia, Jefferson mused on the impossibility of "encorporat[ing] the blacks into the state." "[D]eep rooted prejudices entertained by the whites; ten thousand recollections by the blacks of the injuries they have sustained; the real distinctions nature has made; and many other circumstances," Jefferson concluded, "will divide us into parties, and produce convulsions, which will probably never end but in the exter- mination of one or the other race."' Jefferson's pessimistic view of a multiracial nation coincided with what the historian George Fredrick- son identified as the erosion of environmental interpretations of racial difference. Whereas in the eighteenth century, popular racial theorists argued that "differences in pigmentation were a comparatively short- range result of climate and other environmental factors," by the early

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1800s such conceptions of race were increasingly dismissed as naïve. In its place, a growing consensus emerged that identified the solution to racial conflict as a matter of ensuring greater distance. In correspondence with Virginia's governor James Monroe in 1801, Jefferson proposed the acquisition of "lands beyond the limits of the U.S. to form a receptacle" for liberated blacks. By 1805, the Virginia legislature resolved "to exert their best efforts" in procuring a settlement that would serve as "the residence of such people of colour as have been or shall be emancipated in Virginia, or may hereafter become dangerous to the public safety."Z Eleven years later, the ACS would put these heretofore vague plans into action.

The emergence of anti-environmentalist racial ideologies in early nineteenth century America did not stem from whites' observations of and responses to slavery. Paradoxically, the initial impetus behind colonization grew out of the gradual dismantling of slavery throughout the North in the late colonial and post-Revolutionary eras. As free black communities took shape throughout the North, whites increasingly castigated free blacks as criminally minded, immoral, and lazy and, more importantly, linked such supposedly inheritable traits to their free status. Throughout the North, the abolition of slavery was accompanied by efforts to limit free blacks' freedom of movement and, in some states, mere presence.3 Though cloaked in racial essentialisms, Northerners' anti-black sentiments indeed bore perverse similarities to earlier environmental interpretations. Freedom, so the logic went, created an environment unsuitable to the formerly enslaved African and set his race on an irreversible course of degradation. (This same rhetoric would be revived again in the Reconstruction era, as whites- both North and South-convinced themselves and others that blacks would, within a generation or two, simply die off.) The idea of repatriating African Americans emerged, in part, out of this growing sentiment amongst white Northerners that the free black posed a grave threat to the embryonic nation's social health. Indeed, contemporary opponents of slavery noted that gradual emancipation in the North exacerbated racial hostilities and, rather than furthering the cause of abolition, dealt it a near fatal blow.

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Though the ACS emerged out of the growing racial strife in the engulfed Northern cities in the early 1800s, it invoked the rhetoric of progressivism and advancement through colonization to win adher- ents. Fredrickson and others have noted that the ACS was typical of benevolent movements that took shape in the century's first two decades. Seeking to both quarantine elements dangerous to the social order and scuttle potential harbingers of lower class agitation, the ACS exemplified the sorts of "enlightened" philanthropic causes of the day that sought to solve multiple and conflicting social issues through sin- gular, all-encompassing initiatives. Colonization was framed as not simply an antidote to the perceived threats posed by free black communities, but also an opportunity for free blacks to fulfill their own racial destiny through following (in reverse order) the (metaphorical) path trod by Anglo Americans. As reflected in early speeches endors- ing the colonization scheme, the ACS's founders frequently linked their initiative to a longer tradition dating back to the United States' own mythical origins. Just as whites fled from persecution in Europe to found an Eden on the Atlantic's western shores, Finley and others argued, African colonization afforded blacks the same opportunity for cultural regeneration through colonization. As despised outsiders whose color of skin marked them as forever unassimilable, free blacks, so the logic goes, could only hope to achieve true freedom (a precon- dition for self-advancement) through landing on their own Plymouth rock.4

From its inception, the ACS sought to reconcile competing conceptions of African Americans' destiny in the new nation. Founded during a period when immediate abolition drew minimal support amongst Northern whites and elicited comparatively minimal anxieties amongst Southern slaveholders, the ACS benefited from a public less politicized by and inflamed over the issue of slavery, thus allowing it to sidestep the long-term implications and logical conclusion of African repatriation. Remarkably, ACS spokesmen cast their efforts, to different audiences, as a humanitarian check on a brutal regime, a means of shoring up slavery as a social and economic institution, and a solution to the perceived crisis of urban black criminality. Thus, the

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ACS was to some the first stage in emancipation, to others a means toward strengthening the institution, while to others simply a band- aid on the problem of urban crime.

Nonspecialists in antebellum American history might wonder how an organization dedicated to "solving" the slavery issue could draw substantial support from both ardent opponents and supporters of the institution. And indeed, the ACS forged one of the more un- likely political coalitions in American history through deftly tailoring the elements and implications of its scheme to suit its diverse audiences. Their initial success in winning audiences and later proponents stemmed both from local racial climates and larger patterns of racial thought in the early republic. In the Upper Southern states, for instance, the ACS's uncertain goals appealed to slaveholders who, by the 1810s, increasingly found themselves saddled with excess slaves and paralyzed with fear over rebellion. In cultivating this coalition, the ACS performed a delicate balancing act that sought to find a common ground where the free labor, herrenvolk democratic ideologies ascendant among white Northerners and Southern nonslaveholders met the pro-slavery views of Southern planters. The support of the latter, ACS leaders averred, was crucial not only to colonization's ultimate success, but moreover, to its financial solvency. But in forging this coalition, the ACS created a broad latitude of interpretation, so much so that, as the historian Nicholas Guyatt remarks, some passages from ACS tracts were employed both as evidence of blacks' inherent inferiority and as proof of their equality with whites.5

Ultimately, though, it was the support of slaveholders that proved more crucial to the organization's growth, its targets for colonization, and its impact on the slavery question. From the outset, the ACS took pains to emphasize its pro slavery credentials. Free blacks rather than enslaved workers, its proponents emphasized, were the primary (if not sole) candidates for repatriation. In its Constitution, the ACS claimed that its purpose was "to promote and execute a plan, for colonizing (with their consent) the free people of color residing in our country, in Africa, or other such places as Congress shall deem most

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expedient."6 Such a distinction between freeing slaves and repatriating free blacks was not lost on the American public. Free blacks, in white America's estimation, represented the primary threat to peaceful race relations. Although technically free and equal under the law, free blacks were in reality denied the rights inscribed in the Constitution. By virtue of their contradictory position in society and their public efforts to redress grievances, free blacks posed a threat to the ideals of American egalitarianism popularized during the Jeffersonian era. This point should not be dismissed as cynical posturing by a group of privileged whites espousing the rhetoric of liberty while holding others in bondage. The contradictions inherent in the social structure of the early republic vexed politicians and laypersons alike. Though few whites questioned the inferiority of blacks, they nevertheless looked in askance at the sustainability of a republic that professed such lofty rhetoric while denying it to so many within its borders. Yet those whites who harbored anxieties over the caste status of African Amer- icans both free and enslaved-knew all too well that the young nation's economic survival depended on the growth and maturation of Southern slave economies and its growing presence in transatlantic markets. As the expendable embodiment of this contradiction, free blacks thus found themselves targets for removal, refitted as repatriation to their ancestral home, by conscience-ridden white Northerners in search of alleviation for their moral anxieties.

Yet if free blacks were a constant reminder to these proto-abolitionists of the unsustainability of a racially hierarchical democracy, they proved even more troublesome to Southern slaveholders, who saw them as fomenters of dissatisfaction among their enslaved populations and the masterminds behind rebellions. Free blacks were not, however, simply an endemic source of frustration and concern for Southern slaveholders. Rather, larger economic and social forces at work during this period increased Southern whites' efforts to restrict the mobility and later champion the removal of free blacks. In the years prior to the invention of the cotton gin and the rapid expansion of slavery into the Deep South and Southwest, slavery as an economic institution was on the wane. Slaveholders in Virginia and Maryland,

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in particular, suffered from depleted soil and a depressed tobacco market. Many were forced to either "hire out" or manumit slaves at rates alarming to fellow whites who, like their Northern counterparts, feared black mobility and the growth of free black communities in the region. Such fears were compounded by the perceived threat free and "hired out" blacks posed to the security of their remaining chattel.

White Southerners linked rebelliousness among enslaved African Americans to the presence of free blacks and the freedoms many slaveholders afforded their slaves. Robert Goodloe Harper, a proponent of colonization, commented that "the free people of color ... contributed greatly to the corruption of the slaves, and the aggregate evils of their condition, by rendering them idle, discontented, and dis- obedient."' Free blacks, whites feared, infiltrated slave quarters, spreading "unnatural" ideas of freedom and equality and hatching plots to overthrow white masters. When, in the summer of 1800, Gabriel Prosser, a slave whose owner hired him out to employers in Richmond, Virginia, incited a failed uprising, slaveholders' fears were seemingly confirmed. Two years later, the Virginia legislature passed a provision that required slaveholders to deport outside the state's borders all man- umitees; other states passed laws that banned domestic emancipations. Increasingly, large slave holdings were seen as a threat, rather than a boon, to the region's economy, and by the time of its inception, the ACS found a welcome audience in the South, where colonization was deemed an effective way to protect slavery from internal subversion.

Seeking to appeal to Americans opposed to slavery as well as those economically invested in its perpetuation, the African colonization movement forged a multi-interest and at times conflicted constituency. Chesapeake slaveholders provided the initial monetary and ideological support for the ACS. Motivated by the successful slave rebellion in Saint Domingue and Prosser's unsuccessful revolt in Vir- ginia, Chesapeake planters sought, first and foremost, to remove free blacks as a means of strengthening their industry and restoring stability to a region beset by social and economic unrest. In many respects, the ACS breathed the last gasps of Federalism before the onset of Jack-

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sonian democracy, and were what Frederickson dubbed a quintessen- tially "conservative response to a changing social situation." Indeed, slaveholders and old Federalists from the upper South and border states constituted the financial backbone of the ACS during its initial years. "For men of this background and mentality," Frederickson notes, "the free Negroes were bound to present a problem, in that they constituted another inadequately controlled and unpredictable element in a social situation that seemed to offer many threats to order, stability, and hierarchy."8

Yet despite its avowed disassociation from nascent abolitionist movements, the ACS nevertheless appealed to those who recoiled in horror at human bondage. The Society of Friends, for example, stood at the forefront of the early anti-slavery movement. Long before the emergence of William Lloyd Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society, Quaker communities shunned the slave trade and its detri- mental impact on both whites and African Americans. To a certain extent, the Friends' resistance to slavery stemmed from their own history of persecution and fundamental theological values. Historian Claude Clegg notes, "As a people who had experienced religious persecution and who self-consciously attempted to level social distinctions among themselves, the ill fit of slavery with the Christian ethics of brotherhood, equality before God, and the possibility of redemption from sin was glaringly apparent before many Quakers by the 1750s."9 Yet Friends were equally aghast at the prospect of a free black population coexisting in their midst. Quaker communities routinely practiced racial segregation and paternalist control over free blacks and many communities heartily endorsed and gave financial support to colonization schemes. As Quakers flocked into Ohio and Indiana during the early nineteenth century, their new communities enacted sweeping laws aimed at curtailing and even prohibiting the presence of free black communities, and often led the charge for their removal to Africa. "To many Quakers," Clegg adds, "having blacks as neighbors was not too far removed from having them as slaves, or at least as unwanted, unassimilable dependents."'°

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The funding and marketing of the ACS also provides a telling window into its popular appeal and ability to subsume its conflicting constituencies under the banner of patriotism. Although the federal government, at the time under the leadership of President James Mon- roe, endorsed the goals of the ACS, it provided only nominal monetary support. Most of the group's funding came via private donations. The ACS sought to cloak itself in ideals of patriotism as a means of gar- nering popular support, staging Fourth of July celebrations in towns across America and equating African colonization with the future health of the nation. As historian Lawrence J. Friedman points out, the ACS was "probably the nation's most influential patriotic organization in the two decades that followed the War of 1812. The crusade for Negro removal and the crusade for 'the rising glory of America' went hand in hand."" The ACS, Clegg adds, was marketed so as to capture a broad constituency that encompassed many cherished societal values: "In the view of many of its proponents, colonization was inherently respectful of property rights, mindful of sectional strife, and above all, moderate. Consequently, emerging from this mosaic of ideologies, motives, and interests, the ACS seemed a kind of national therapy, versatile enough to soothe dilemmas ranging from slavery and white anxieties over free blacks to sectional differences and African

barbarism."' 2

Indeed, appeals to patriotism and national security formed the backbone of the ACS's justification of African American removal. Supporters argued that the two races simply could not live together as equals in peace, thus threatening America's "democratic" experiment. As one Kentucky ACS member remarked, "Nature has made the distinction of color, and in it, had laid the foundation of the partialities which bind us to our own likeness, and of the repugnance which turns us from those who do not resemble ourselves."'' If America truly sought to uphold the principles of egalitarianism, they argued, it must first rid itself of the glaring contradiction of free yet unequal citizens. As historian David Waldstreicher notes, "For many whites, the national problem was not slavery. It was the problem of freedom vested in a population whose equality they denied."14 The ACS also appealed to

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and sought to identify itself with the growing number of benevolent reform initiatives sweeping across America during this period. During the early nineteenth century, America witnessed the rise of institutions dedicated to categorizing and treating social ills. It was during this era in which penitentiaries, asylums, almshouses, and orphanages emerged. The presence of free blacks in a white-dominated society represented, in the ACS's estimation, an illness in need of treatment, with African colonization the antidote. For many colonizationists, this sickness extended to slavery itself, which many ACS advocates denounced as evil not because of its moral dimensions, but rather because it was economically unsound and a threat to the long-term health and security of the nation. Yet in seeking to maintain its fragile coalition, ACS spokesmen suppressed such diagnoses of the true sickness ailing the nation from its speeches and literature.

The public face put forth by ACS spokesmen should not, however, obscure the egalitarian beliefs held by many of its members but should underscore the ambivalences animating racial ideologies during this period. Despite their conclusion that biology foreclosed blacks' ability to achieve a semblance of equality in America, many of its members could best be described as adhering to a perverse mutation earlier modes of social environmentalist thought. Free African Amer- icans' debased status, many ACS proponents concluded, stemmed from their own or their ancestors, along with their fellow blacks', conditions of servitude and, as Henry Clay described it, their "anomalous condition" in American society. Blacks were not, this new generation of social environmentalists argued, inherently inferior, but instead victims of a society that would never accept them as equals, a social con- struct that bred mistrust, prevented economic mobility, and bred criminality and moral depravity. Since, in their estimation, racial prejudice was ineradicable, blacks could only find relief from their own degradation and depravity through returning to Africa. As Frederick- son points out, such beliefs were both radical and ultraconservative, for it rejected any notion of inheritable inferiority yet accepted the notion that "popular attitudes that appear to be persistent and deep-seated are in fact unchangeable."15

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To what extent, then, did African Americans view the ACS as a panacea to the nation's poisoned racial climate and a possible escape valve from slavery? A review of African Americans' responses to colonization muddies the waters even further, for if whites sometimes appeared to equivocate on the ultimate goal of black removal, African Americans' responses proved even more conflicted. Drawing support from black communities remained a constant source of frustration for the ACS. African American cleric Henry McNeal Turner endorsed the idea of colonization and traveled throughout the United States encouraging free blacks to consider emigration. Other prominent black leaders, however, condemned the idea of abandoning the United States and denounced ACS leaders as "false prophets." Samuel Cornish, editor of the black newspaper Rights of All, called the colonization scheme "[U]nwished for on our part, uncalled for by circumstances, as injuri- ous to our interests,. and as unrighteous and meddlesome on the part of the society."'' David Walker, in his Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, condemned the ACS as nothing more than attempt by "a gang of slave-holders" to "better secure [their slaves] in ignorance and wretchedness, to work their [masters'] farms and dig their mines, and thus on enriching the Christians with their blood and groans." Ab- solom Jones, who helped found the African Methodist Episcopal Bethel Church in Philadelphia, led Philadelphia's large free black community in drafting a formal resolution condemning the ACS. The resolution read: Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first cultiva- tors of the wilds of America, we their descendents feel ourselves entitled to participate in the blessings of her luxuriant soil, which their blood and sweat manured....

Resolved, That we view with deep abhorrence the unmerited stigma attempted to be cast upon the reputation of the free people of colour by the Promoters of this measure, "that they are a dangerous and useless part of the community,"....

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Resolved, That we will never separate ourselves voluntarily from the slave population of this country; they are our brethren by the ties of consanguinity, of suffering, and of wrong; and we feel that there is more virtue in suffering pri- vations with them, than fancied advantages for a season.... That without arts, without science, without a proper knowledge of government, to cast into the savage wilds of Africa the free people of color, seems to us the circuitous route through which they must return to perpetual bondage...

Resolved, That having the strongest confidence in the justice of God, and philanthropy of the free states, we cheerfully submit our destinies to ... Him who suffers not a sparrow to fall without his special Providence.

Such a rebuke from the nation's leading black organization reveals the degree to which African Americans resisted colonization and the nature of their objections. Jones affirms the free black community's American citizenship and cites as their duty to remain in the United States and aid and protect enslaved blacks. Perhaps no source better illustrates free blacks' resistance to colonization and whites' motives in seeking their removal. Jones's congregation was keenly aware of its investment in the founding of the new nation, its rights as citizens, and the implications for enslaved blacks should they acquiesce to whites' wishes and abandon North America.

II. The ACS was, however, able to find African Americans willing and (sometimes) eager to emigrate to the West African coast. And they also found some slaveholders willing to emancipate their slaves on their condition of their removal to the embryonic West African nation. The vast majority of these slaveholders were motivated by economic concerns (the expenses incurred by an excess slave population in the years before demand from prospective planters in the Southwest spiked), or fears of personal safety. (Widows such as Martha Wash-

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ington chose to summarily free their enslaved workers rather than risk the possibility of an uprising in the wake of a master's death. The ACS proved an easy way out for many in such circumstances.)

The question thus remains: is it correct to say that Liberia was founded by "freed slaves" or "free blacks"? Judging by the demo- graphic composition of Liberian immigrants between 1822 and 1867, both assertions are partially correct. Of the 18,958 immigrants to Liberia during this period, 5,957 were emancipated slaves.I8 By com- parison, only 4,541 free born African Americans immigrated to Liberia. Considering the fact that by 1820, over 160,000 free blacks lived in the United States, the ACS failed miserably in its overall objective of eliminating free blacks from American society. The several thousand free blacks who did help colonize Liberia, however, came to occupy an elevated status in the nascent African nation. As Liberian scholar Gus Liebenow points out, free born African Americans formed the core of Liberia's leadership during the nation's formative years. "The ambitions of many in this group," Liebenow notes, "paralleled those of the white founders of the Society." Free born blacks established businesses and schools, tended to the needs of settlers, and spread Christianity amongst the native peoples. Many free born emigrants abandoned the United States precisely because they possessed talent, skills, and a thirst for leadership denied and suppressed by white America. In examining emigrants from North Carolina, Clegg found that free born blacks were four times more likely to possess skills outside of farming than freed slaves, thus placing them in an advantageous position in Liberia's emerging social and economic life: "Most of the republic's principle figures in politics, commerce, and religious life were both free born (or free long before migrating) and had at least a rudimentary education."2° By contrast, freed slaves quickly became a distinct and inferior class. Often lacking the individual means and expertise of free born blacks, freed slaves were generally categorized as second-class citizens and denied an active role in the nation's development.

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Free born blacks played a crucial role in shaping the social and cultural identity of Americo-Liberians. Maintaining close economic ties with their American benefactors, this emerging ruling class became active participants in the transatlantic trade while forging a society that bore a close resemblance to their former homeland. "Far from rejecting the institutions, values, dress, and speech of a society that had rejected them," Liebenow notes, "the free persons of color painstakingly attempted to reproduce that culture on an alien shore.'21 This emphasis on mimicking the values and mores of white America proved the defining feature of Liberian nationalism during its formative years. Indeed, the ruling class of free born blacks so succeeded in their goals that native tribes soon began referring to America-Liberi- ans as "white" people.

Conclusion Despite its near universal acceptance among the mainstream press, it is indeed misleading to categorize Liberia as having been founded by freed slaves. As evidenced by the motivations of its white benefactors, the ACS did not seek to spur the mass emancipation of African American slaves. Moreover, the colonization of Liberia further reveals the privileged and influential status free born blacks en- joyed in shaping the new nation. Perhaps most significantly, by employing the term "freed slaves" to describe a diverse mix of colonists, one denies the presence and significance of the substantial free black population present in the United States throughout the antebellum era. This tendency to describe all African Americans pre- emancipation as slaves represents not only an injustice to the rich and varied history of blacks in America but also inadvertently denies the contributions of free born blacks to American culture and society during this era and their pivotal role in shaping antebellum racial ideologies. Despite its convenience, the term "freed slaves" as a descriptor of Liberia's founders obscures and distorts more than it reveals.

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ENDNOTES

' George M. Fredrickson, The White Image in the Black Mind: The Debate on Afro-Ameri- can Character and Destiny (New York, 1971), 3-4.

2 Claude A. Clegg III, The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia (Chapel Hill, 2004), 21.

3 In 1821, Massachusetts passed a law that severely limited free blacks' ability to reside in the state. See Fredrickson, The Black Image in the White Mind, 5.

4 On colonization in the popular imagination in the early republic, see Nicholas Guyatt, "'The outskirts of our happiness': Race and the Lure of Colonization in the Early Repub- lic," unpublished manuscript.

5 Guyatt, mss. p. 9.

6 Clegg, Price of Liberty, 31.

7 Frederickson, Black Image in the White Mind, 8.

8 Frederickson, Black Image in the White Mind, 6-8 'Clegg, Price of Liberty, 12-3.

1° Clegg, Price of Liberty, 137.

I' Lawrence J. Friedman, Inventors of the Promised Land (New York, 1975), 189

12 Clegg, Price of Liberty, 34

13 Joseph R. Underwood, in Address Delivered to the Colonization Society ofKentucky, at Frankfort, January 15, 1835, in Friedman, Inventors of the Promised Land, 192.

14 David Waldstreicher, In the Midst of Perpetual Fetes: The Making of American National- ism, 1776-1820 (Chapel Hill, 1997), 304

15 Frederickson, 17. On the notion that prejudice was a fundamental fact of life and thus an immovable barrier to African American social equality in early nineteenth century Amer- ica, and its roots in Federalist and Calvinist traditions, see Douglas R. Egerton, Charles Fenton Mercer and the Trial ofNational Conservatism (Jackson, 1989).

16 Clegg, p. 70

17 Clegg, p. 71

18 Liebenow, p. 8

19 Liebenow, p. 9

2° Clegg, p. 198

21 Liebenow, p. 15

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William E. Allen*

"According to village tradition, Father Tolbert practiced polygamy. Even though he was born in America and was a Christian, he believed in living to the fullest that aspect of the African culture. Mother Tolbert was ex- tremely jealous of his other wives" (First Lady Victoria Tolbert).'

Sexual unions contradict the dominant historical narrative that is derived mainly from analysis of the political relationship between Liberia's two major social groups. The conventional interpretation suggests the following. A perpetual struggle plagued the relationship, between the black American settlers that founded Liberia and the majority indigenes that ultimately became part of the Liberian state. The conflict began when the black Americans, later known as Americo- Liberians, set foot ashore in 1822. It culminated in the 1980 coup d'é- tat that ended more than a century of Americo-Liberian hegemony. An examination of new evidence provides some fresh perspectives. Sexual unions bridged the political divide, promoted the so-called "civilizing mission," created social mobility, and upset one spouse, as well as others in a community.

* William E. Allen holds a B.A., History (University of Liberia). MAT, History (Indiana University), and Ph.D. History (Florida International University). He is currently assistant professor of history at

Kennesaw State University, Georgia . His publications include "Liberian and the Atlantic World in the Nineteenth Century: Convergence and Effects," History in Africa, 37 (2010), 21-30; "Historical Methodology and Writing the Liberian Past: The Case of Agriculture in the Nineteenth Century," His- tory in Africa, 32 (2005): 21-39; "Rethinking the History of Settler Agriculture in Nineteenth-Century Liberia," The International Journal ofAfrican Historical Studies, 35 (2004): 435-62

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The notion of a "persistent conflict" between both groups origi- nates in a historiography that relies almost solely on interpretation from political relationships.2 In the early twentieth century, some his- torians began to question this traditional way of writing history. The most prominent critics were the French scholars that founded the journal Anna les in the 1920s or so; the Journal later offered an alternative to the old historiography. By the 1970s the Annales method of historical research, dubbed the "new history," had gained significant following across academia. A major component of the new history was the concept of the totality of the human experience in historical interpretation. The call for "total history" has opened the door to research in every sphere of human activity, from politics, economics, and demog- raphy to gender issues, culinary history, and sexual unions, among others. Interpretations derived from each discipline, the "pieces of history," constitute the collective account of a society's past.' This total experience, according to one new historian, "opens the possibility of a richer synthesis of historical understanding."4 Accordingly, this paper believes that a holistic interpretation of Liberian history can be discerned by peering under the "blanket."5

The Liberian nation was an offshoot of the transatlantic slave trade which began around 1525. Enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas, or New World, where they provided the labor for all economic and domestic activities, ranging from toiling on plantations to cooking and suckling white babies. When the transatlantic slave trade finally ended more than three centuries later, European and American ships had forcibly transported an estimated 10.7 million Africans to the New World. About 5 percent ended up in the territories that ultimately became the United States, while the lion's share went to the combined European colonies in all the Caribbean; Brazil was the next leading importer of enslaved Africans. Captives for the transatlantic slave trade were acquired from eight broad regions along the African littoral. Of those that disembarked in the United States, approximately 38 percent, were obtained in the three conterminous territories of Senegambia, Sierra Leone, and the Windward coast (present-day Liberia).6

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Ironically, the prohibition that ended the transatlantic slave trade in the 1800s-first by Britain and the United States in 1807 and 1808-did not end the racism enslaved blacks had encountered all along. In the United States, the expansion of the free black population was met increasingly by white America's demand that it be removed because of black's proclivity to commit crimes. Thus, the ACS was organized in 1817 to spearhead the removal or colonization of free blacks in Africa. Widespread African American opposition to colonization ensured that immigration to Liberia remained small. In the end, the ACS transported an estimated total of 17,000 free blacks, nearly one-third of them emancipated from slavery basically on the condition that they immigrate to Liberia.' In addition, approximately 346 emigrants from Barbados disembarked in Liberia in 1865.8 They also fled the racism and segregation that followed emancipation in the British Empire nearly three decades earlier.9 Besides their common experience of slavery, the Americans and Barbadians spoke English and practiced Western culture.

Another group that constituted the Liberian population also evolved from the slave trade. This was the recaptives or recaptured Africans. They were rescued sporadically from slave ships by the United States Navy, attempting to enforce that nation's 1807 ban on the slave trade. Efforts by the Navy resulted in the resettlement of approximately 5,722 recaptives in Liberia.19 A small number of recaptives included Igbo from present-day Nigeria. However, the bulk claimed to have originated in the "Congo," an allusion to the multi- ethnic kingdom of Kongo in West Central Africa. The recaptives are known as "Congoes" in Liberian history.11 As Africans, the recaptives were culturally similar to Liberia's indigenous population. For instance, their seemingly discrete languages can be traced to a common stock; both were subsistence farmers and shared some basic foodways. Yet, politically and socially the Congoes tended to identify with the immigrants; many Congo youths had served as wards and apprentices in the homes of Americo-Liberians.

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The majority indigenous Africans were relatively more hetero- geneous than the English-speaking immigrants from the Americas. They consisted of various linguistic groupings from the West African savanna that "drifted" to the coast. Exactly when the migrations began is uncertain. Evidence does indicate, however, that by the eighteenth century most of the migrants were occupying the territories that they presently inhabit.12 Their languages are classified into Mande, Kruan or Kwa, and West Atlantic or Mel, all of which belong to the much larger Niger-Congo language family of Africa. Mande-speakers constitute the largest population. Among the Mande, the Kpelleh-speakers from central Liberia are the largest of Liberia's sixteen ethnic groups. Another Mande group is the Vai, reportedly one of the earliest to arrive on the Atlantic coast. The Bassa, Dei and Kru represent Kruan-speakers, all of who played leading roles on the Atlantic coast before and after the formation of Liberia. The West Atlantic group consists of the smallest number of speakers. 13

None of these groups asserted political control over the entire coast before the advent of the black Americans. Hence, the suggestion of a uniform reaction ("persistent conflict") with regard to relations with the settlers is mistaken. Instead, each group acted in its own interest, at times to the disadvantage of others; there are notable illus- trations. When the fledgling colony was threatened by the Dei in 1822, the settlers received strong support from the powerful Sao Boso or Boatswain, king of the multi-ethnic Condo confederation.14 Also, according to the account of Jehudi Ashmun, agent of the Colony of Liberia (1822-1828), some "native Africans" fought on the side of the settlers in the crucial November 1822 battle that was led by the Dei." Finally, in the second decade of the twentieth century some indigenous groups were allied (or peacefully coexisted) with the Liberian government-e.g., the Vai. On the other hand, there was firm resistance from others, the Kru (1915-17) and the Gola (1918).

Between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century the social divisions in Liberian society were obvious. The ruling class of Americo-Liberians included a few Congoes, like Daniel Ricks and

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Abayomi Karnga, along with a smattering of indigenes such as Mo- molu Massaquoi, Luke B. Anthony, and H. Too Wesley.16 Americo- Liberians have never constituted more than 10 percent of the population. Yet, they dominated political and economic life of the Re- public by disenfranchising and relegating the indigenous majority or "country people" to the status of second-class citizens. The 1980 coup d' &at that dislodged the Americo-Liberian ruling class was led by "country" soldiers-military men of wholly indigenous background. Still, in spite of the social stratification that existed, there was considerable cross-cultural interaction between Americo-Liberians and indigenous people.

The general dearth of information on sexual unions can be attrib- uted to the lack of documentary sources. Furthermore, no oral tradition has been collected on the subject. Among the other reasons, one must include the following. Outside of the usual hush-hush that tends to surround topics of sexuality in Africa, was the self-righteousness of the Americo-Liberians. Ostentatiously Christian and monogamous, the settlers portrayed themselves as the agents of a supposedly superior Western culture. Consequently, members strove to project proper Christian behavior onto the so-called African "heathen" community which they were attempting to "civilize." Propriety included limiting intimate associations with indigenes, as some feared that unwarranted interactions would cause the settlers to "relapse to barbarism."17 Therefore, Americo-Liberians had to be discreet about sexual unions with the "natives." But illiteracy among the settlers and local people likewise contributed to the scarcity of sources.18 Accordingly, stories of sexual union have largely remained-literally-under the blanket. Sources for the article comprised mainly the archives of the American Colonization Society, biographies, and the narratives of foreigners.

The sexual union that First Lady Victoria Tolbert described in the quotation that opens the article seems like polygyny.; Mr. Tolbert's "other wives" were indigenous women. It is unclear whether he ("Fa- ther Tolbert") and his Americo-Liberian wife lived in one big com- pound with the "other wives", as is typical in African polygynous

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relationships. Mr. Tolbert was a wealthy Americo-Liberian farmer whose son, William Tolbert became president of Liberia and was later assassinated during the 1980 coup d' &tat. The sexual union Victoria Tolbert indicated existed between her father-in-law and indigenous women in the early decades of the 1900s is comparatively more common in the literature. However, there are several historic, monogamous relationships. One was reported in 1889:

Mr. Hill has in store fi ft y bags of coffee . . . . His influence upon the Aborigines has been most wholesome. Two of the native youth trained by him (Pessehs) are now their own masters, and have their coffee farms and live

in neat frame houses . . . . One of them has recently married a highly esteemed colonist, widow of one of the prominent settlers [emphasis mine].19

The training that transformed the "Pesseh" (i.e. Kpelleh) youth into a "civilized" person included exposure to Christianity and education, cultivation of export staples like coffee, and the ownership of an American-style home, e.g., "frame" house. An illustration of the training is evident in the curriculum of the Muhlenberg mission, a Christian school mostly for indigenous boys near the Americo-Liberian town of Arthington, venue of the wedding. In 1887, the mission included a church and the students learned to cultivate coffee and sugar; as will be demonstrated below, the architecture harked back to wooden frame houses of the antebellum American South.2°

Civilizing the "heathen" Africans was a central goal of the Amer- ican Colonization Society, and Americo-Liberians were agents of the mission. The meaning of "civilized" was by and large precise and has its roots in the nineteenth-century movement to abolish the transatlantic slave trade. Opponents condemned the slave trade not only because it was inhumane, but also for the economic waste it engendered. For instance, critics of the trade could point to the estimated 15 percent

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or 1.8 million captive Africans who perished on the morbid Middle Passage or oceanic voyage to the Americas." Following the abolition of the slave trade in Britain and the United States, Christian missions in Africa pursued the agenda for "civilizing" Africans. It consisted of the production of tropical export staples by Africans-in Africa-for overseas markets. Abolitionists argued that the civilizing mission should involve converting Africans to Christianity and training them to cultivate crops for commerce (from whence the phrase, the Bible and the Plow). The new commerce was called "legitimate trade" to distinguish it from the slave trade that by the mid-1800s had become mostly illegal. In the end, the civilized African would acquire Western culture through education, commerce, and Christianity."

First, through the training he received from Mr. Hill (and probably the Muhlenberg mission) the Kpelle groom had acquired knowledge of the Bible; next, came the Plow. Like his mentor, Mr. Hill, the "civilized" Kpelle also learned to cultivate coffee for export, the Plow. Note that rice farming, which was (and remains) the subsistence agriculture of the Kpelleh and all indigenous people, was not mentioned in the quotation. The final proof of being "civilized" is the "frame" house, an American model that was typically made of wooden shingles and contained large windows and a verandah." It was markedly different from the small, mostly round wattle-and-daub, palm-thatched huts of the Kpelleh and other autochthons. For example, houses on

the Muhlenberg mission were described as "commodious . . . large

building . . . splendid . ."24 By this period, up-and-coming Americo- Liberians constructed wooden frame houses, while the well-to-do used wood as well as stones in homes and businesses." Therefore, the measure of a "civilized" (also called kwi) person in the nineteenth century was Christianity and literacy, commerce and the possession of some form of Western material culture, represented here as a "frame" house.26 In effect, to be "civilized," the Kpelleh youth had to assume a new identity, one that almost certainly alienated him from his culture. Marriage to the "highly esteemed colonist," marked the climax of his transformation.

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Another monogamous marriage took place in the nineteenth century and was recorded after the turn of the century:

Now in those days, such a marriage could not

have been entered into lightly . . . . My mother was a young girl of 19 and her background

was that of the . . . Vai people. . . . And there

was my father . . . the son of an American from Florida and grandson of a former Pres-

ident of Liberia . . . educated . . . who had taken strenuous extra-mural theological studies, was a qualified teacher, and was in charge of the school [emphasis mine]."

The writer is Clarence L. Simpson, the embodiment of Americo- Liberian influence and power. Simpson held practically every important government position except the presidency: from vice president, secretary of state, speaker of the House of Representatives, to ambassador, among others. His great grandfather was ex-president Alfred F. Russell. Simpson's father, A. D. Simpson, was the groom. In spite of A. D. Simpson's Americo-Liberian pedigree, he decided to marry the "country" or "native" Vai maiden in 1895; obviously the wedding caused some stir. This kind of publicly sanctioned intimacy with the supposed "inferior tribes" was apparently uncommon in the Simpson small, rural Americo-Liberian township of Royesville. The settlement was surrounded entirely by indigenous people, among them the Vai, the bride's kinfolk. "Of course my father fully expected," the younger

Simpson continued, "that . . . there would be some raising of eyebrows

. . . some talk of the young teacher jeopardizing his career. Public opinion might even make his work difficult for a time.'28

Because the older Simpson was a teacher, he was ideally suited for leading the American Colonization Society's civilizing mission among the Africans around Royesville. In fact, this 1906 report implies that the Royesville school was one of the ACS-sponsored insti- tutes in Liberia for civilizing indigenous people: "Mr. A. D. Simpson

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is a teacher in Royesville . . . We furnish text-books to these schools .

. . .'"9 As a teacher, Mr. Simpson was among the Americo-Liberian elite of the town. But herein lay the rub. Those who scowled at his decision to wed Kamah believed that by marrying Kamah, teacher Simpson was sending a dangerous mixed message to his pupils (Americo-Liberians as well as "natives"). Basically, the marriage would undermine the public position of maintaining respectable social distance from the "heathen Africans" and their "pagan" customs. For one, although the wedding ceremony did follow Western customs, the groom had to still perform the "primitive" Vai marriage tradition by presenting the bride's parents with the bridewealth, a gift of "cloth and household articles. "30 Ultimately, the Americo-Liberian community probably shrugged in resignation. However, in the eyes of supporters, Kamah did possess one redeeming quality: like the Kpelleh youth, she is said to have "accepted the Christian religion and a measure of West- ern civilization.'31

It appears that more cross-cultural sexual unions existed in the twentieth century. Among the reasons was the continual expansion of the Republic from the coast into the interior throughout the century. The further inland the Republic extended its boundaries, the more the small population of Americo-Liberians became surrounded by throng of indigenes. For instance, as early as 1900 the Americo-Liberian population was estimated at merely 20,000, compared to "1,000,000 natives, who have been more or less favorably affected by contact with" the Americo-Liberians." This growing encounter meant greater interactions (belligerent as well as cordial) between the new "civilized" or kwi people from the interior and the Americo-Liberians on the coast. Sexual union is an example of the cordial interrelationships.

The polygynous relationship described by Victoria Tolbert seems to be the norm by the early decades of the twentieth century. Yet, evidence also indicates that other forms of sexual unions were widespread. Writing of the same period as Victoria Tolbert, the current Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, recalls that her father

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also chased women with great enthusiasm. This was not unusual nor particularly frowned upon at the time. Polygamy was the dominant

form of marriage . . . . Even the settlers, who brought with them Christianity and its emphasis on monogamy, took up the practice of having concubines and 'outside' children [emphasis mine]."

A contemporary narrative corroborates these accounts. The author was an American, Elizabeth Furbay, whose American husband, John, was president of the College of West Africa from 1936 to 1939; the Furbays lived on the school campus on Ashmun Street. She wrote that

a prominent family of Americo-Liberian aris-

tocrats . . . is a splendid example of a typical

Liberian household. . . . There were a son and a daughter who were legitimate offspring; there were a son and a daughter who were outside children of the father by two different na-

tive women. . . [emphasis mine].34

Illegitimate children were commonplace and could be found among the elite as well. For example, Furbay hinted that President Edwin Barclay (1930-44) was born out of wedlock. According to Fur- bay, sometime between 1936 and 1939 (when Barclay was president) a student of the College of West Africa wrote an essay about the president's accomplishments. (CWA was the preeminent high school with primarily Americo-Liberian students.) The essay praised the president's resourcefulness and ascribed it to his "illegitimate birth," an allusion to the disadvantages "outside" children had to overcome;" so far, whether Barclay's mother was a "native" remains a mystery.

This author has yet to find a refutation of Furbay's suggestion that Barclay was born out of wedlock. Her book was published in

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1943, the year Barclay retired from the presidency, and a dozen years before his death. Additionally, Furbay notes that the Liberian Legis- lature enacted a law whereby "an illegitimate child is made legitimate," which apparently was passed "for the benefit of the present highly respected President.'36

Legally, Americo-Liberians were monogamous. Therefore, li- aisons or concubinage such as the one Barclay's father supposedly committed was illegal; so were the numerous affairs of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's father. Polygyny was, however legal. Early on, the Liberian government recognized polygyny since it is central to the social order of the various indigenous groups. Therefore, an Americo- Liberian could also legally marry more than one "native" wife. But the form of polygyny practiced by Victoria Tolbert's father-in-law was more popular among Americo-Liberians, although it appears biga- mous: The men were already involved in a monogamous relationship with Americo-Liberian wives. According to Victoria Tolbert, her mother-in-law opposed polygyny and challenged "Father Tolbert" about his sexual relations with the "country wives"; her challenge was spirited and at times confrontational.37

George Padmore sheds more light on the type of polygyny that was practiced by Americo-Liberian men:

Customs in Liberia at the time were that farmers married an educated lady mainly to maintain his prestige with the civilized community. He could likewise have as many native or farm wives as he might find financially possible. ... Some farmers had two or three such wives who never mingle with his city home or family [emphasis mine].38

Padmore's account is of the 1930s and 1940s, and the farmers were cultivating rubber, the new export staple. Much earlier, in 1913, a similar depiction was given by an American, Frederick Starr:

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Living in the same neighborhood with Dr.

Lewis is Jacob Logan . . . His father was a Liberian [Americo-Liberian], and his mother

a Bassa . . . he is legally married to one wife, but has the reputation of maintaining a con-

siderable body of native women . . . [emphasis mine] .39

These polygynous practices occurred in the twentieth, not nineteenth century. However, Padmore's story about Americo-Liberian rubber farms is somewhat similar to a late nineteenth-century anecdote also about farms or "half-towns" as they were called at the time.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, a small group of Americo-Liberian farmers owned large farms where they cultivated coffee and sugar; both crops were exported primarily to the United States.4° In 1877, Edwin Wilmot Blyden wrote about one of these farms:

On my way from Boporo . . I purposely made for Arthington, the nearest American settlement. The first farm we came to was Mr. Solomon Hill's. His name is known as far as

Boporo . . . because his land runs in the native haunts. Indeed, he has a small native town on his land, and its inhabitants speak very highly of his treatment of them. When about a mile from Arthington, in a dense forest, we came suddenly upon a cluster of native huts, containing only women-the men had gone off to 'cut farm.' We inquired, 'what town is this ?' This be Sol. Hill's half-town,' we were told [emphasis mine].41

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Solomon Hill (whose "Pesseh" youth married the widow) was one of the largest coffee planters in Liberia. Having a native town or "half-town" on his farm was not unusual. Other large farmers, like his fellow townsman June Moore, also owned half-towns on their coffee farms. These "half-towns" were occupied by the locals, who maintained the coffee farms. There is no proof that Hill or the other farmers practiced the polygyny that Padmore indicates had become customary by the twentieth century.

While polygyny was popular in the twentieth century, monogamous relationships did exist. One illustration was the wedding of Mo- molu Massaquoi, a Vai, and Rachel Johnson, an Americo-Liberian. Massaquoi, educated in Liberia and overseas, was enterprising, intelligent, and cosmopolitan. He and Rachel married in 1915. She was the great granddaughter of Elijah Johnson, one of the original settlers that defended the colony against the Dei attacks in November and De- cember 1822. In 1884, Elijah's son Hilary W. R. Johnson became the first president to have been born in Liberia. Massaquoi held prominent government jobs including secretaries of interior and postal affairs, and Consul General to Germany. He had presidential ambition in 1931, but withdrew after being accused of misappropriating public funds, an allegation he believed was concocted by his political enemies, specifically President Edwin Barclay.42

To sum up, this century-plus account of sexual unions reveals a level of interaction between the Americo-Liberians and the indigenous people that has previously been ignored in the historiography. The broader question is how do the anecdotes about cross-cultural sexual relationships impact the historiography? How do these accounts expand our understanding of the relationship between two groups that are assumed to be locked in a perennial struggle? The following are some observations to consider about these intermarriages.

In the story about the mixed marriage of his parents, Clarence Simpson appreciates his "native" mother thus:

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I also greatly respect certain characteristics of my mother's people, such as gentleness, self- respect, traditional courtesy a readiness to learn and a sensitivity to the feelings of others,

whether they are friends or enemies . . . In the diplomatic circles of the Western world in which I was later to move my maternal legacy has always been an asset and a source of pride [emphasis miner

Considering the foregoing, can the historiography continue to view the early contact period as solely one of "assimilating" and "civilizing the natives"? Simpson certainly believes that his mother's culture contributed significantly to his upbringing. Therefore the influence was mutual, that is, acculturation was bilateral: his mother adopted Western values and transferred some of her cultural traits to the Simpson family. In the end, both Americo-Liberians and indigenes influenced one another.44

Next is the revelation by Victoria Tolbert that her father-in-law practiced polygyny. In his defense, the older Tolbert is reported to have responded "true, I have a lot of women around me, but I have to

. . . . I'm a big farmer. The women do lots of special work . . . ."45 Americo-Liberians had to learn indigenous knowledge to succeed in the new environment. Farming, for instance, was dramatically different from what they had been accustomed to in the United States. One difference had to do with the planting season. In most parts of the United States various crops could be cultivated in different seasons throughout the year. On the other hand, Liberia's farming regime is divided sharply between dry and rainy periods. Out of the twelve months in the year, farmers had only the four months or so of the rainy season to plant rice, the staff of life, or risk starvation the next year.

Also, "Father Tolbert" obviously used his social status to facilitate his farming operations. The Tolberts lived in Bensonville (now Ben- tol), a town that was surrounded entirely by indigenes, the largest being

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the Kpelleh. The prosperous "Father Tolbert" was a prominent member of the elite Americo-Liberian clan. He served in the House of Rep- resentatives and was superintendent of his home district. Tolbert was also a Baptist deacon, the "civilizer" among the "country people." He spoke Kpelleh and joined the Poro society, the secretive all-male group that wields considerable influence and power among West African Mande speakers.46 Tolbert's comments that he was "a big farmer" and his country wives were laborers-"do lots of special work"-confirms the uneven power relationship. Indigenous men took similar advantage of multiple wives in polygynous relationships.47 Tolbert's assimilation of Kpelleh culture (e.g., speaking Kpelleh) enabled him to navigate challenges presented by Kpelleh cultural traditions. Lastly, his adaptation further suggests significant interactions with indigenes, contrary to notion of perpetual separateness that is implied in the historiography.

Finally, the story of Momulu Massaquoi's matrimony also raises some interesting questions. His biographer observed that his marriage to Rachel Johnson, a descendant of an Americo-Liberian president, "catapulted Momolu into the midst of the Liberian elite."48 The biographer, Raymond Smyke, does mention that Massaquoi was already acquainted with some prominent Americo-Liberians when he wedded Rachel. One was Daniel E. Howard. In 1911 Howard encouraged Massaquoi to leave Vai country and relocate to Monrovia, the nation's capita1.49 When Howard became president a year later, he immediately appointed Massaquoi an official in his administration. Howard probably played a critical role in Massaquoi's decision to wed Rachel. Ac- cording to Smyke, Howard had persuaded Massaquoi to "regularize his conjugal situation because Monrovia people would not accept a native man in their midst with all his wives by traditional marriage.'"° Massaquoi married Rachel thereafter. He worked in the Howard administration until its termination in 1919.

The Massaquoi matrimony is an illustration of how upward social mobility could be reached in Liberia's highly stratified society. One must wonder if this kind of mobility was common for ambitious in-

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digenous men seeking to join the ruling Americo-Liberian class. Mas- saquoi's marriage poses a much larger question about the concept of perpetual conflict between the groups. Massaquoi, a Vai prince and proud "native" Liberian, was apparently well respected inside and outside Liberia. His ties to both W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, two pioneer pan-Africanists, suggest that he shared their strong anti- colonial stance." Yet, Massaquoi served in the "colonial" or "black imperialist" government of the Americo-Liberians at a time when some indigenous groups challenged Americo-Liberian hegemony- e.g., the Kru, 1915-17 and Go la, 1918. One explanation for his action confirms that the various indigenous groupings reacted differently to Americo-Liberian rule.

This brief bedroom history illustrates the complexity of Liberian society, a society of seemingly fixed social boundaries. Sexual union, like politics, is just one of the many sides of the multifaceted human story call history. To fully appreciate history, one must access the multiple layers. History is like "onion" one keen observer of world history noted, "whose layers are to be peeled back in search for historical understanding.'52 The "total history" approach is the perfect model for disentangling the complexity, because it analyzes all human activities-including politics and sexual unions.

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ENDNOTES

1 Victoria Anna David Tolbert, Lifted Up: The Victoria Tolbert Story (Minneapolis, MN, 1996), 51-52.

2 The idea of "persistent conflict" is the underlying thread in the historiography, as evidenced in the title of Eckhard Hinzen and Robert Kappel, Dependence, Underdevelop- ment and Persistent Conflict: On the Political Economy of Liberia (Bremen, Germany, 1980); see also J. Gus Liebenow, Liberia: The Evolution of Privilege (Ithaca, 1969); M. B. Akpan, "Black Imperialisms: Americo-Liberian Rule over the African Peoples of Liberia, 1847-1964," Canadian Journal of African Studies 7 (1973): 217-36.

3 For discussion of the concept of the Annales historical method see, Fernand Braudel, On History, trans., Sarah Matthews (Chicago, 1980); T. Stoianivich, The French Historical Method: The Annales Paradigm (Ithaca, 1976); Peter Burke, New Perspectives on His- tory Writing (Pennsylvania, 1991); Chapter 1; T. Stoianivich, The French Historical Method: The Annales Paradigm (Ithaca, 1976).

4 Jim Sharpe, "History From Below," in Burke, New Perspectives on History Writing, 33. Liberians referred to all bedclothes as "blanket." The notion of history being made "in the bedroom" is inspired by Fernand Braudel, Memory and the Mediterranean, ed., Roselyn De Ayala and Paule Braudel and trans., Sian Reynolds, (New York, 2001), xvi.

6 Data on slave trade extrapolated from http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/esti- mates.faces. E.g, Annual Report of the American Colonization Society (hereafter Annual Report), Proceedings of the Board of Directors, 1867, 56-64; Wiley, Slaves No More, 33-35, 116- 19, 155 and 188-89.

8 AR, 1865, 236-42.

9 E.g., Hilary Beckles, Great House Rules: Landless Emancipation and Workers' Protest in Barbados, 1838-1938 (Kingston, Jamaica, 2004).

10 E.g., Annual Report, 1867, 64.

11 The African Repository and Colonial Journal (hereafter AR & CJ), 1839, 9; AR, 1861, 94; Wiley, Slaves No More, 210; Eltis "Volume and Structure," Map II.

12 P. E. H. Hair, "An Account of the Liberian Hinterland c. 1780," Sierra Leone Studies 16 (1962), 218-26.

13 On migration and ethnic groups, see, Walter Rodney, History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800 (Oxford, 1970), 6, 15. Svend Holsoe, "The Cassava-Leaf People: An Ethnohistorical Study of the Vai of Liberia With a Particular Emphasis on the Tewo Chiefdom, Ph.D. diss., (Boston University, 1967), 67-70; D. Elwood Dunn, Amos J. Beyan, and Carl Patrick Burrowes, ed., Historical Dictionary of Liberia (Lanham, Md., 2001), 1-2; Mary Moran, Civilized Woman: Gender and Prestige in Southeastern Liberia ( Ithaca, New York, 1990).

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14 Svend E. Holsoe, "A Study of Relationship Between Settlers and Indigenous Peoples in Western Liberia, 1821-1847" African Historical Studies, IV, 2 (1971), 335-337.

15 Archibald Alexander, A History of Colonization on the Western Coast ofAfrica (New York, 1971), 187.

16 Abayomi Karnga, History of Liberia (Liverpool, 1926), 12-13; Frederick Starr, "The People of Liberia: Sketches of Native Liberians in Public Life-Km Boys who Are Eager for an Education-Native Schools," 75 (1913), 482-83.

17 E.g., Frederick Starr, "The People of Liberia," 484.

18 While data on literacy gathered prior to emigration is incomplete, most emigrants were illiterate: teaching slaves to read or write was mostly illegal. And although some Mus- lims such as the Vai and Mandingo could read and write Arabic (or the Vai Script) there is no evidence as yet that they wrote of sexual unions. See Tom W. Shick, "Emigrants to Liberia, 1820 To 1843: An Alphabetical Listing," (Liberian Studies Research Association Working Paper No. 2, 1971); Robert T. Brown, "Immigrants To Liberia, 1843 to 1865: An Alphabetical Listing," (Liberian Studies Research Association Working Paper No. 7, 1980).

19 The African Repository (hereafter AR,), 65, 2(1889), 45.

20 Ibid., 63, 2 (1887), 60-61.

21 E.g., Marcus Rediker, The Slave Ship: A Human History (New York, 2007), 5.

22 T. F. Buxton, The African Slave Trade and its Remedy (London, 1840); J. B. Webster, "The Bible and the Plough, Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 2, 4 (1963): 418-34; P. J. Staudenraus, The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865 (New York, 1980), e.g., 49-50.

23 See pictures in Svend Holsoe and Bernard Herman, ed., A Life and Land Remembered: Americo-Liberian Folk Architecture (Athens and London, 1988)

24 R, 63, 2(1887), 60.

25 AR & CJ, 1, 1 (1825), 26; AR, 41, 4 (1865), 22, 139; AR, 58, 1 (1882), 26; Annual Re- port, 1865, 22.

26 Generally civilized (or kwi) and native are polar terms, with the first connoting advanced Western culture and the latter, the supposed backward African way of life. To understand how the meaning has evolved in one area, see, Moran, Civilized Woman, e.g., 2-3, 63-72.

27 C. L. Simpson, The Memoirs of C. L. Simpson: The Symbol of Liberia (London, n.d.), 68-70.

28 Ibid., 68, 70.

29 Eighty-Ninth Annual Report, 1906, 4.

30 Simpson, The Memoirs of C. L. Simpson, 70.

31 Ibid., 71.

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32 Eighty-Third Annual Report, 1900, 12.

33 Ellen Johnson Sir leaf, This Child Will be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President (New York, 2009), 17.

34 Elizabeth Dearmin Furbay, Top Hats and Tom-Tom (Chicago, 1943), 121. " Ibid., 134.

36 Ibid.

37 Victoria Anna David Tolbert, Lifted Up, 51-52.

38 George Padmore, The Memoirs of a Liberian Ambassador: George Arthur Padmore (Lewiston NY, 1996), 25-26.

39 Starr, "The People of Liberia," 484.

4° William E. Allen, "Sugar and Coffee: A History of Settler Agriculture in Nineteenth- Century Liberia," Ph.D. diss.. Florida International University, 2002.

41 A R, 53, 1(1877), 92.

42 Raymond J. Smyke, The First African Diplomat: Momolu Massaquoi (1870-1938) (Xlibris Corporation, 2004), 159, Chapter 19.

43 Simpson, Memoirs, 71.

44 On the difference between assimilation and acculturation, see, David Buisseret and Steve G. Reinhart, Creolization in the Americas (Arlington, TX, 2000). " Victoria Tolbert, Lifted Up, 52.

46 Dunn et al., Historical Dictionary of Liberia, 268.

47 See example for the Kru in Moran, Civilized Women, 43-44.

48 Smyke, The First African Diplomat, 159.

49 Ibid., 182.

50 Ibid., 183-84.

51 Ibid., 216, 217, 245-48.

52 Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (New York, 1997), 11.

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A Bumpy Ride: The Liberian Military Regime's Acceptance In Africa

Yekutiel Gershoni*

The People's Redemption Council (PRC), led by Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe, came to power in Liberia in a bloody coup on 12 April 1980, putting an end to 133 years of pro-Western Americo-Liberian minority rule. The new military regime, which consisted of non-commissioned officers and privates, was assisted by several civilian politicians known for their opposition to the Americo-Liberian government. The new leaders presented the military takeover as an event that would change the course of the country's history, and promised to create a new Liberia totally different from that under Americo-Liberian rule. Since the Americo-Liberian leadership symbolized, more than anything else, the malignancy of the past regime, it was brutally elimi- nated. This, however, was not very different from the aims and behavior of other military regimes that had toppled civilian ones elsewhere in Africa. Yet while African and regional organizations usually duly accepted the new regimes, the PRC suffered uncharacteristic snubs and delays.

More specifically, it experienced an anomalous disconnection between formal recognition, which it received from virtually all the states with whom Liberia had had diplomatic relations until then, and the rights and benefits that formal recognition entails. In international law, recognition entails not only the formal acknowledgment of the existence of a state or government, but also agreement that its legal rights and duties will be respected.' Among those rights may be counted the right to serve as the international agent of the state.

* Yekutiel Gershoni is a Professor of African History in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

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M.J. Peterson has pointed out that although international law provides that every state can change its government in any way it wishes, whether by means prescribed in the state's constitution, fundamental law, or basic political customs, or by means not so prescribed, it "does not impose on other states any obligation to accept a new government as the international agent of its state."' Following World War II, ad- hoc recognition (which Peterson dubbed "premature" recognition) of new governments was abundant. The division between the Eastern and Western blocs enabled governments that took power even by "means

not so prescribed" to receive recognition from at least one of them. 3 As soon as it came to power, the PRC government received recognition from states in both blocs, as well as non-aligned states. These naturally included all the African states. Shortly thereafter, however, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and then the Eco- nomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signaled their disapproval of the new regime by refusing to admit the PRC appointed delegations into their midst. With this, the formal recognition by the states involved remained intact. Ambassadors were not recalled, even temporarily, nor embassies closed nor their staffs reduced. Pre-coup treaties and agreements remained in force. Borders remained open and the movement of persons and goods continued unobstructed. This paper traces the development and resolution of this anomalous situation. It shows how the interests and anxieties of all involved militated against the African states withholding or withdrawing recognition from the PRC government, while at the same time leading the PRC government to adapt itself to the concerns and demands of the states that its behavior had antagonized. The six month long process, which ended, as it had to, with a compromise, was a bumpy one, marked on both sides by the alternation of moves towards and retreats from accommodation. It can be described in three stages or phases. The first two, featuring respectively the OAU and ECOWAS rebuffs, were characterized largely by the PRC's failed efforts at conciliation. The third phase, was characterized by tough negotiations, encouraged by the United States, which continued despite setbacks because of the dogged determination of both sides to find a modus vivende.

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The OAU rebuff and Liberia's conciliatory response

The international community initially greeted the Liberian coup with the usual diplomatic laissez faire. The new leaders announced their ascension to power to the various foreign embassies, beginning with the United States and the Soviet Union; the various embassies responded with their governments' recognition of the new regime. The first to offer recognition were the United States, Libya, and Liberia's neighbors Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, followed by the Soviet Union and other African and European states.4

With this, the coup itself and the murder of President William R. Tolbert, aroused considerable consternation and concern. In Africa, especially West Africa, Tolbert had been a highly regarded leader, respected by his peers for his constructive activities in international, continental, and regional organizations. The fact that he was chair of the OAU at the time of the coup made his murder all the more outrageous and upsetting. For Washington, the coup provoked apprehensions about the future of its citizens and its many economic and strategic interests in the country. When the coup took place, approximately 3,500 American citizens resided in Liberia; U.S. firms had an estimated $350 million, with a replacement value of up to three times as much, invested in Liberian companies; and several key U.S. installations, namely a Voice of America transmitter broadcasting to Africa, the Mid- dle East, and the Soviet Union; a telecommunications relay station that transmitted diplomatic traffic between Washington and almost all the American embassies in sub-Saharan Africa; and an OMEGA naviga- tion station, which enabled ships and aircraft to continuously calculate their exact positions, were located in Liberia.5 In the years preceding the coup, tensions had arisen as Tolbert began to carve out a more neu- tral and independent foreign policy which sometimes conflicted with American interests.' However, at the time of his death the Americans still viewed Liberia as being well within its sphere of influence and were still providing it with ample direct and indirect aid.

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The apprehension triggered by the actual coup and Tolbert's murder soared ten days later, when the new government, ignoring international appeals for clemency, executed thirteen leaders of the ousted regime, brutally shooting them by firing squad on a beach in front of a jeering Monrovian mob.' The Carter administration had let Tolbert's murder pass with only verbal condemnation; but in response to the grisly public executions, it halted a Pentagon training mission that had

been scheduled to arrive in Liberia on 1 May, and held in abeyance a $6 million economic aid program and a $1.4 million military credit sales program that had been promised to the previous government.'

In Africa, the impetus for the OAU rebuff was the executions car- ried out just when the fourteenth extraordinary session of the OAU Council of Ministers was meeting in Lagos to prepare for the organization's first economic summit, scheduled for 28 April. The rebuff was led by Nigeria, whose President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, elected by democratic process after years of military rule punctuated by repeated coups, had been in office for only six months when the Liberian coup took place and feared for Nigeria's fledgling democracy. The day after the executions, on 23 April, the Council of Ministers joined several other organizations in a second appeal for clemency.9 On 24 April, Nigeria took advantage of the fact that it was hosting the upcoming summit to refuse landing rights in Lagos to Foreign Minister Gabriel Baccus Matthews and his delegation, who were on their way to take the Liberian seat at the Summit. On 28 April, the OAU members present at the Economic Summit voted almost unanimously, with the sole exceptions of Libya and Ethiopia, to prevent the Liberian delegation from participating.'°

OAU Assistant Secretary Peter Onu of Nigeria officially justified the exclusion with the statement that the summit was not for foreign ministers but for heads of state. The claim was inaccurate, as around half the OAU states were represented by their foreign ministers or other officials." The real reasons lie elsewhere. The Africa Contem- porary Record counted among them the sickening nature of the exe-

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cutions Doe had ordered; his low military rank; the fact that Africa had seen one killing too many; and Doe's "snubbing a passionate plea for clemency from the OAU secretary -general... ".12 Atop the elitist contempt for Doe and the self-righteous moral reservations were the intensity of Shehu Shagari's distrust of the junta and the problem of protocol that arose from the fact that Tolbert was the OAU chair when he was killed. The OAU protocols made no provision for dealing with the death of a current chairman. In the debate that preceded the rebuff, some OAU member states argued that the chair should go to Tolbert's successor, namely Doe, on the grounds that chairmanship was assumed by the state rather than an individual. Most, however, viewed such a move as totally unacceptable, as it would have raised to the position of chair the very man they believed was directly responsible for Tol- bert's murder; they prevailed.'3

The rebuff took Liberia's new rulers by surprise. OAU policy, inscribed in article 111.2 of its charter, titled "non-interference in the internal affairs of states," was to recognize states rather than governments.'4 This article had allowed mass murderers like Jean Bokassa and Idi Amin to participate in OAU forums and Idi Amin even to chair the organization. In all its history, the OAU had denied participation only to representatives of one military regime, namely, Togo's in 1963, when a group of NCOs and privates murdered the elected president Sylvanus Olympio.'5 The act had not been repeated since.

The OAU rebuff was a symbolic gesture which did not endanger the formal recognition of the new regime by the organization's member states. It expressed the members' confusion, chagrin, or hostility. Constrained by of the OAU charter's non-interference article, none of the states made any move or threat to withdraw, condition, or in any way reduce its recognition of Liberia's new government. What was at stake, however, was Liberia's place in the organization. Liberia's new government could not be certain that what turned out to be a one time rebuff would not be repeated or become permanent, with all the ad-

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verse consequences attendant on non-admission. As Thomas M. Franck points out, admission to international bodies, whether global or regional, endows the admitted state "with a range of entitlements and duties, the concomitants of sovereignty."16As if in evidence of this point, within a few days after the OAU's rebuff, the African Develop- ment Bank canceled its executive conference scheduled to take place in Monrovia at the beginning of May on the grounds that the situation in Liberia was insecure."

Loathe to risk the benefits of admission to the OAU, the PRC hurried to try to create a more positive image of itself. To assuage both the OAU and the Americans, on 29 April Doe announced that there would be "no more executions." Moreover, neither Doe nor his foreign minister, Baccus Matthews, overtly criticized the OAU rebuff

On 1 May, Matthews issued a mild protest, complaining of Nigeria's unilateral action and indicating that Liberia had lodged a formal com- plaint with the OAU.'9 His protest, however, was restricted to Nigeria's behavior and carefully avoided blaming the OAU or any other member state.

These conciliatory gestures signified the post-coup government's understanding that to be accepted in Africa; it would have to consider the sensibilities and concerns of the other African states. It turned out to be the first phase in what would soon become a fraught process of mutual accommodation that would end with the PRC's full acceptance in Africa. The next phase would move to West African states, as Doe and his government sought to gain admission to two important sum- mits scheduled to be held in the region: the ECOWAS annual heads of states meeting, to be held in Lome, Togo, on 27 May, and the OAU

summit, to be held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 1 July.

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Invitation to and rebuff at ECOWAS

After its rebuff at the OAU Economic Summit the post-coup government could not be certain of admission to ECOWAS, the regional organization. Nigeria's Shehu Shagari was not the only West African leader who was wary of Liberia's new regime. The leaders of the other countries, especially of those bordering Liberia, similarly feared that the coup would lead to destabilization in their countries as well as in the region as a whole." Notwithstanding their different ideological backgrounds, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, led respectively by presidents Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Siaka Stevens and Sekou Toure, had all become staunchly oligarchic states headed by a one- party regime, just as Tolbert's Liberia had been. Their leaders, all sep- tuagenarians in authoritarian power for years, had cause to fear that Tolbert's violent overthrow would serve as a model for disgruntled soldiers in their own countries. Stevens was facing an internal crisis very similar to that which Tolbert had faced before his ousting and murder: an appalling economic situation exacerbated by extravagant spending in preparations for an upcoming OAU summit.2' Houphouet- Boigny was meeting with growing opposition, which he managed to contain only with empty promises of democratization and the help of French army units. Sekou Toure, who had begun his rule as a socialist revolutionary but had soon turned into a ruthless dictator, faced severe internal opposition, which would come to a head in an assassination attempt within less than a month.22 Exacerbating these apprehensions of destabilization was the declaration soon after the coup by the entire PRC government, military and civilian alike, that it was a revolutionary body committed to radical social, economic, and political reform." This declaration raised fears that the PRC government would export its revolutionary ideology to its neighbors.

To overcome these hurdles, the PRC government proceeded in the same spirit of conciliation as it had demonstrated towards the OAU. Foreign Minister Matthews and Doe's second in command, Major General Thomas Weh Syen (a sergeant before the coup), repre-

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senting respectively the civilian and military arms of the new government, embarked on a round of visits to Liberia's neighbors. Matthews called on President Sekou Toure of Guinea on 28 April 1980; Weh Syen visited Cote d'Ivoire on 2 May; and Weh Syen and Matthews visited Sierra Leone on 3 May.24 The two tried to convince their hosts that the coup was justified and, moreover, that the PRC government had no intention of trying to export its revolution.25

Guinea's response was the most promising. Of the three countries, Guinea had the most to lose if it rejected the new regime. At the time of the coup, it was negotiating two economically important agreements with the Liberian government. One was its joining with Liberia and Sierra Leone in the Mano River Union, a regional organization established in 1973 with the aim of fostering economic cooperation between the member states.26 The other was the Mifergui Project, a joint venture with Liberia for exploiting iron ore on both sides of their mountainous border. Guinea was dependent on the Liberian railway to transfer its rich iron ore deposits from the Guinean side of the Nimba Mountains to the Liberian port of Buchanan for export. Guinea's economic interests had led the pragmatic Sekou Toure to maintain close ties with the ousted Tolbert regime, and now led him to make peace with Tolbert's successors. On his return to Liberia, Matthews related that Sekou Toure had expressed understanding of the revolution and promised that the Guinean government would continue to honor its bilateral agreements with Liberia.27

Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d'Ivoire and Siaka Stevens of Sierra Leone expressed more criticism of the PRC's excesses, but also indicated that they would be prepared to engage with it if it moderated its behavior. Houphouet-Boigny condemned the bloodshed, insisted that the PRC solve all conflicts through dialogue, and warned that it should not replace the old regime with its own repressions. At the same time, he also hinted at the need for dialogue, on the grounds that Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire were ethnically connected and thus anything that affected one of them would affect the other.28 Stevens, who would host

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the upcoming OAU summit, expressed satisfaction with the promise that there would be no further killings, but, mixing critique and open- ness to accepting the PRC government, reminded Liberia's new leaders that they would have to maintain "international standards" and stated that he would follow developments in the country with keen interest."

A week after the visits, the PRC made another conciliatory statement. Using a meeting with a group of "concerned women," Doe re- assured whoever cared to listen that Liberia's new government had no intention of disorganizing the country and did not believe in discrim- inating against Americo-Liberians." In the wake of Liberia's initiative and conciliatory attitude, Nigeria now followed the lead of the other three West African states and softened its initial hostility. On 13 May the Nigerian embassy in Monrovia stated that Nigeria had no intention of interfering in Liberia's internal affairs and that the Nigerian Presi- dent, Shehu Shagari, would welcome a Liberian delegation. On 17 May, Matthews visited Lagos.3'

Nigeria was the dominant power in West Africa and the founder of ECOWAS. Its apparent rapprochement with Liberia's military government opened the way for the latter's admission to ECOWAS. The way to the summit was smoothed by Sekou Toure, who, of the four heads of state involved, had the greatest interest in forming good relations with Liberia's new leaders and the least personal antipathy towards Doe. Sekou Toure extended a formal invitation to Doe for a one-day state visit, which was held on 23 May. This was the new head of state's first official visit to a foreign country. In the course of the visit Sekou Toure, assuming the role of facilitator, advised Doe to be more mindful of human rights, urged him to take diplomatic steps to placate Sierra Leone and COte d'Ivoire, and, most significantly, hon- ored him with an invitation to join him on his plane to the upcoming ECOWAS summit in Lome.32 Soon after, Togolese President Gnass- ingbe Eyadema, the host and chairman of the summit, sent a personal invitation to Liberia.33 On 27 May, Doe arrived in Lome on Sekou

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Toure's plane and was formally received along with the Guinean leader.

Nonetheless, the Liberian delegation was once again rebuffed. The underlying reason was the PRC's warm response to the courting of the radical states, Libya and Ethiopia, which saw in the coup an opportunity to garner a new ally. Libya, which did not have a permanent representative in Liberia, had been the first African country to recognize the PRC government, and its welcome had been particularly eager and warm; going beyond the customary diplomatic formalities. On 14 April, radio Tripoli stated that the people of Libya had received the news of the overthrow of Tolbert's government "with great satisfaction."34 Matthews' exclusion from the OAU Economic Summit provided Ethiopia and Libya, the only two countries to vote against the exclusion, with a welcome opportunity to step up their diplomatic overtures. The day after the OAU rebuff, Ethiopia's ambassador assured Matthews of his government's wish for close ties and strong relations between "black Africa's two oldest countries that have striven over the years to eradicate colonialism and imperialism from the African continent."" Shortly afterward, an Ethiopian emissary arrived in Monrovia and probably invited the new Foreign Minister to visit his country.36 Libya sent a special envoy to Liberia, Ambassador Ahmad al-Hudayr, with a message stating that the Libyan government "has pledged its solidarity with the People's Redemption Council and has promised to work along with the people of Liberia in their struggle for freedom and social justice.""

The PRC responded positively. On 21 May, Matthews arrived for a two day visit to Ethiopia. His statements exuded revolutionary zeal and solidarity. In his talk with his Ethiopian counterpart, Foreign Min- ister Feleke Gedle-Giorgis, and the Ethiopian Head of State, Mengistu Haile Mariam, he stated that Liberia and Ethiopia "would stand shoulder to shoulder in their struggles for the total independence of Africa"; suggested that the Liberian people emulate Ethiopia's "fundamental transformations undertaken to secure and preserve the revolution of

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the broad masses"; and asserted that his delegation had come to Ethiopia "to acquire first-hand information on its revolutionary experiences and gains, with the main purpose of applying these revolutionary experiences in the struggles of the Liberian broad masses for a just and democratic system."" Matthews' statements reflected the "genuine non-alignment" foreign policy he had formulated and the new regime's desire for an independent foreign policy, different from that of the Americo-Liberian regime. In all likelihood, Matthews saw no contradiction between his pronouncements in Ethiopia and the regime's efforts to propitiate its West African neighbors. Only the day before he had assured the international diplomatic corps in Liberia that the PRC would respect the human rights of all Liberians and appealed for its help in building a new society based on justice, equality and human dignity for all." Nothing he said in Ethiopia actually contra- dicted this. For the West African leaders, though, alarm bells must have gone off as they heard him speak of revolution, transformation, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the radical state.

The immediate trigger for the rebuff, however, was not Matthews' statements in Ethiopia, but Doe's attire as he descended from the plane, wearing camouflage fatigues and carrying a pistol in his belt.4° Doe was pointedly not introduced to the other leaders; half an hour before the summit started he was informed that some complications had emerged regarding his participation in the summit and was advised to stay in his hotel room and await word from the assembly before going into the conference.

For the coupists, Doe's military outfit was standard dress. Weh Syen, too, had worn combat gear on his visit to Cote d'Ivoire, where, to the astonishment and chagrin of his hosts, he had even brought his own water canteen.4' Their military garb expressed the coupists' identity as military men and visibly distinguished them from the elitist civilian regime they had replaced. For more than a year after they seized power, the coupists appeared in uniform, carrying small arms at all public functions in Liberia, and Monrovia was plastered with

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their poster portraits in this attire. In time for the first anniversary of the coup, Doe had a $40,000 monument of a soldier carrying a bayonet erected at the entrance of the executive mansion and later saw to it that the image was embossed on the newly minted Liberian five-dollar coin. To the conservative West African leaders in their suits and ties, the military attire was more than an affront. Coming less than a month after the attempted assassination of Sekou Toure and on the heels of Matthews' inflammatory pronouncements in Ethiopia, Doe's appear- ance in combat gear was a warning signal that seemed to sharply contradict the regime's conciliatory statements and rekindled fears that Liberia would become a conduit of instability and revolution in the region.

The ECOWAS rebuff ended the second phase in the process of accommodation between the PRC and the other African states. This phase, which had begun with the bustle of activities that led to Doe's arrival at the ECOWAS summit, was marked by a measure of conciliation and efforts on both sides to reach an accommodation. It ended, however, with misunderstanding, consternation, and confusion.

Negotiating an accommodation

While Doe waited, the other fourteen heads of state deliberated what to do about him, much as the OAU members had done the previous month. They viewed Doe's attire as an intentional provocation and wanted to make it clear that they would not accept his militaristic swagger. But how to convey the message? In its five years of existence, ECOWAS had never before refused entry to the government of a member state and had no precedent to follow. Nor was expelling Liberia a viable option. The same revolutionary fervor that made the PRC government so repugnant to West Africa's conservative, pro- Western leaders also made isolating the regime dangerous and unwise.

The pro-Western African states, like the United States, were deeply concerned that the new Liberian regime would align itself with

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the so-called radical and revolutionary African states, especially Ethiopia and Libya. Libya's brutal efforts, since 1975, to overthrow the recognized government of Chad caused the West African leaders to fear that Qadaffi would try to do the same in their countries. In view of Qadaffi's relentless efforts to export his Islamic social revolutionary ideology, the fear was particularly acute in those West African countries with large Muslim populations; Nigeria, Senegal, and Gambia, where Libyan agents were stirring up trouble. Nigera adapted a strongly anti-Libyan policy.42 Senegal and Gambia had recently broken off diplomatic relations with Tripoli.43 In contemplating what to do about the Liberian delegation, the ECOWAS leaders had cause to fear that isolating the PRC would bring about the very situation they were so eager to avert: that it would entrench the PRC's revolutionary pro- clivities, thrust the PRC into the embrace of the radical states, and turn Liberia into a country that spread instability and exported revolution, much as Libya was doing.

Their collective decision struck a middle course: The Liberian delegation would be barred from the summit, but the door to the organization would be kept open pending more acceptable behavior on the part of the PRC government. To supervise the process, a committee consisting of the current ECOWAS chair, Togo's President Eyadema, and the leaders of Liberia's immediate neighbors, presidents Houphouet-Boigny, Siaka Stevens, and Sekou Toure, was established to "help the new government gradually return to the rule of law."44

The PRC government, which had had no intention of offending anyone, had little conception of what had so upset the West African leaders and did not appreciate the open door they were offered. Angry and bewildered, they responded harshly, in striking contrast to their conciliatory response to the OAU rebuff But this was a second exclusion, following an actual invitation to attend. It was all the more shocking because it came after the regime's efforts to mollify the West African leaders and all the more humiliating because it was Doe, the head of state, not merely the foreign minister, to whom participation

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was denied. Thus, on 29 May, Matthews announced a series of diplomatic actions against the offending countries: Liberia's ambassadors to Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, and Sierra Leone were recalled; Nigeria, the country perceived as the most antagonistic to the PRC, was ordered to reduce the number of its diplomats in Liberia from nine to two; and Liberia's obligations to ECOWAS were to be suspended "until her rights are restored."" Major General Weh Syen blasted the countries behind the rebuff for using the OAU and ECOWAS as fronts to sabo- tage the Liberian revolution and directly accused Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Cote d'Ivoire of ignoring the welfare of the Liberian masses."

The Liberian press, echoing public sentiment, expressed its own fierce indignation. The Inaugural described the ECOWAS snub as "undue interference in Liberia's internal affairs" and added that Houphouet-Boigny and Shagari must realize that "Liberia was never the property of Mr. Tolbert or his thirteen cabinet ministers."47 The Weekend News urged all Liberians, but especially the press, to "vehe- mently oppose, condemn, and retaliate against any African State or Brother" who rejected Liberia's new leadership." In its editorial, it referred to Stevens, Houphouet-Boigny, and Senghor as "old men" who should know better; stated that Shagari needs "tutoring"; and urged Liberians to exercise unity and vigilance against the "wolves who stand at our door in sheep's clothing."49

That this altercation did not deteriorate into a long-term standoff is due to the fundamental desire of both sides to reach an accommodation and to the determination of the United States to see to it that they did. As much as the United States abhorred the murder of Tolbert and the public execution of the thirteen members of his regime, its primary concern was to protect its citizens and its economic and strategic interests in Liberia. It knew that if the new Liberian regime joined the radical camp, it could be expected to follow in the footsteps of Muam- mar Qadaffi and Mengistu Haile Mariam, who, once in power, had shut down America's military bases in their countries and turned their

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countries into major centers of Soviet influence. Such an eventuality would have seriously jeopardized Washington's leadership in West Africa and dealt it a harsh blow in its ongoing power struggle with the USSR. Thus, soon after Doe promised that there would be no more political executions, it quickly resumed its briefly interrupted military and economic assistance to Liberia. On 7 May, the White House agreed to the previous regime's request for a military training team to assist in restructuring the Liberian army.5° On 17 May, a six-man In- ternational Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation arrived in Liberia to examine its economic situation and to help formulate a program that could qualify Liberia for IMF support. This was followed by a World Bank delegation with similar aims.5' Two weeks later, the U.S. sent an official fact-finding mission to Liberia, headed by Assistant Secretary of State Richard M. Moose, to look into the needs of the new regime. The mission recommended increasing America's economic and military support to Liberia.52

The Americans could not afford a rift between Liberia's new government and the pro-Western West African states. Thus, along with leading the fact finding mission, Moose visited Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire, where he apparently offered American assistance in bringing the sides together. As he later told Congress, he left with the impression that the two countries would welcome what he called a "U.S. lead on the situation.""

Liberia's new rulers, for their part, were faced with a severe economic crisis, precipitated by the worldwide fall in iron ore and rubber prices and exacerbated by the massive debt of some $720 million inherited from the former regime. On the day after the coup, they found

only $5 million in the treasury. 54 They could not afford to alienate either their continental neighbors, with whom Liberia had wide-ranging economic ties, or the United States, which had always been a major source of economic support.

With Washington's urging, the two sides began to try to heal their

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rift. A few days after announcing the punitive measures against the offending nations, Matthews issued a firm but conciliatory statement of the new government's foreign policy. Even as the PRC stood by its right to an independent foreign policy, he stated, it wanted to be a full-fledged member of the international community. He declared the government's intention to support and maintain its position in the OAU, the United Nations and the nonaligned nations movement; emphasized its commitment to honor all of Liberia's past obligations; and conveyed its willingness to seek friendship with all peace-loving nations.55 Furthermore, the new government was quick to deny rumors that the PRC would retaliate against citizens from neighboring countries."

In tandem, the ECOWAS committee set about laying the ground- work for the admittance of the new Liberian government under acceptable terms. To establish those terms, a 'mini-summit' between Doe and the ECOWAS four was arranged for 16 June at Houphouet- Boigny's presidential palace in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire.57 Houphouet-Boigny had little material incentive for reconciliation and the strongest personal reasons for detesting the PRC regime, as his foster daughter was married to the son of the late president Tolbert, Adolphus B. Tolbert, whose whereabouts were unknown and fate unclear at that point. His willingness to host the summit thus signified his determination to do everything necessary to bring Liberia's errant regime into the fold.

Prior to the 'mini-summit', Siaka Stevens invited Doe to Sierra Leone for a working meeting to take place on 14 June." Stevens had almost as much reason to detest Doe as Houphouet-Boigny did, as Tol- bert had been both a close personal friend and a trusted business partner.59 The invitation probably served both as a gesture of reconciliation and to ensure that Doe would conduct himself correctly at the 'mini- summit'. Since Stevens was host and chair of the upcoming OAU summit, less than a month away, it was doubly important for him to rise above his antipathy to Doe because admittance as a full fledged

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participant in ECOWAS would bring with it full participation in the OAU as well. There are no records of the meeting, but Doe apparently made a genuine effort to reassure Stevens that the PRC would not spread radicalism or political instability. He attended in suit and tie and immediately after the meeting, he declared, echoing Matthews' earlier assertions, that Liberia bore no malice towards any country and that it would continue to seek good relations with all peace-loving states." Stevens, for his part, either at the meeting itself or subsequent to it, agreed that Matthews would be permitted to take part in the 23 June OAU foreign ministers meeting aimed at preparing for the OAU summit.6'

The movement towards compromise continued doggedly despite bumps on the way. On the same day as the Doe - Stevens meeting, Liberian soldiers stormed the French embassy and apprehended the long sought A. B. Tolbert, the executed president's son; and Liberia's Foreign Ministry ordered the French ambassador, Louis Dollot, who had hid him, to leave Liberia within forty-eight hours. The kidnapping of A.B. Tolbert from his refuge in the French embassy was an egre- gious act which violated fundamental norms of international relations. It was much worse than Doe's inappropriate attire at the ECOWAS summit. It created tension with France, which protested the act as a "flagrant and unacceptable violation of the status of diplomatic missions. "62 Given Houphouet-Boigny's family connection to A. B. Tol- bert, it could also have put the upcoming 'mini-summit' at risk of cancellation. Both sides did what they had to do to avert this outcome. The PRC government assured everyone that A.B. Tolbert would receive humanitarian treatment and a fair trial and allowed him to be in- terviewed by the press." The ECOWAS-four, contrary to what might have been expected from the harsh ECOWAS response to Doe's attire, went ahead with the 'mini-summit' as planned.

Further bumps occurred at the 'mini-summit' and in its wake. Al- though there is no official record of its contents, the untoward events of 14 June figured large in the meeting. Subsequent events indicate

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that the four ECOWAS heads of state used the meeting to present Doe with several demands: the release of A.B. Tolbert and other political prisoners; resolution of the altercation with France; and restoration of diplomatic relations with all the ECOWAS members.64 The first two demands were intended to address the immediate problems created by the kidnapping and arrest of A.B. Tolbert. All three were meant to bring the PRC into line with international standards.

Doe evidently informed the four that he would have to obtain the approval of his government and invited them to Liberia to continue the dialogue.65 Of all the demands, the only one that was accepted, and that, only in part, was for the release of political prisoners. Over the next three days, nineteen political prisoners were released: seven army officers, who had been arrested for security reasons shortly after the coup, four officials of the ousted Tolbert government, and eight persons, who had been arrested under suspicion of having helped hide A.B. Tolbert."

It took the talks in Monrovia before most of the remaining demands were accepted. In all likelihood, Doe came to understand, and was able to make the hard liners in his government understand, that not only the regime's acceptance into ECOWAS was at stake, but that this was the hinge on which hung its acceptance as a fully participating member of the OAU. Thus, following the talks, Matthews announced that Dollot, who had already returned to France, would be allowed to come back to Liberia to complete his term, thereby resolving the conflict with France.67 On 29 June, the PRC government reassumed Liberia's obligations to ECOWAS and agreed to normalize relations with all its member states." The only demand left unmet was the release of A.B. Tolbert, most likely because he was viewed as a security risk.

A.B. Tolbert's imprisonment notwithstanding, on 1 July Matthews was received at the OAU summit as the head of the Liberian delegation. Two days earlier Doe had tactfully bowed out from attending himself. After the ECOWAS-four insinuated that his presence

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would be awkward and Liberian officials warned him that he might be exposed to embarrassment, Doe announced that "pressing official matters" required his attention at home.69 The summit went smoothly except for the awkward moment when Matthews remained seated as the other attendees stood in silence in commemoration of Tolbert (along with Angola's Agostinho Neto, who had died of natural causes).7° Doe's absence spared the delegates the sight of Liberia's head of state flaunting his disrespect for the man he was believed to have been responsible for murdering.

Thus, the third and most tumultuous and difficult phase of the process of mutual accommodation came to an end. Even as they jock- eyed for position, both the PRC and the West African leaders strove for compromise. Neither got all they wanted and both made concessions. On both sides, pragmatic self-interest prevailed over emotion and dogmatism. By the end of 1980, the PRC government was accepted in the regional and continental African organizations. It had restored bilateral relations with its three neighboring states and with Nigeria. On 19 November, Doe and Minister of Planning Togba Nah Tipoteh were invited, along with the leaders of the other ECOWAS states, to participate in the summit meeting of the Niger River Basin Commission in Conakry, even though Liberia was not a member.7'

As stated at the beginning of the paper, what was at stake was not formal diplomatic recognition of the new Liberian regime, but its acceptance as a full participant in the African organizations. For a va- riety of reasons, this acceptance, usually given as a matter of course to recognized governments, was initially denied the PRC government. The PRC government's dogged pursuit of acceptance was driven not only by the desire for the material entitlements that accompany acceptance but also by the legitimacy it bestows -a legitimacy much needed by a government headed by low ranking soldiers who took power in a bloody coup. For the completion of its legitimization, the PRC government was ready to pay by tempering its revolutionary image and rhetoric and giving up some of its independent decision

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making. These concessions turned out to be not very difficult, as the soldiers were more interested in power than ideology. The apprehensions in Washington and the West African states that the post-coup government would export revolution and destabilize the region did not materialize. The new regime remained oriented towards the West and soon adopted a foreign policy very similar to that of the government it had toppled. Yet, even though Liberia's new government soon nor- malized its relations with its neighbors, they remained fraught and con- flictual.

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ENDNOTES

John P. Grant and J. Craig Barker, Encyclopedic Dictionary of International Law (New York: Oxford University press Inc., 3rd ed. 2009), 502. 2M.J Peterson, "Political Use of Recognition: The Influence of International System," World Politics 34 no. 3 (April, 1982): 325. 3Ibid.: 343.

4ELWA, "Liberia," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 17 April 1980; "Liberia: Soviet Envoy's Statement and Doe's Visit to Imprisoned Officers," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 22 April 1980, LexisNexis.

5"US Attitudes to New Liberia," West Africa, 8 September 1980, 1702-1704; Robin Knight, "Any Role Left for US in Chaotic Liberia?" U.S. News and World Report, 89, 24 November 1980, 35. 'D. Elwood Dunn, Liberia and the United States during the Cold War. Limits of Reciproc- ity (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), 93. ' "13 Officials Executed," West Africa (28 April 1980): 762. 'Don Oberdorfer, "U.S. Seeks Closer Ties With Liberia's New Rulers," The Washington Post, 31 May, 1980, LexisNexis. 9"Appeals to Liberia for Clemency in Trials," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 28 April 1980, LexisNexis.

1°D. Elwood Dunn and S. Byron Tarr, Liberia: A National Polity in Transition (London: The Scarecrow Press Inc, 1988), 89. " Joseph E. Holloway, Liberian Diplomacy in Africa: A Study of Inter-African Relations (Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1981), 169 12Africa Contemporary Record XIII, 1980-1981, A64. "Abidjan Domestic Service, "Abidjan Notes Liberia, Chad to be Discussed at OAU," 28 April 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service V no. 084, 29 April 1980, T1 -T2; "A Problem for the OAU," West Africa, 28 April 1980. 14Chuka Onwumechili, African democratization and Military Coups (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998), 102. "Godfrey Mwakikagile, Military Coups in West Africa since the Sixties (Huntington, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2001), 199. 16Thomas. M. Franck, "Legitimacy in the International System," The American Journal of International Law 82 no. 4 (October 1988): 726:736.

"Leon Dash "New Liberian Leaders Maintain Relations With 3 Neighbors," The Washing- ton Post, 10 May 1980, LexisNexis. "The Xinhua General Overseas News Service, "Liberian Head of State on Execution of Former Government Officials," 30 April 1980, LexisNexis.

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19"Foreign Minister on his Missions Abroad," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 1 May 1980.

20Raphael Mergui, "Liberia: fallait-il tuer?," Jeune Afrique no. 1011 (21 May 1980): 17. 2IAmadu Sesay, "The OAU and Regime Recognition: Politics of Discord and Collaboration in Africa," Scandinavian Journal of Development Alternatives 4 (March 1985): 35. 22Monrovia Domestic Service, "Sekou Toure Gives Assurances in Talks with Doe," 23 May 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service V no. 103, Ti. 23"General Economic Policy Statement by the Government of the People's Redemption Council, Republic of Liberia," (House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa Appendix I), in: The Situation in Liberia, Spring 1980-Update, 96th Cong., 2d sess., 29 April 1980, 23.

24 "Foreign Minister on his Missions Abroad," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 1 May 1980; Paris, AFP, "Government Delegation Departs for Ivory Coast," 2 May 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service V no. 088, 5 May 1980, T3.

25Holloway, Liberian Diplomacy in Africa, 166. 26 The organization was named after the Manu River, which serves as a border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. The river's headwaters are in Guinea. 27Afroman U.O. Canada, "GuineaLiberia Relations," The Redeemer (Monrovia), 23 May 1980, 3. 28Dunn, Liberia and the United States during the Cold War, 158.

29 "Liberian Delegation Confers with President Stevens," Freetown Daily Mail, 5 May 1980, 1, 2; "Liberia: More Calls for Leniency," West Africa, 12 May 1980, 855.

30 ELWA, "Doe on Aims of People's Redemption Council," 9 May 1980, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 12 May 1980. 31"Liberian Internal Affairs and Relations with Nigeria," BBC Summary of World Broad- casts, 16 May 1980; "Liberian Foreign Minister's Visits to Nigeria and Ethiopia," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 20 May 1980. 32Henrie Thompson, "Sekou Toure and the Liberian Situation," The Redeemer (Monrovia), 27 May 1980, 1; "Doe in Lome for ECOWAS Summit," The Redeemer (Monrovia), 27 May 1980, 1.

33 ELWA, "Liberia: In Brief; Denial of BBC report," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 31 May 1980, LexisNexis; Paris AFP, "Doe Leaves Lome After ECOWAS Summit Re- buff," Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 105, 29 May 1980, Q7.

34 "La Grande Lessive," Jeune Afrique, No. 1009, 7 May 1980, 30; "Libyan Reaction to Liberian coup," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 16 April 1980, LexisNexis. 35 'Ethiopia's Support for New Liberian Government," BBC Summary of World Broad-

casts, 1 May 1980.

36Don Oberdorfer, "U.S. Seeks Closer Ties With Liberia's New Rulers," The Washington

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Post, 31 May 1980, LexisNexis

37"Libya-Liberia Relations," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 3 May 1980; Leon Dash, "New Liberian Leaders Maintain Relations with 3 Neighbors," The Washington Post, 10 May 1980, LexisNexis. 38"Liberian Foreign Minister's Visit to Ethiopia," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, May 23 1980. 39 Monrovia Domestic Service, "Foreign Minister Matthews Addresses Diplomats," 20 May 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 100, 21 May 1980, T2.

40 "African Conference Bars Liberia," The Washington Post, 28 May 1980, LexisNexis.

41 Reuben Kari in conversation with the author, 16 June 1980. 42 Ronald Koven, "France Tells Libya to End Role in Chad's War," The Washington Post, 14 December 1980, LexisNexis.

43"Africa Contemporary Record, Vol. XIII, 1980, 1981: B 601-602. 44Holloway, Liberian Diplomacy in Africa, 174. "Liberia's Response to ECOWAS Summit Decision," BBC Summary of World Broad- casts, 31 May 1980, LexisNexis.

46 "Syen Condemns W.A. Nations," The Redeemer (Monrovia), 3 June 1980, 1, 11. "At ECOWAS Confab in Lome: Liberian Delegation Refused Entry," The Liberian Inau- gural (Monrovia), May 28 1980, 1. 48 "Liberia Retaliates to ECOWAS Denial of Our Sovereignty," Weekend News (Mon- rovia), 31 May 1980, 1, 4.

49"And Thou Too, African Brothers?" Weekend News, 31 May 1980, 2.

50Don Oberdorfer, "U.S. Seeks Closer Ties With Liberia's New Rulers," The Washington Post, 31 May 1980, LexisNexis.

51"IMF Team Here for Talks," The Liberian Inaugural, Vol. 5, No. 21, 21 May 1980, 3; ELWA, "IMF, World Bank Teams in Monrovia for Consultations," 18 May 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 098, 19 May 1980, T3. 52 The Xinhua General Overseas News Service, "United States to Increase Aid to Liberia," 6 June 1980, LexisNexis. 53 Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriations for 1981, Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety- Sixth Congress, Second Session, Part 6, Liberia Reprogramming, (Office, Washington DC: US Government Printing, 1980), 141-2.

54"How Goes the Revolution?," West Africa, 2 February 1981, 208-212.

55ELWA, "Foreign Minister Affirms Ties to OAU, UN," 5 June 1980, Daily Report, For- eign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 110, 9 June 1980, T2-T3.

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56ELWA, "Liberian Minister's Assurance to West Africans in Liberia," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 5 June 1980, LexisNexis.

57Abidjan Domestic Service, "Five-Nation Mini Summit Held In Yamoussoukro," 16 June 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 118, 17 June 1980, T5; Tom Feyer, "Liberian Leader Seeks Acceptance," The Associated Press, 16 June 1980.

58ELWA, "Doe, Stevens Meet, Discuss Strained Relations," 15 June 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 117, 16 June 1980, T3. 59According to George Bo ley, Stevens managed his Florida (U.S.) bank account through the Mesurado Group of Companies, owned by the Tolbert family. George Bo ley, in discussion with the author, 29 April 2005. 60 Ibid. 61"Liberian Foreign Minister's Visit to Sierra Leone," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 25 1980. 62 Leon Dash, "France Denounces Raid by Liberians Arresting Refugee in Its Embassy," The Washington Post, 16 June 1980, LexisNexis.

63ELWA, "Tolbert Asylum Called 'Grave'," 15 June 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 117, 16 June 1980, T2. 64Lome Domestic Service, "Togo Radio Reports Cancellation of Monrovia Mini Summit," 26 June 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 125, 26 June 1980, T2 ; "African Leaders Meet To Discuss Liberia Ties," The New York Times, 17 June 1980, LexisNexis.

65ELWA, "Four West African Leaders to visit Liberia 26 June," 17 June 1980, Daily Re- port, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 118, 18 June 1980, T 1. 66 The Xinhua General Overseas News Service, "Imprisoned Officers, Officials Released in Liberia," 26 June 1980, LexisNexis; Monrovia Home Service, "Release of Four Tolbert Officials," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 27 June, 1980; Monrovia Domestic Service, "Detainees Connected with Colbert Case Released," 26 June 1980, Daily Report, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Vol. V, No. 127, 30 June 1980, Ti. 67"Liberia's Foreign Relations," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 30 June 1980.

68"Liberia's Relations with W. African Neighbours," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 2 July 1980.

69Africa Contemporary Record, Vol. XIII, 1980, 1981, A70; Michael Goldsmith, "Africans Demand Release of Tolbert's Son," The Associated Press, 29 June 1980, LexisNexis.

70 "OAU: Saharan Solomon Sought," The Economist, 12 July 1980. 71Monrovia Domestic Service, "Minister Sees Improvement in Relations with ECOWAS," Daily Report, Middle East and Africa, Vol. V, No. 236, 5 December 1980, p. T1.

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"The Role Of ICTS In Illiteracy Eradication And Workforce Development In Liberia And Under-Resourced Countries"

Jennifer G. Bailey*

Abstract: In 2010, the Bailey Institute used ICTs and achieved 98% success in just over 18 weeks for two pilot educational programs in remote, Maryland County, Liberia, West Africa. The Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP) which engaged diverse Information and Communications Technologies including computers, Internet, digital curricula, mobile devices, and teleconferencing, enabled 174 pre-college students to elevate grade levels from 7th to 12th in mathematics and English using self-paced digital education. Coming from the poorest of environ- ments, 93% of TDEP students had not previously used computers. In just two weeks students mastered new technologies and started Internet-delivered courses. More importantly, TDEP was transmitted from the US to Liberia, 4600 miles away, by a team that never stepped on Liberian soil. Beyond the success of these ICT-driven pilot studies in Liberia, what is especially noteworthy in this second decade of the 21st century is the growth of E-government and the demand for Information Knowledge Management (IKM) workers in developing areas (India, the Caribbean). Also, the unprecedented and widespread use of ICTs in early 2011 to mobilize millions of citizens and engender an "Arab Spring" of social change in relatively poor Middle-eastern nations (Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya) epitomizes the transformative new roles of ICTs. Early assertions that ICT diffusion is directly related to high GDP (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2005)' are dated by their failure to acknowledge growing 21st century trends such as the global workforce, the size of remittances to poorer countries, and shifts in popular culture that make ICT possession the new status symbols. For these reasons, the study of the role of ICTs in eradicating illiteracy and delivering a skilled workforce to the world's poorest nations warrants serious consideration. The issue is timely, the interest is high, and the relevance to human and national development is strong. Keywords: ICTs; Eradicating Illiteracy; Workforce Development; E-Government; IKM; TDEP.

* Dr. Jennifer G. Bailey, Founder and Executive Director, Bailey Institute (www.baileyinstitute.org) earned her Ph.D. at Ohio State University, is the author of A World Imbalanced (2010) and has lectured on and implemented ICT-based education program in Europe, Asia, Africa and Trinidad & Tobago. Bailey's Technology-Driven education Project (TDEP) is a global ICT-based model to combat illiteracy and foster workforce development.

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Table 1: Themes to be addressed by this research are schematized in the table below. Subject Aspects Heterogeneity of ICT adoption among 1. Proliferation in global usage and exposure to the Internet, populations including the poor computers, smart phones etc. 2. Demographics of ICT usage: Age, gender, nationality, income etc. 3. Highlights of ICT usage and access in poor, under-resourced areas

Costs of ICT adoptions 1. Human Capital Costs: Personnel displacement and retraining 2. Institutional costs: Capital costs for new technology; staff training on new technologies 3. Strategic time and resource efficiencies of ICTs 4. Other factors: Opportunity costs of shifting resources from other social services to ICT-delivered services 5. 'Opportunity costs' to governments of not using ICTs to deliver social programs (education, health etc.) in under-resourced areas where poverty and illiteracy are prevalent

Global business and the search for new 1. With ICTs, the search for new markets no longer excludes the markets poor -Haiti, Egypt, India, Sub-Saharan Africa have seen escalated ICT usage since 2000 2. Wi-Fi access (Internet for a fee) is available in the poorest communities - Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to Harper, Liberia, West Africa 3. Increased demand has pushed down the price of ICTs Economic impacts of pervasive ICT 1. Product innovation has driven down production and distribution diffusion among the poor costs and makes ICT products more affordable 2. Increasingly evolving technology supports diverse applications including education 3. The global workforce and higher remittances to the poor 4. Reduced obsolescence in the ICT sector 5. Ease of access compared with outdated traditional methods 6. Lower costs, compared with traditional communications products Social impacts of ICT diffusion among 1. Status symbol - At relatively low cost the poor 2. Trends in popular culture 3. Ease of connection to family members locally and globally 4. As unemployment pushes the poor to jobs in distant locations, remittances cover the cost of ICT purchases 5. New wealth from remittances provide access to purchases 6. People world-wide quickly adopt and use ICT devices 7. Early ICT adopters-How younger users drive adoption by older users Framing a global model for ICT delivery 1. Global partnerships to quickly build expertise among new ICT users 2. Access to ICTs-Hardware and software 3. Training of Trainers (TOT) sessions 4. Project management teams 5. Defined client populations 6. External validation of results 7. Assessments that reliably measure progress 8. Evaluation reports and continuous improvements The Role of Government in ICT diffusion 1. Role of E-government and IKM to foster efficiencies and shrink and access the size of government 2. Government policies that support ICT adoption to eradicate illiteracy and build an educated population. 3. Government-Business collaborations to stimulate business growth, employ educated citizens, and increase GDP.

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Introduction

The Role of ICTs in eradicating illiteracy explores social, economic, business, and governmental aspects of adopting 21st century Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to provide ex- peditious and cost efficient solutions to pervasive global illiteracy and create educated populations to fuel economic growth and improved quality of life in developing countries. The study is presented against the backdrop of growing shifts towards global adoption of E-government and Information Knowledge Management (IKM) initiatives to optimize government productivity, achieve cost effectiveness, shrink the size of government, and support private sector innovation, productivity and profitability, and foster GDP growth. The paper uses a multi- disciplinary approach that covers the heterogeneity and changing global trends in ICT usage and adoption, economics, population demographics, business, government, trends in popular culture, and de- velops a cycle of opportunity that begins with ICT-driven education, feeds into private sector growth supported by E-government policies and programs, and culminates in higher GDP per nation and a better quality of life for citizens.

Figure 1: The Roles for ICTs identifies a cycle of growth opportunity that begins with E-government support for ICT- driven education, leads to better educated citizens who are engines of productivity for public and private sector innovations that contribute to GDP growth.

E-government policies and programs that support ICT-driven education and commerce

Private sector growth increases GDP ICT-driven education to eradicate Illiteracy and build a pipeline of and results in a higher quality of life educated citizens for the digital for citizens age

Educated citizens foster innovation and are absorbed by a growing business sector

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Objective:

To use ICTs to nurture ICT-educated populations in developing countries who are better prepared to meet workforce needs of the 21st century;

To describe the new work environment required to absorb new cohorts of literate, digitally educated populations who generate higher productivity and contribute to higher national GDP which results in a better quality of life for citizens in developing countries. Case Study Summary:

In 2010, a US-Liberian partnership used Information and Com- munication Technologies (ICTs) and launched two pilot programs in English and mathematics delivered via Internet to 174 pre-college students at a computer lab in rural, southeastern Liberia. The partnership consisted of Liberia's William V. S. Tubman University, the Bailey In- stitute, a global non-governmental organization (NGO) and Learn - scape®, an international provider of self-paced, digital education. The pilot programs referred to as the Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP), achieved 98% success in enabling students to move from 7th to 12th grade level in mathematics and English over 12 weeks of self- paced digital education. Notably, 93% of participants had not previously seen or used computers and required two weeks of computer training prior to starting TDEP courses. These pilot studies and the unprecedented and widespread use of ICTs in early 2011 to mobilize millions of citizens and engender social change (Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya) seem sufficiently remarkable to warrant broader research on the potential of ICTs to play a significant role in re-dressing socioeco- nomic issues such as illiteracy and poverty among the world's poorest populations. The issue is timely, the interest is high, the relevance to human and national development is strong.

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The 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goal for education stops at the primary level. Secondary and tertiary education for the poor will remain unfulfilled goals by 2015 and beyond. Given high illiteracy levels in poor countries in 2011, the worldwide shortage of qualified teachers and teaching resources, ICTs provide viable opportunities for eradicating illiteracy and meeting the workforce needs to support GDP growth in the 21st century.

State of Global Illiteracy - 2011

Shocking facts about global illiteracy worldwide2 and in the US3

20% of people worldwide are illiterate (1 in 5 people)

69% of the world's highest illiteracy rates (70 %+) are in Sub- Saharan Africa

39% of the population of India is illiterate (546 million people)

The U.S. illiteracy rate is 14% compared to 1%-5% in other in- dustrialized countries

A sample of US illiteracy rates by states and counties are:

States 24%-Texas

22%-Mississippi

Counties

22%-Prince Georges County, Maryland

11% Montgomery County, Maryland

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Reliable and comparable cross-national data on the state of literacy are lacking. UNESCO seeks to create viable systems to identify, monitor, and evaluate literacy rates at the national and international level, yet these data are self-reported and accuracy cannot be confirmed. UNESCO's major initiatives4 for literacy monitoring and evaluation include:

Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report

Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Program (LAMP)

The Global Monitoring Report (GMR) provides in-depth statistics and analysis of all EFA goals, including the goal to increase global adult literacy rates by 50% by the year 2015.

Illiteracy and Its By-products

Illiteracy does not exist in a vacuum. United Nations Develop- ment Program (UNDP) data for 2008, state that illiteracy is directly connected to: poverty, ill-health, and lack of economic prosperity. In 1990, UNDP adopted Pakistani economist Mahbud ul Haq's Human Development Index (HDI) as the monitor of human development because it focuses on more than the rise and fall of national incomes. HDI is about creating an environment where people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives. Ul Haq stated the HDI index seeks to recognize that, "People are the real wealth of nations. Development must be about expanding the choices people have to lead lives they value and to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowl- edgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living, and contribute to the life of the community."5

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The Human Development Index (HDI) is based on three elements of human life measured by:

Life Expectancy

Adult Literacy

GDP/Capita adjusted for differences in purchasing power

UNDP Notes in its Human Development Index Report (HDI 2003-2008), that:

50 of the countries with the lowest HDI also have the highest illiteracy rates

69% of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa Common Characteristics of Emerging Nations with High HDI include:

Unequal distribution of income

Technological dualism: Hi-tech firms use low-tech methods

Majority of the population works in the non-innovative, unprof- itable agricultural sector

Disguised unemployment-2 people do the job of 1

High unemployment

High population growth ranging from 2.5% to 4% annually

High illiteracy/weak educational facilities

Malnutrition and health problems are widespread

Political instability

Exports focus on a few raw materials with low market value

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Pillars of Economic Growth -The Importance of Skilled Labor and Technology Historically (Harrod-Domar idea), economic growth was identified as solely a function of one input, capital money, commodities, physical treasures such as gold, silver, land, houses, factories. Robert Solow (1956) overturned this idea when the Solow model saw growth as determined by capital and labor for which he earned the 1987 Nobel-prize. Subjected to scrutiny and broader research over time, the labor-capital formula accounted for only 40% of economic growth. The other 60%, known as "total factor productivity", encompasses technology development and anything not captured by capital and labor outputs, such as culture and institutions.6 Thus, Dambisa Moyo (2011) states, the canonical economic models point to these three essential ingredients which determine economic growth: capital, labor, and total factor productivity (Largely technology and including culture, institutions). According to Moyo, "Nothing illustrates the might, the sheer potency of these three components coming together than the American moon landing in July 1969." '

Michael Porter's widely referenced Diamond Model for development highlights the importance of skilled labor institutions and infrastructure, and by inference, also emphasizes the importance of a literate, highly skilled population as central to growth and competitive advantage. For emerging nations, ICTs shorten distance on the journey to development by simultaneously producing outputs of educated citizens and engines of growth prepared for the digital world.

Porter highlights the importance of human capital in the "Com- petitive Advantage of Nations" (Porter, 1990)8. Porter's Diamond Model overturns conventional economic theory, which emphasized traditional factors such as: land, location, natural resources, labor, and local population size. Whenever we challenge conventional wisdom things get interesting. Porter maintains that traditional factors make only a passive contribution towards national economic opportunity because they can hardly be influenced. Porter has created a "Diamond" framework that points to four interlinked factors that drive competitive advantage in countries or regions:

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Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry: Competition compels firms to improve productivity and innovation in order to succeed Demand Conditions: More demanding customers drive the desire of firms to improve Related Supporting Industries: Spatial proximity of upstream or downstream industries facilitates continuous exchange of ideas and information, and fosters innovation Factor Conditions: Key factors or specializedfactors ofproduction are created not inherited: Specialized factors are skilled labor, capital, and infrastructure. Non-key factors such as un-skilled labor and raw materials can be obtained by any company, and hence do not generate sustained competitive advantage. Figure 2: Determinants of National Advantage - Michael Porter, Diamond Model (1990)

Porter's Diamond Model for the Competitive Advantage of Nations Government Firm Strategy, -ipp- Structure and Rivalry - -- 4 - -it. Factor Demand Conditions Conditions

Al. ir-

Re l a te d and r-'------"---: Supporting Industries

Porter derived his Diamond model after having done research in 10 leading nations and his work is regularly referenced in discussions on business, trade, and economics. It is pertinent here since it gives purpose, beyond humanitarian reasons, for eradicating illiteracy. Porter's emphatic focus on "Skilled Labor" as a building block for a nation's competitive advantage, fuels enlightened self-interest and in- spires the survival instincts of any nation to not merely increase literacy, but also to build infrastructure around sound educational institutions at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.

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Summary of ICT Success in Harper, Liberia in 2010

The Problem: Liberia lost most of its educational and national infrastructure over 14 years of civil conflict that ended in 2003. Today, the illiteracy rate is 80%; unemployment is 90%.9 Admission reports from William V.S. Tubman University indicated that 90% of Liberia's high school graduates applying to the university in 2010 tested below 70% in English and mathematics on standardized WAEC tests and were not prepared for university work. Liberia urgently needs to support access to tertiary education to increase the pipeline of educated professionals essential to fuel the nation's economic progress.

The Solution: In 2010, the Bailey Institute-Tubman University partnership launched the Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP), a self-paced, program of Internet-delivered mathematics and English courses for 174 students who could not gain admission to Tub- man University because their 2009 WAEC scores in mathematics and English were below the required 70%. Over 12 weeks (April - Sep- tember 2010), TDEP students raised English and mathematics scores from 7th to 12th grade level and earned admission to Tubman University in September 2010.

Partnership - The Foundation For Success: The Bailey Insti- tute-Tubman University partnership was the key to the successful outcomes. Bailey Institute launched the TDEP digital curriculum from the U.S., with staff providing online training on innovative ICTs to TU faculty and staff, registering students, mentoring, training, and con- ducting assessments. TU staff managed TDEP on-the-ground in Liberia managing scheduling, computer literacy testing and training, student assessments, and project management. Both staffs collaborated on weekly transatlantic meetings using GoToMeeting and project evaluations, strategic planning, and final evaluations and reports.

Validating Tdep's Results: To validate TDEP's remarkable results, a random sample of 84 TDEP graduates re-took the 2009 WAEC test in English and mathematics on November 27, 2010. Overall, TDEP participants raised mathematics scores three levels and English

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scores two levels. Notably, females raised mathematics scores three levels and English scores 2 levels. Males_raised mathematics scores two levels and English scores one level.

Conclusion: Undoubtedly, the Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP) is among the quickest and most cost-effective ways to raise Liberians' readiness for work and post-secondary education, and build a highly-skilled workforce for the digital age. As this paper will demonstrate, ICTs have penetrated diverse sectors of community and government to improve lives and foster economic growth in unprecedented ways. Figures 3 and 4 on the following pages show results from the TDEP project at Tubman University, Harper, Liberia, in 2010.

Background: A random sample of 84 (33% female; 67% male) of 144 TDEP graduates at Tubman University, Liberia, re-took the 2009 *WAEC test in November 2010 to validate the role of the Learn - scape® curriculum in raising academic performance. TDEP graduates completed 12 weeks of self-paced, Internet-delivered mathematics and English courses in summer 2010. Sample reflects a 5% margin of error and 95% confidence level.

Figure 3: Overall, after TDEP, all students raised their *WAEC scores an average of three levels in mathematics from 8-5 (50- 74 %); and an average of two levels in English from 7-5 (66-79%).

English w Math

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Table 2 Below: Numeric values for *WAEC scores.

WAEC Stanine Score English % Mathcmatics % 'The West African Examination Council 1 95-100 90-100 (WAEC) conducts the official examinations in Liberia to assess the knowledge of 2 90-94 85-89 students at the end of secondary school

3 85-89 80-84 education. Ref. www.LiberlaWAEC.org

4 * 80-84 75-79 Figures 3 and 4: "WAEC rankings by student performance using a Stanine 5 75-79 70-74 Score in the range of 1-9;

6 70-74 65-69

7 66-69 60-64

8 60-65 50-59

9 0-59% 0-49%

Figure 4: Comparative Analysis of Pre and Post-TDEP Scores on *WAEC tests, broken out by Gender. Liberian females made notable strides on *WAEC mathematics and English tests following Bailey Institute's Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP) 2010

WAEC Test Results, Separated by Gender

w 6 0 5 vs U 'Math

E 3 English

Pre TDEP Males Post TDEP Pre MEP Post TDEP Males Females Females

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*The West African Examination Council (WAEC) conducts the official examinations in Liberia to assess the knowledge of students at the end of secondary school education. www.LiberiaWAEC.org. The TDEP pilot program was conducted in partnership with William V. S. Tub- man University, Harper, Liberia, West Africa. *WAEC ranks performance using a Stanine Score in the range of 1-9. 1=Excellent; 2Very Good; 3=Good; 4, 5 & 6=Credit; 7=High Pass; 8=Pass; 9=Fail

Average Female Post-TDEP, WAEC scores rose 3 levels in mathematics from 8 to 5 (50-74%), and 2 levels in English from 7 to 5 (66-79%);

Average Male Post-TDEP, WAEC scores rose 2 levels in mathematics

from 7 to 5 (60-74%) and 1 level in English from 7 to 6 (66-74%).

Practical Applications of ICT-Driven TDEP Results Garnered at Tubman University in 2010 The lessons of the TDEP successes have practical applications. of considerable significance. These results provide a platform for placing ICT-driven education within the broader sphere of its relevance to future national development and progress for Liberia and other developing countries. Increased literacy boosts education and knowledge- seeking, and establishes the urgency for government and the private sector to create outlets for new cohorts of talented, ICT-educated citizens who might have otherwise been left out of the equation for economic growth. With the growth of E-government and Information Knowledge Management (IKM), the world is in the midst of an ICT revolution. From 1990-2011 it has witnessed unprecedented access to and diffusion of ICT products worldwide. The heterogeneity of usage, broken out by demographics, is painting a vastly different picture in 2011 and beyond in the type of usage - cell phone, traditional land line phones, computers, and digital TV have transformed the communications sector. It is important for policy makers to review the roles of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and education in this revolution.

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Heterogeneity of ICT Adoption

As recently as 2006, an ICT-driven project, Building Institutional Capacity in Higher Education in Liberia and Sierra Leone (Bailey 2006)10, when presented at an international development conference in Capetown, South Africa, was considered impractical, unattainable, and out-of touch with the needs and priorities of Africa. The project was established through institutional partnerships between Bowie State University - Maryland, USA, Njala University - Sierra Leone, and AME Zion University - Liberia, from 2006-2007. Its outcomes and empirical results proved otherwise. The project brought digital mathematics curricula, digital calculators, projectors, and laptops to each university and provided Training of Trainers (TOT) sessions that taught faculty and staff to use the new technologies. From 2006-2007, more than 5000 students, faculty and staff participated in mathematics programs and increased interest in mathematics at both universities by 35% in just one year. Additionally, IT faculty used the same hardware to teach database building and the Microsoft Office suite. These added skills increased workforce recruitment of graduates from one university (AME Zion, Liberia) by 25%.

In 2011, Tubman University, Harper, Liberia has three computer labs with a total of 68 working computers, Internet access, and six trained staff, faculty, and lab assistants. TU's ICT capabilities fostered increased institutional capacity and enabled hosting, transmission, and delivery of Bailey Institute's Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP) for 174 students. In 2011, 500 pre-college students await access to TDEP to qualify for university admission. In 2011, Wi-Fi is available on the streets of Harper, Maryland County, geographically remote, yet technologically connected to the vast world of knowledge and opportunity. Numerous independent initiatives in Liberia and other SSA countries are making ITCs available to educators." The African School on Electronic Structure Methods and Applications (ASESMA) is a biennial school launched in 2010 for students and early career lec- turers in the sciences from multiple African countries by the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). ASESMA attracted 40

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participants in 2010 and depends on ICTs and networking to run its computer labs and achieve its goal to create tighter ties among researchers across the African continent.12 Much more must be done to make ASESMA a year-round institution for the advancement of electronic technologies with access to the most advanced digital and In- ternet-accessible knowledge bases.

In just under five years, the perception of Africa's readiness for ICT infusion to address educational and other societal needs has changed to allow the outcomes described in the forgoing examples. Ahead, lies the work of policy-makers and civic groups to advocate for institutionalized ICT adoption at the governmental level driven by the demands of business and citizens who require a 21st century education to meet demands of the digital age.

India: Smart+ Connected Communities Initiative

Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities Initiative13 reflects the growing shift of world populations to urban areas where community leaders seek answers to overcrowding, pollution, budget and resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure, and the need for continuing growth. Smart+Connected Communities is a visionary answer: It uses intelligent networking capabilities to weave together people, services, community assets, and information into a single pervasive solution. "Smart+Connected" acknowledges the essential role of the network as the platform to help transform physical communities to connected communities.

"Smart+Connected" also encapsulates a new way of thinking about how communities are designed, built, managed, and renewed to achieve social, economic, and environmental sustainability. It pursues solutions along seven tracks: Smart+Connected Real Estate, Smart+Connected Utilities, Smart+Connected Transportation, Smart+Connected Safety & Security, Smart+Connected Learning, Smart+Connected Health, and Smart+Connected Government. The foundation for the city and the nation of the future will be the network

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and the information it carries, enabling the delivery of vital services from transportation utilities and security to entertainment, education, and healthcare.

Everything will be connected, intelligent, and green: From office buildings and appliances to hospitals and schools, citizens and businesses will enjoy unprecedented levels of collaboration, productivity, and economic growth without compromising the environment. Managing and operating such a smart, connected community will be efficient, coordinated, and secure.

Caribbean: Trinidad & Tobago (T&T)

Trinidad and Tobago plans to become the ICT hub for the Caribbean and Latin America. In support of the Information and Com- munications Technology (ICT) vision for Trinidad and Tobago, a series of breakfast meetings were been held since 2008 by the e-Business Roundtable in partnership with the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce to engage the key stakeholders and private entrepreneurs in the shared vision directed towards this vision.14

Members of T&T's e-Business Roundtable and representatives from the ICT Division of the Ministry of Public Administration and Information have been collaborating. In October, 2008, the first ICT Business and Innovation Symposium, the single, largest, ICT-business networking, information sharing, promotion, and awareness initiative was staged in Trinidad and Tobago.'5 The Symposium was geared towards raising awareness and promoting uptake of the new tools available in the global knowledge-based economy; it also highlighted investment opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago and the region while setting an agenda and vision to invigorate the business and public sectors to fully embrace opportunities presented by Information Commu- nication Technologies or ICTs.

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Role of ICTs in the Cycle of Sustainable Economic Development

Sciencentric News (February 9, 2009)16 takes the sanguine and proactive position that developed countries must invest in information and communications technologies (ICT) in the developing world, not only to close the so-called digital divide, but to encourage sustainable economic development and to create new markets for international commerce.'' D. Steven White and colleagues at the University of Mas- sachusetts-Dartmouth have now developed a contemporary map of the global digital divide, which they say provides a baseline measure of the investment in ICTs needed on a per country basis in order to close the gap as it currently exists. Because ICTs are constantly changing and developing, each new technology can widen the global digital divide so it is important that any investment takes into account the diffusion of new ICT technologies.

The U-Mass-Dartmouth's model-based cluster analysis identified cohorts of countries based on three variables: personal computers per 100 population, internet users per 100 population and internet bandwidth per person. The results indicate that the global digital divide consists of four tiers rather than the simplistic two of the rich-poor, have-have nots.

Based on this model, all of the developed countries lie within the first tier. Surprises within the first tier include at least 18 countries that outperform the US, based on internet access and bandwidth availability. In the top tier are Jamaica, Antigua, Estonia, Hungary, Slovak Re- public, Aruba, Barbados, Brunei, Chile, Latvia, Lithuania, Qatar, Slovenia, and the United Arab Emirates. This contradicts the notion that GDP per capita is the main predictor of internet access. At the top of the second tier are Columbia and Uruguay. Brazil, Russia, and China are at the bottom of the second tier cluster. African nations account for the majority of the members of the lowest tier, indicating the disadvantage for the continent as a whole in terms of lack of computer use, internet access, and bandwidth.

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Africa: New Roles for ICTs

This paper suggests new roles for ICTs in Africa based on the premise that the continent is on the road to significantly increasing bandwidth availability in the very near future. Remote communities such as the port city of Harper in southeastern Liberia, population of 3,000 already has Wi-Fi Max which puts Harper in the first tier based on internet bandwidth per person. In fact since Africa has already lost the "Race to the bottom" in the global manufacturing sector now dominated by Asian countries, its only growth trajectory is up, driven by ICT adoption, diffusion, and usage.

The author suggests ICT diffusion is also fueled by qualitative and quantitative factors:

Lower product prices as businesses target new populations in developing countries; Frequent product innovations that stimulate purchases; A global workforce that provides remittances to fund ICT purchases; Social needs to connect with loved ones in distant locations; ICT's are becoming the new status symbols of the poor; Popular culture that pushes ICT users to be trend makers, not followers, among peers;

Framing a global model of ICT-driven Education (Global TDEP Model)

The Bailey Institute has amassed data and reviewed trends over six years (2006-2011) to frame a global model for using ICTs to advance education, eradicate illiteracy, foster workforce development, economic prosperity, and GDP growth. Major components follow:

1) Global Partnerships to quickly build expertise among new ICT users

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2) Access to ICTs-hardware and software

3) Training of Trainers (TOT) sessions

4) Project management teams

5) Pairing hi-tech academic training with hi-touch personal development skills

6) Defined client populations

7) A focus on science and technology-driven innovation

8) External validation of results

9) Assessments that reliably measure progress

10) Partnerships with E-government and the private sector

11) Evaluation reports and continuous improvements

In the broader context of E-government, E-Commerce, the competitive advantage of highly skilled workforce, the need for Informa- tion Knowledge Management, new roles for ICTs should show shifts in ICT usage from mainly social, recreational, and entertainment to education, economic growth, and prosperity. Strategically, its efficacy and cost-effectiveness validate ICT usage as the best return on investment (ROI) for educating challenged populations in urban areas or hard to reach, under-resourced communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the digital age, none of these challenged populations ought to be omitted from the economic prosperity equation. Bailey Institute's ICT- based global model for workforce development and GDP growth fol- lows.

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B,AILEY BAILEY INSTITUTE'S TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN EDUCATION PROJECT (TDEP) 411,00 INSI, HUIL A GLOBAL ICT-BASED MODEL FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND GDP GROWTH

GDP GROWTH HUMAN CAPITAL BUILDER NATIONAL14ATIONAL/PERSONAL/PERSONAL WEALTH CREATION

BAILEY INSTITUTE PARTNER INSTITUTIONS RESOURCES Government, Universities, NGOs, Agencies PARTNERSHIP Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP) RESOURCES Training/Mentoring Computer Lab; Internet Access Project /Budget Management Committed leaders and staff Assessments/Report Clients needing education and life skills Proposal writing Funding

TDEP - ICT DRIVEN SELF-PACED PROGRAMS

HI-TECH ACADEMIC PROGRAM: 12 WEEKS ENGLISH, MATHEMATICS, SCIENCES

HI-TOUCH PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: 4 WEEKS

LIFE PLANNING, MONEY MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATION

TDEP GRADUATES ARE PREPARED

POST SECONDARY EDUCATION

WORK [CT-TRAINED ENGINES OF PRODUCTIVITY INCOME; ENTREPRENEURSHIP; INNOVATION; GDP GROWTH

Bailey Institute Contact Dr. Jennifer G. Bailey, Executive Director and Project Manager, Technology-Driven Education Project (TDEP);

301 - 733 - 9003, www.baileyinstitute.org; The Bailey Institute is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization whose vision is to eradicate illiteracy;

[email protected]; baileyjagmail.com The TDEP Global Model ® was framed in 2011 by Jennifer G. Bailey, Ph.D,

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REFERENCES

Bailey, J. G. (2010), "Illiteracy and Economic Development," in A World Imbalanced: Change and Challenge in the Global Village, pp. 121-154, Xlibris, IN,

Bailey, J. G. (2010), "Global Issues in Eradicating Illiteracy in Liberia-A Technology-Driven Approach," International Journal of Global Management Studies Quarterly (IJGMSQ), Volume 3 Issue 1, spring 2010

Bailey, J.G. (2010), "Technology-driven Project (TDEP)-Reducing Illiteracy in Liberia, West Africa, A pilot Study," Presented at the 2010 International Association of Global Management Conference (AGMS), Las Vegas, NV., February 23-24; (Published in peer-reviewed conference proceedings)

Bailey, J.G. (2007), Building Institutional Capacity in Higher Edu- cation in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Closeout Report, UNCFSP- USAID

Bobb, Evert. Haiti Re-Wired, haitirewired.com/profiles/blogs, Feb 2010

CANA News, October 27, 2008, http://www.cananews.net/news/158/ARTICLE/31047/2008-10- 27.html

IGovernment, Feb 26, 2011, http://www.igovernment.in/site/smartconnect-many-solns-rolled-one-39324

International Adult Literacy Survey (1998)

Liberia's Poverty reduction Strategy: http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Liberia/Liberia_PRSP.pdf

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Moyo, Dambisa (2011), How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Eco- nomic Folly and the Stark Choices Ahead, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York

National Adult Literacy Survey (2002)

Partnering to Drive the Nation Forward Through ICT, Fast Forward (Downloaded Feb 27, 2011) the http://ebusinessfastforward.tt/business/MediaRoom/Articles/PartneringtoDrivebrnbspnbsptheNation/ta bid/222/Default.aspx

Physics Today, "Raising the Scientific Level and Networking in Africa," January 2011, pp 28-29

Porter, Michael, E. (2000), Competitive Advantage of Nations, The Free Press, N.Y.

Rodriguez, Francisco and Wilson III, Ernest J. (2000), Center for In- ternational Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland, College Park, MD;

ScienceCentric, The International Digital Divide, February 9, 2011 http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/11020922-the-international- digital-divide.html

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (1970-2015)

UNESCO Institute for Statistics: LAMP Literacy Project

UNDP data on Illiteracy; http://undp.org/en/humandev/

USA Pathfinders-World Literacy Statistics; www.libraries.iub.edu/index

Wiens, G. Elmer, Egwald Web Services, Downloaded Feb 28, 2011, The three factor Cobb-Douglas production function is: q = A * (LAalpha) * (KAbeta) * (MAgamma) = f (L, K,

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NOTES

I Rodriguez, Francisco and Wilson III, Ernest J. (2000), Center for International Develop- ment and Conflict Management, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

2 Source for International data: United Nations Development Bank, 2008

3 Source for US data: National Assessment ofAdult Literacy-2008 (Personsl6 +)

4 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (1970-2015) http://hdrundp.org/en/humandev/

6 Cobb-Douglas production function is a representation of this relationship ' Moyo, Dambisa (2011), How the West Was Lost, Pages 8-10, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, N.Y.

8 Porter, Michael, 1990, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, The Free Press, N.Y.

9 Equip 2-2006 , Report commissioned by the United States Agency for International De- velopment (USAID) on Education in Liberia;

10 Bailey, J.G., Project Director, Building Institutional Capacity in Liberia and Sierra Leone, 2006-2007, Funded by UNCFSP-USAID

" B. W. Harris Episcopal High School, Monrovia, Liberia, Alumni donated projectors, electronic white boards an audio books to the School in Liberia in 2010;

12 Physics Today, January 2011, pp 28-29, www.physicstoday.org

13 IGovernment, Feb 26, 2011, http://www.igovernment.in/site/smartconnect-many-solns- rolled-one-39324

14 Partnering to Drive the Nation Forward Through ICT, Fast Forward (Downloaded Feb 27, 2011) the http://ebusinesslastforward.tt/business/MediaRoom/Articles/Partneringto- DrivebrnbspnbsptheNation/tabid/222/Default.aspx

15 CANA News, October 27, 2008 http://www.cananews.net/news/158/ARTICLE/31047/2008-10-27.html

16 http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/11020922-the-international-digital-divide.html

17 The International Divide, February 9, 2011http://www.sciencecentric.com/news 11020922-the-international-digital-divide.html

PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor 82 The Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat: A Case Study

Donald L. Cassell, Jr., AIA*

This work presents a review of the newly-established Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat. It begins by examining the leading currents of thought prevalent within development literature on the current state of foreign aid, the past, and the hopes for the future of foreign aid. The study then considers the rise of private sector citizen-to-citizen foreign aid and international development. It outlines the emerging contributions being made by this new paradigm in foreign aid involving non-governmental, citizen-to-citizen international assistance, which encompasses both individuals and organizations. It also briefly considers the role of remittances in private sector giving and investment.

Following the literature review, the study will examine the Liber- ian government's policies directed toward taking advantage of the many opportunities afforded by the international community, including the establishment of the Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat. The study then looks closely at the structure and mechanism of the Liberian Phi- lanthropy Secretariat-founding, management objectives, staffing and position within the Liberian government bureaucracy. Additionally, the work outlines Best Practices by considering personnel, method, purpose, and evaluation of development work. Finally, the paper makes recommendations to improve the operations and broaden the scope of the Secretariat, and concludes with a summary highlighting salient points made in the document.

* Donald L. Cassell, Jr., AIA, is a professional Architect and scholar, currently a Senior Fellow at Sag- amore Institute in Indianapolis Indiana. His research interest centers on the role of private participation in international development. Mr. Cassell is assisted in his research by his editorial assistants, Wesley Cate and Jim Pavlik.

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Development Aid

Over the last few decades, appeals from advocacy groups, policy makers, and celebrities for increased international assistance to developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, have increased in number and volume. However, they have been met by contrary voices resisting a blanket increase in funds, insisting that an increase in foreign aid will merely repeat the developmental failures that have plagued the continent since the beginning of the decoloniza- tion era. These contrary voices are keen to point out that despite bil- lions of dollars given precious little has been gained. What is needed instead is a reassessment of the policies and practices of the aid regime. The question being asked by the contrary voices is "Why is it that after 50 years and more than one trillion dollars such desperate appeals are still being made for help with very basic levels of human needs?" Pres- ident Paul Kagame of Rwanda succinctly articulated this concern when he said:

Now, the question comes for our donors and partners: having spent so much money, what difference did it make? In the last 50 years, you've spent US$400 billion in aid to Africa. But what is there to show for it? And the donors should ask: what are we doing wrong, or what are the people we are helping doing wrong? Ob- viously somebody 's not getting something right. Oth- erwise, you'd have something to show for your money.

The donors have also made a lot of mistakes. Many times they have assumed they are the ones who know what countries in Africa need. They want to be the ones to choose where to put this money, to be the ones to run it, without any accountability. In other cases, they have simply associated with the wrong people and the money gets lost and ends up in people 's pockets. We should correct that.

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In short, the need for a review of policies and practices has come about because the aid regime has failed, or at least it is not working as presently constituted. The Liberian government has made the private sector integral to its development agenda. As a part of this general policy orientation, it has established the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat. Some of the Liberian government policies regarding her interest in harnessing the private sector and the development of the Secretariat, its administrative structure, and policy goals will be reviewed.

In order to fully understand the task set before the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat a quick review of the various developmental approaches in Liberia should be undertaken. The discussions and debates are centered on a few key positions.

Foreign aid has failed because the international community has not fully appreciated local conditions and so has applied a blanket solution to the many varied problems, a kind of one-size-fits-all approach. What are needed are better planning, and an increase in outlays for development assistance. The thinking is that once goals have been clearly defined for each needy country then disbursements may be allocated for the realization of these goals. The problem with this argu- ment is that it does not sufficiently account for history, persons, and culture. The emphasis on increasing international assistance does not go much beyond the tried and failed development policies of the past. This position has a better appreciation of the determinative character of geography than it does of the force of the human will and the consequent culture and history that is a product of that will. An old Hasidic Rabbi has rightly said, "Just as the strength of the root is in the leaf so the strength of man is in every utensil he makes, and his character and behavior can be gauged from what he has made."

A contrary position acknowledges that local conditions have not always been fully appreciated, but that historically good

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planning has happened and that in the process goals were clearly defined. A cursory historical review reveals that much the same goals now being touted are essentially no different from those identified in the past. The current concerns still do not fully appreciate local conditions. And here local conditions have to do with a complex multiplicity of factors that motivate individuals and communities, such as history and culture. There will indeed be no meaningful developmental progress unless and until local conditions are taken seriously. The question here is what is it that makes a person want to be? Individuality and diversity really do matter even in international development. These are profound philosophical, religious, and cultural questions. These are questions that the international community cannot settle. Only persons within developing communities can determine these things for themselves. And until that time, the international community can essentially do nothing of real value but wait for constructive change to come about in these developing communities. In the meantime, the international community should restrict itself to meeting humanitarian emergencies and assorted promising individual cases. On the surface this seems like wise counsel. Its strength lies in its market-driven approach. Yet at a deeper level this position may be defeatist, even if its concerns are real and understandable. But what would have happened to Liberia if there had been no international will to help Liberians settle their civil conflict? Are we really so unaffected by each other's burdens? Indeed, good work in foreign aid may yet be done if those doing the work do not see themselves as lords and masters and gatherers of tribute, but as helpers and teachers, bringing consolation and blessing.

Yet another position maintains that international assistance has not only failed to be efficacious over the last fifty years, but has been harmful to the recipients, that all the pathologies of the developing communities in Africa may be directly at-

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tributable to foreign aid. There is a sense in which this position has not transcended the level of blaming others for all the ills within one's own community. It may ultimately be an irresponsible stance. Though it proposes the drastic solution to discontinue all international assistance to developing countries. This may actually end up forcing dependent communities to take on more responsibility, which is a good thing. Akin to the hard stance of leaving a person to his own devices if he will not listen to good counsel, it is ultimately a swim or sink position. This is severe council that not many will be able to hear.

A more nuanced position seeks to appreciate all the compli- cated factors surrounding development aid involving both donors and recipients, and yet calls for continued intelligent engagement. Past policies are acknowledged as failures, and must be subjected to a critical review. A sentimental response to decadence and decline is rejected. People and their culture and history do matter. Yet it remains true that we live in a global village. Should a village have no concern for its own wellbeing when a certain family in the village deteriorates and can make no meaningful contribution to village life, but rather threatens it with disease, violence, and destruction? And so for this position, a wise engagement is necessary to international peace and security. It is also cost effective. Bro- ken countries, like broken lives, are not cost efficient. A typical failed state costs the world anywhere from 60 to 100 billion dollars'. The cost of doing nothing can be prohibi- tively high. The benefit of intelligent engagement is nearly 30 times less than the cost of doing nothing. This position takes into account the fact that quite often donors have not sufficiently appreciated that the problems of developing communities are mostly philosophical and cultural-internal to these communities. Yet the international community has a vested interest in the stability of these countries and peoples. It is not solely about the efficacy of foreign aid but

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about a more judicious approach to the distribution of foreign aid. How may the international community be of assistance and avoid the errors of the past? How may they be of assistance for consequential long lasting positive change to developing communities, so that fifty years hence a record of success and solid achievements will have been achieved? Thinkers here are concerned that law and international char- ters be given pride of place as instruments for stability, peace and development.

Yet another position that has not been much discussed, but in fact is central to the success of international development: the development of people. The theme here is that changing people changes history. If people are not changed, little else changes in the long term.

In the mean, these policy positions have been centered on government outlays to the developing world involving bilateral and multilateral institutions. References to the role of philanthropy in international assistance have remained peripheral throughout. This is understandable. Private philanthropy is a relatively new player to the world of international assistance. Its role however is growing in importance. Being private does lend a different perspective, and may re- order many priorities. The lessons of the past decades could accrue for good to this new player in foreign aid. It may be a part of the solutions to the many problems confronting international development.

The Role of Private Philanthropy in Development Work

Private participation from developed countries in international development is growing in prominence. As an aggregate private international development assistance has superseded official government to government flow of capital by a factor of three (by a factor of five before the recent financial down turn). This includes philanthropy, remittances, and investment.

Persons and groups not associated or minimally associated with

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formal governmental structures are increasingly involving themselves at great personal cost in international assistance. This may not be as new as it seems. Perhaps the work is merely being better documented. The Liberian state, from conception through founding and on to the present day, has benefited immensely from private and philanthropic interest. Yet, even in Liberia with its long relationship with private giving is seeing a dramatic rise in philanthropic participation in the last decade. These persons and institutions have involved themselves in every area of development work; from relief, to banking and finance, to professional and scientific , to educational (primary, secondary and tertiary), to travel and leisure, to entrepreneurship (both social and business), to medical and religious work (with religious and humanitarian interest mostly acting as the motivating factor for all the rest). These persons and institutions have shown themselves most adept at using sophisticated technology in pursuing excellence in their vocation. And vocation it is for most of them. They are creative and fecund in the realization of their work, in management, in the delivery of products and services, and in the use of technology-seemingly always inventing and reinventing themselves to meet the challenges at hand.

The participation of some 200 million individuals internationally in the private flow of capital is made most evident in the emergence of remittances. Remittances are monies sent back home by expatriates. Remittances are the most important stable source of external development finance in developing countries. They are the single most important source of insurance in many poor countries, especially those in political and economic crisis. For many poor countries in the world they are the only viable source of income. Remittance is a form of self- help undertaken by the poor themselves. For instance, Liberians send back anywhere from about 60 to 100 million dollars annually. The consequences of remittances are still being studied, but even now they are being viewed on the whole as positive and transformative for the societies affected. This is of such importance for the developing world that some have termed remittances the new development mantra. Re- cent documentation would indicate that remittances have surpassed

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official foreign aid assistance from the developed world to the developing world by 34%.2 (These figures may now be lower because of the worldwide economic down turn.)

Remittances must not be looked at merely as the flow of financial capital from the developed world to the developing world. It should also be more broadly appreciated as the flow of ideas from the developed world to the developing world - ideas regarding governance, law, politics, science and technology and culture. That is, remittances are not only cash transfers but also knowledge transfers. The Liberian experience may be considered an example of that knowledge and cultural transfer in the election of a female President, an unprecedented event on the African continent.

Remittances do not technically qualify as a philanthropic enter- prise. However, it does represent at some level the generosity of the developed world, in that the developed world has permitted the free and legal migration of peoples from the developing world into their countries to work and earn and learn, and the transfer of their gains back home to their countries of origin. Historically, this need not be so. Prosperous advanced and sophisticated nations have been known to put up massive barriers against entry or make the cost of entry pro- hibitively expensive. Yet this exchange is not one way. Real material benefits are accrued to the developed world in these transactions.

With total private flow at $355 billion (1991-2008): private investment at $121 billion, remittances at $181 billion, and philanthropy at $53 billion compared with official governmental flow of $121 bil- lion3; the trend is to encourage developing nations to foster long term partnership with the private sector and philanthropic institutions for sustained prosperity and growth within their respective countries. The size of the flow of capital is not the only reason to encourage developing nations to foster long term partnership with philanthropic institutions and other private actors. These private actors are often uniquely suited to deal with nuances of people, culture, and history, in that they are flexible and highly committed. The concern of some of the more reflective researchers and scholars is that too many of these intangible

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aspects of international development have been missing, and may mostly account for the abysmal failure that the project as a whole has been so far.

The new leadership in Liberia has heard about these numbers and knows the deep long term commitments that come along with them. The Liberian government is actively seeking and encouraging the participation of the private sector (both for-profit and non-for profit) in Liberia's development. It has made that sector integral to its development agenda.

The Liberian Government Development Policy

The Liberian government, by a major policy initiative, has posi- tioned itself to take advantage of the many new and diverse opportunities afforded by the international community. Liberia seeks to promote a healthy and attractive environment for business and service.

The Liberian government in defining its development objectives has launched the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). This national strategy consists of four parts:

1. Enhancing Peace and National Security: Under this rubric the government has demobilized an estimated 100,000 ex- fighters and reintegrated them into society. The government is also pursuing similar policies and activities to reintegrate and resettle former internally displaced persons and returned refugees. The government has begun a major restructuring of the entire state security apparatus.

2. Revitalizing the Economy: Estimated unemployment in the formal sector of the Liberian economy is about 80%.4 The Liberian government is challenged to resuscitate the economy, create jobs, and rebuild infrastructure and the major sectors of the economy such as agriculture, fisheries, mining, forestry, and manufacturing. The government sees the revi-

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talization of the economy as foundational to the PRS. The government under this initiative will be focused on developing a prudent fiscal policy, a stable microeconomic environment, and a policy to stabilize monetary exchange rates. The government will seek to improve the management of state enterprises and the management and use of Liberia's natural resources. The government will seek the recovery and development of the private sector, with a particular interest in supporting the informal sector of the economy where women and the poor make their living, providing access to financial and other professional skills to make it more productive. The Liberian government will seek to improve energy supply and stability, develop a policy for land ownership reform and tenure, pursue the reform of the tax and investment codes, reduce regulation and administrative practices for doing business in Liberia, and improve on the current laws and regulation governing telecommunications.

3. Strengthening Governance and the Rule of Law: The new administration in Liberia rightly sees bad governance as mostly responsible for all Liberia's woes over the last 25 years. The administration appreciates the link between people and government. And for this reason the Liberian government has set for itself the monumental task of changing the mindsets and value systems of the Liberian people. The government will restructure the machinery of government for the purpose of making real the rule of law in all spheres of national life. Liberia has become a member of the Kim- berley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and the Extrac- tive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The government will strengthen environmental rules and regula- tions. The Liberian government has implemented the Gov- ernance and Economic Management Action Plan (GEMAP) to strengthen governance, financial management and its accountability system with the hope of bringing about transparency to the business of government. The Liberian

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government has made the international community integral to maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the GEMAP system. It has put into place a Truth and Reconciliation Com- mission, established an Independent National Commission on Human Rights and began the reformation of the Civil Service Commission. To address gender inequalities the government seeks to create an environment especially conducive to the growth and flourishing of girls. It has committed itself to full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 by developing national policies on women and security as a guide for achieving gender equality and equity. A Min- istry of Gender and Development has been established. The national gender policy is addressing the needs of both men and women and boys and girls.

4. Rehabilitating Infrastructure and Delivering Basic Serv- ices: Here the Liberian government is interested in the re- building of roads, telecommunications, water and sanitation systems, the electrical grid, schools, the launch of a new girls' education policy, healthcare facilities, and the revital- ization of the national strategy to fight HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Not explicitly part of the PRS, Liberia is also fully committed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and is using the PRS as the main vehicle for achieving the MDGs.

The present Liberian administration has also developed a Dias- pora policy. The Liberian Diaspora represents a major source of financial, intellectual, human, and technical capital to Liberia. The impact of the Liberian Diaspora is competitive with the impact of donor assistance to Liberia. Wisely the Liberian government Diaspora policy includes plans for a formal institutional engagement with the Liberian Diaspora. The government has already established an Office of Dias- pora Affairs. The government has identified three areas for potential cooperation with the Diaspora: private sector development, a strong middle class, and a public sector capacity building. It has begun to col-

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lect data on the Diaspora so as to develop a Diaspora profile. The Liberian U.S. Embassy has established the Liberian Diaspora Advisory Board. The government has introduced a bill into the Liberian legislature to legalize dual citizenship affording the Diaspora greater flex- ibility and extending their level of participation in Liberia's development. The government further commits itself to treating the Diaspora as the 16th Liberian county with all the rights, privileges, and attention of any other Liberian political sub-division. At last, the Liberian government has established the Liberia Phi- lanthropy Secretariat. The Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat'

On 22 September 2008, a meeting was jointly convened in New York City by Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, and philanthropist George Soros to discuss the role of foundations in Liberia. Numerous presidents of foundations with interest in Liberia attended the meeting. They were chiefly concerned about improving coordination between the Government of Liberia and the foundations. The main result of the meeting was an agreement to establish a framework with the central task of coordinating foundation activities in Liberia. Another important outcome of the meeting was an agreement to establish a high-level Advisory Council to President Sirleaf. It was also agreed that a series of smaller working groups with a focus on particular issues be formed. In response to the outcome of the meetings in September 2008 in New York City, the Liberian government with the generous support of the NoVo Foundation, Humanity United, Wellspring Advisors, the Daphne Foundation, and the McCall MacBain Foundation created the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat in April 2009. The Secretariat is presently housed within the Office of the President, where it is being incubated and developed with a view toward its future institutional- ization and clear legal structure. At this point in time, the Secretariat is forming and evolving. Even so, it represents a new model for donor- government collaboration in transitional countries seeking to increase the effectiveness of philanthropist-supported activities.

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The need for this administrative unit came about as a result of challenges encountered on the ground in Liberia. The Liberian government as well as the foundations found field coordination to be difficult. The foundations were frustrated at not being able to know with any certainty conditions on the ground in Liberia. The Liberian government had trouble coordinating foundation activities in the country. Part of the coordination problem had to do with the fact that only two foundations maintained a field office in Liberia, with the others being headquartered in different places around the world; places as far as New York and the San Francisco Bay Area to various European cities. Considering the vast geographical expanse of these locations, the great challenge of coordinating stakeholders and activities in Liberia with a private donor community scattered around the western world may be fully appreciated. The Liberian government while happy with the support they are receiving from philanthropists and foundations believed that with proper outreach and engagement they could attract more private international assistance to Liberia. For all these reasons the Liber- ian government, the philanthropists and the foundations had a vested interest in the creation of the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat.

The Liberian government sees the Philanthropy Secretariat as having three objectives:

1) Improving the quality of foundation and philanthropist- supported activities in Liberia by a) facilitating more effective foundation collaboration through better information sharing, communication, and outreach between the Liberian government, NGOs, and the foundations, and between the foundations themselves and other interested parties; b) enhancing alignment between foundation activities and Liberia's Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS); c) identifying projects and NGOs that may present strategic funding opportunities for foundations and philanthropists; d) identifying and developing mechanisms - such as fiscal sponsorships - to facilitate the delivery of philanthropic support into Liberia; e) strengthening the capacity of Liberian government entities to effectively engage with philanthropists and foundations.

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2) Expanding the number of private philanthropic institutions and individual philanthropists supporting work in Liberia, and expanding the scale of the efforts of foundations that are already at work in Liberia.

3) Establishing and coordinating the Presidential Advisory Council which will provide high level strategic advice to the Pres- ident on issues related to investment and economic policy. So far the Secretariat has not prioritized this objective.

The Philanthropy Secretariat will coordinate the work of the Pres- idential Advisory Council by developing a Technical Operating Re- port, working with the President's Office to identify and invite potential members to join the council, assisting in developing themes for the meetings of the Council and ensuring strong follow up on decisions taken at those meetings. The Council is slated to convene twice annually: once by teleconferencing, and another time in the fall in New York City. The smaller working groups will meet similarly with the second meeting coinciding with the Council's meeting in the fall. Sen- ior officials from different foundations will independently lead the smaller working groups. The Secretariat will work with the Liberian President's Office to identify proper foundation leadership for each group, and will then invite these foundations to officially initiate the working groups. The Secretariat will assist in the coordination of the teleconferencing meetings of these working groups. It will also work to ensure a strong follow-up on decisions taken at these meetings, and ensure that the groups' ideas and plans are fully communicated to the Liberian government.

The Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat operates with a staff of two, one Liberian and one non-Liberian, although a plan to phase this into an all-citizen staff has already been adopted. These two staff of- fices are the Secretariat Program Manager and Program Assistant. Presently the Program Manager is an international, and the Program Assistant, a Liberian. A Liberian Minister of State, the Chairman of the National Investment Commission, heads this Office.

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The Secretariat Program Manager will be the primary link between the foundations and the Liberian government. The Program Manager will report to a Liberian Minister of State without Portfolio. This staff position will regularly communicate and maintain contact with all foundations and philanthropists in Liberia, and help them in their dealings with the Liberian government and the NGOs. The Pro- gram Manager will operate from Monrovia but is expected to travel frequently to meet with representatives from various foundations around the world.

It is hoped that within a limited time frame the Program Assistant will assume the responsibilities of the Program Manager. The Program Assistant is responsible for coordinating the logistics of the foundations' visits to Liberia in respect to their meetings with NGO officials and relevant Liberian government officials. This person is also responsible for providing for accommodations and transportation during the foundations' visit to Liberia. This staff person will also be a support to the Program Manager, coordinating his day to day activities, and attending to the administrative duties for the Secretariat.

The Philanthropy Secretariat will be responsible for providing quarterly reports to an Advisory Board of philanthropists. The Advi- sory Board will be responsible for providing feedback and guidance to the Secretariat from those quarterly reports. The guidance and feedback will consist of ascertaining that the Secretariat is adequately re- sponding to the needs of the foundations. The Advisory Board will also evaluate the overall performance of the Secretariat based on a set of deliverables determined for the Secretariat after a year of operation. It is hoped that this evaluation will assist in fine tuning the Secretariat's framework and structure.

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The Secretariat in consideration of its core objectives has determined its deliverables thus far to be the following: More Effective Coordination

Information Gathering and Sharing: A central activity of the Secretariat will be sharing information between the foundations and the Liberian government. The Secretariat will gather needed information through regular correspondence with the foundations focal points. It will collaborate with the Liberian Ministry of Finance Aid Manage- ment Unit to provide reports for private donors. Relevant information will then be made available on its website. The Secretariat is responsible for creating and maintaining a comprehensive database of foundation activities in Liberia. It has already launched a well-articulated website and is already looking for new ways to enhance its effectiveness and visibility.

The website's address is http://supportliberia.com. The site is pro- fessionally done with a pleasant and inviting design that encourages interaction through a clear, simple, and easy to navigate interface. The site makes for a fine introduction to the Secretariat and its project. It has six major pages each containing pertinent information on Liberia, the Secretariat, and ongoing third-party projects in the country. The six major pages are Home, About Us, How to Support Liberia, Phil- anthropic Partners, Resources and Announcements. Home is primarily a welcome page. About Us provides a brief historical background of the Secretariat, and a brief discussion of what the Secretariat is and what it does. A section on its services featured on this page explains what non-monetary assistance such as books and medical supplies the Secretariat makes available. The Staff section, also on the About Us page, is an introduction to the Secretariat personnel, their qualifications and professional experiences. How to Support Liberia highlights four areas in which prospective philanthropists could contribute to Liberia's development and reconstruction. These areas are Sirleaf Market Women's Fund, Liberia Civil Society Support Program, Scott Fellows Program and Kiva.org. The other major page is Philanthropic Part- ners, which provides a list of Liberia's private philanthropic partners

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with a brief description of the various foundations and their work in Liberia. This list may be furthered categorized by the focus areas of Capacity Building, Civil Society Strengthening, Education, Energy and Environment, Food and Agriculture, Gender/Women's Rights, Health, Human Rights, Information and Communication Technology, Private Sector Development, Rule of Law, and Transportation. A final sub-category, called "Other" acts as a catch-all for whatever is not included in the preceding sub-categories. Resources is a page providing a database of foundations and philanthropists activities and projects in Liberia, a directory of international and local NGOs operating in Liberia, a library of relevant documents, and reports on Liberia for assisting research by persons seeking to do work in Liberia, links to Liberia government Ministries and Agencies, links to recent press reports on Liberia, a list of books and films related to Liberia and a brief history of Liberia. The last major page Announcements, provides information on upcoming meetings and visits by foundations and philanthropists concerning Liberia.

Liaison to NGOs and Government of Liberia: The Philan- thropy Secretariat will serve as the primary link between the foundations, NGOs, and the Liberian government. As liaison, the Secretariat will seek to improve the quality of information available about NGOs in Liberia. It will assist the foundations in identifying potential NGO partners and work with the foundations to build the capacity of the NGO sector in Liberia. It will educate Liberian NGOs on how to improve their engagement with the private donor community. It will educate relevant government entities about the role of philanthropy in the development process. The Secretariat will seek an expanded role for intermediaries such as New African Research and Development Agency (NARDA) and with the NGO unit at the Liberian Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs. It will develop a special pilot initiative for local NGOs for projects in Liberia. It will also convene relevant meetings and conduct occasional on site visits to foundation-funded projects. Upon request the Secretariat will conduct regular monitoring visits to existing foundation-funded projects and convene meetings with all potential NGO partners. It will alert foundations to relevant

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emerging issues with their field partners, and help remove any hin- drance that the foundations may have with their partners in Liberia.

The Secretariat will meet quarterly with foundation representatives in their home country. This is primarily for sustaining direct contact with major players within the private donor community. The meeting will generally be about providing updates on projects in Liberia, sharing ideas on new areas for potential involvement in Liberia, and listening to foundations concerns and aspirations for their work in Liberia. The Secretariat will convene additional meetings outside of the quarterly meeting as these may become necessary. Some of these meetings will take place in Liberia and some via conference calls. The Philanthropy Secretariat is also interested in introducing the foundations and philanthropists to Liberia's bi-lateral and multilateral partners.

New Opportunities and New Foundations

Identification of New Initiatives and Linking to Foundations: Here the Secretariat will identify aspects of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) that are in need of additional foundation support and specific new investment opportunities. It will develop concept notes describing possible new PRS-aligned programs or initiatives that offer strong potential for foundation support. To do this the Secretariat will work closely with Liberian government officials, facilitate and manage the work of outside consultants as the case may be, and identify funding sources. It will seek to link these new opportunities to foundations by tailoring initiatives to match foundation interests and targeting specific opportunities to particular foundations. In its quarterly meetings with foundation representatives the Secretariat will discuss and further develop and refine these potential projects. The Secretariat will seek some expansion and rearrangement in its staffing requirements.

Outreach to new philanthropy actors: The Secretariat will identify foundations and other philanthropic actors with potential interest in Liberia. It will do outreach through a combination of letter writing, direct meeting, and by inviting philanthropic actors to visit

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Liberia. It will seek to build a network of Liberia philanthropic contacts who can serve as catalysts for new foundation involvement in Liberia. The Secretariat will identify additional forums and other opportunities that might provide it with a strong potential to engage new foundations in Liberia. As such it is committed to regularly attending the Clinton Global Initiative and other major philanthropic meetings. On this note, the Secretariat will collaborate closely with officials from the Global Philanthropy Forum (GPF) to deepen Liberia's participation. It will be responsible for the organization and program development of the Annual Liberia Foundations Meetings held yearly in the month of September in New York. Presidential Advisory Council

We have already reviewed the role and structure of the PAC; suf- fice it to say that this is a major item of interest to the Secretariat that is listed as a key objective in its operations.

In addition to Liberia's traditional bilateral and multilateral partners, the country is receiving strong contributions from a small and growing group of private donors, both individuals and organizations. The private international donor community of foundations and philanthropists has played a significant role in the reconstruction and development of Liberia since the conclusion of the 14-year civil war in 2003, continuing on to the election of Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as President of Liberia in 2005 and on into the present.

Liberia has benefited from private donors in a number of ways. The Open Society Institute has supported education in Liberia through the Education Pool Fund and technical assistance to the Ministry of Education itself The Carter Center programs with funding support from Humanity United have assisted the effort to strengthen the rule of law in Liberia. Humanity United is involved in a series of initiatives designed to strengthen civil society and independent media. Along with TrustAfrica, Humanity United seeks to provide grants and capacity training to a number of leading civil society groups in Liberia, such as local independent radio stations. A set of 10 buses which has been

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operating in Monrovia since November 2008 were provided by the McCall Mac Bain Foundation. The International Rescue Committee's work of increasing educational opportunities for girls and of combat- ing violence against women is receiving funding from the NoVo Foun- dation. The Nike Foundation, in partnership with the Liberian government and the World Bank, is launching the Adolescent Girls Initiative which will offer skills training and business development services to young women in Liberia. The training hopes to remove barriers to development by focusing on technical skills integrated with life skills. The Initiative is designed to reach 1,500 Liberian girls. The Scott Family Fellows Program initiated a capacity support service for senior level Liberian government officials. The program provides for young professionals from the United States to serve as special assistants to senior Liberian government officials by providing them with much needed professional, technical, and administrative assistance. The program was launched by a generous contribution from philanthropist Ed Scott, but it has since received additional support from the Open Society Institute, Humanity United, McCall Mac Bain Founda- tion, and the Nike Foundation. To date the Scott Fellows Program has fielded 15 total Fellows to Liberia in support positions. In fact the current Program Manager of the Secretariat is one such Fellow, and this is not his first assignment. He first worked as a Special Assistant to the same high level Liberian government official who is presently the head of the Philanthropy Secretariat. Surely, an accommodating working relationship had developed that was advantageous for this new venture.

One may consider the Daphne Foundation as a representative sample of philanthropic work in Liberia, and as a representative sample of the kind of foundations that the Secretariat typically works with. The Daphne Foundation's interest in renewable efficient energy has led to the funding of an elementary school lighting system just outside of Monrovia. The school lighting system is based on a small light called taa bora-better light in Swahili-that was invented by a U.S. - based entrepreneur after a visit to rural Tanzania in 2003. His aim was to create a modern, environmentally friendly lighting solution that

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would replace candles and kerosene, cost less, last considerably longer, and could be assembled by local villagers. The result a portable light that with a simple adjustment becomes a desk lamp for studying-is made up of a recycled plastic water bottle, rechargeable AA batteries, LED bulbs, and simple electronic components that are assembled without the need for electricity. The light lasts a minimum of three years and is charged by a 1.5 watt solar panel. This has allowed the school to expand its educational services into the late evening and early night for youth and adults. It has also spun off a business assembling these lights for sale and renting the school area at night. This will provide income for livelihood and for the upkeep of the school lighting system. The hope is that the taa bora lanterns will expand the widespread availability of low-cost, high-efficiency environmentally friendly lighting solutions as an alternative to kerosene lights and candles. This is good news for Liberia.

Liberia continues to seek support for the Liberia Education Trust to rehabilitate schools, to train teachers and to provide scholarships for students. It is also interested in support for its wireless communication platform and sustainable energy projects. The government of Liberia seeks to strengthen and expand the already transformative impact of foundations in Liberia. The Liberian government is encouraged by the generous response of private donors to Liberia's appeals.

Some Thoughts on Best Practices

Economists have tended to content themselves with a laughably simple picture of human motivation, ra- tionality and well-being. People are not purely self-interested. They care for others and observe social norms. They do not always reason "instrumentally," seeking least-cost means to given ends. They question the point of their aims and the worth of their wants. Well-being, finally, has no single measure and is not inscrutable to others. Its elements are many and do not boil down to "utility" or some cash-value equivalent. The Economist August 8th 2009

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But they were not made as weapons of war or con- quest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. - J. R. R. Tolkien

Human existence is something more than ordinary existence in time and space. For man, to be means to know and to love. -The Meaning of Civilization

The role that this new unit of government seeks to play in facilitating private donor services in a post-conflict transitional Liberia makes discussion of best practices imperative; best practices concerning poverty, knowledge, goals, personnel, sustainability, and project evaluation. Some recommendations have been made in the concluding section of this study, but for the moment the chief interest is the consideration of the causes of poverty as fundamental to any theory of development or international assistance program. Such a theory plays a critical role in any later discussion of the Secretariat's policy initiatives. This is why the Secretariat must develop a philosophy of development, a theoretical statement that makes clear its understanding of the causes of poverty. This is not to depreciate the fact that the Secre- tariat operates within broader policy goals of the Liberian government.

Poverty: The Liberian government has issued results of the survey of its poverty reduction strategy. And this is all well and good. One shortcoming of those results is that poverty is reduced merely to material conditions such as the lack of money, water, food, housing, and just social systems. These are limited categories. We may want to move beyond the tried emphasis on infrastructure, to a greater emphasis on developing people and their capacities. It is documented that before the 1980 coup d'etat Liberia was making relatively good material and social progress. Indeed, Mrs. Sirleaf herself has acknowledged that by international standards Liberia was designated a middle income country. And yet the coup fundamentally changed Liberia's trajectory. This is a reminder that human progress is not inevitable.

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The coup and the resultant breakdown of civil society is also a reminder that development should be centered on people; and that ultimately and immediately "progress" is a measure of our successes on our way to full knowledge and full love. Perhaps this may be part of what the government meant by setting for itself the monumental task of changing the mindset and value systems of Liberia.

Thinkers (we are particularly indebted in this section to the text Walking With the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development by Bryant L. Myers) within the development field would have us believe that poverty is more than mere material conditions. They maintain that while poverty and ill-being are closely associated, wealth and well-being are not. Amassing wealth does not assure well- being. Poverty is a complex phenomenon. Although in the Liberian situation it may be simpler than we are prepared to admit. True human development involves choices, setting aside that which is not for life in us and our community while actively seeking and supporting all that is for life. In light of Liberia's tragic past, this is a statement of utmost importance to the task of poverty reduction in Liberia. We must come to terms with how Liberians themselves have contributed to their poverty stricken conditions. What are the choices that they have made that have impeded their progress? How might those choices be changed for the better? The primacy of persons and history in the work of development must not be neglected. A people's understanding of the world, themselves, and their place within that world is not without consequence. It is best to first begin by understanding the nature of poverty as flawed relationships. The narrative of transcendence is imperative to the discussion of poverty in this context. Poverty represents a significant bridge in all of these relationships. And this is important to us, if in our poverty reduction strategy we are concerned about human well-being and well doing. If well-being and sustainability are of value to us then we will appreciate poverty as having to do with relationships. The cessation of poverty will involve having people resolve these flawed relationships and began to live harmoniously with themselves, others, nature and transcendent realty. Well-being is inclusive of the whole range of human experiences, social, mental, spir-

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itual and material. Relationship then is the first order of business in any strategy of poverty reduction. From this perspective the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is actually more important to Liberia's Poverty Reduction Strategy than anything else. If they are seeking the resolution of broken relations, men and women in Liberia will have to repent, that is, change radically for the better, and learn to forgive each other. The high purpose of the TRC is to spotlight the importance of truth-telling, to bring about reconciliation and to reestab- lish the place of justice and righteousness in the state. The point of truth-telling is to bring the people to a place where they can face the truth about themselves and their situation. The TRC may not have fully appreciated the depth and importance of its role in Liberia's development. Admittedly, some of these things have happened notwithstanding the controversies surrounding its findings.

Concerns for relationships at the local and personal levels do not deny that Liberia is a part of an international community that may not always share her best interest, and that may even be hostile to it. The priority of relationships must take into account causes beyond the individual and her local community to include the international community and the world at large. In fact, individual choices while substantial, meaningful and significant, are not absolute. Individual choices do not totally determine the way things are in the world, although it remains important to make the best of even a bad situation.

Knowledge: Knowledge is power. And power is not a necessary evil but can be a very great good. It is subject however to the perver- sion of evil. There is no short cut to thoroughly understanding a problem before providing a solution. Only good research involving site visits and a careful and thorough investigation will yield good data. From good data wise decisions can be made and appropriate policy developed. The knowledge of a people, their worldviews, beliefs, and cultural practices are important to helping them meet their developmental needs. For it may be that the local worldview and social structures are the source of poverty in the community. Remember that Liberia was a middle income country before the 1980 debacle. It may

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be that the local worldview is not sufficient to the task of development and growth. It may not be life-sustaining. It may in fact be contributing to ill-being. For this reason development must address fear of spirits, witchdoctors, cannibalistic practices, human sacrifices, sexual practices, and oppressive regimes, etc. All these things suppress the will to change. A spiritual and mental dimension to poverty is most consequential for the social and material order.

Goals: The question of the goal of development and growth must be addressed. Why should a people want to develop and grow? Where may they expect to be once this process has been engaged? The leaders must make it their chief responsibility to explain to the people what they are trying to do in seeking development and growth. And the people must buy into it as indeed a great good. The people must deeply appreciate why development and growth are necessary and good. They must embrace it. They must want to change for the better. Great institutions and nations emerged only from a focus on the individual aspiring to the highest possible spiritual and intellectual development and growth. Meaning is of utmost importance. A person may be able to attend to any how if he has a great why. Valuing effectiveness over meaning creates poverty. This theme was touched on previously. It is best to see the goal of development as the discovery of the true identity and vocation of a people. The great question is what does Liberia want to be?

Development work is nothing less than the introduction of change into a human community, a challenge to a people's way of being in the world. Getting people to change is not easy work. Getting people to change at this depth is even more difficult, but not impossible. Men and women are malleable. They can change, and they have changed. Getting people to change at this level is spiritual work. Development is helping the poor recover their true identity and vocation. It is helping them understand who they are and what they do, that is, helping them to discover their calling. They are persons of real value with a transcendent purpose, beings possessed of a vocation as productive stew- ards and with a calling to know and to love. This then is the work of

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real change, real development and growth, real progress. It is not easily attained within a decade. It is a life long journey.

Personnel: Those who would help the poor must be willing to listen to their story, and listen wisely, carefully, and appreciatively. The whole story must be heard and appreciated. They must be willing to allow the poor to be heard. And if the community is inarticulate, it must be helped in telling its story. We must understand where the men and women have been in order to appreciate where they are now, and where they might want to go. The story of a people is of central importance to understanding their developmental needs. Very often it is the stories of their relationships. As we have said before, they cannot be understood apart from their relationships. Their history of exclusion and disrespect needs to be heard with care and compassion. And yet the outsider, the foreign investigator brings to bear a fresh perspective to the problem. This is a perspective that must not be depreciated or taken lightly. The outsider's perspective may also be a part of the solution.

Listening to a community story requires care and a depth of sensitivity. Care must be taken that the Western secular materialist bias does not gloss over the importance of the unseen world to a people's story. Liberians religious and spiritual view of the world must be taken seriously into account. This is especially so since most Liberians locate the cause of their problems and their hope for solutions to these problems in that unseen world. And that unseen world is reality for most of them. This aspect of the Liberian experience must be acknowledged to do justice to the whole Liberian experience. This information is crucial to understanding their growth and development as a people. A sensitive observer will not only focus on their vulnerabilities, that is, why have they failed? Why are things not working in their community? Why the community has not corrected poverty sustaining behavior? She will also seek to understand their strength by looking for what works in the community. The poor do have some assets. In that it points to a time of stability, prosperity, clarity, order, and lawfulness, and in that it was the result of policies promulgated by the forefathers

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of contemporary Liberians and so may be done again. The relative peace of Liberia until the 1980s is an asset. It may be asked why that peace held. The critics and criticisms of 1970s Liberia were rather short on appreciating what was working in Liberia. What was positive about the country that sustained it for more than one hundred years? And how might we replicate this life giving force all over the place? What was it that created value and was successful? And how can we expand this good? What is it that brought life to Liberia and how may it be replicated? Here the consideration should be all-inclusive of the physical, material, social, organizational, motivational, and attitudinal aspects of human life. One development thinker has said that this way of looking at the community is an intentional posture of continuous affirmation of life, ofjoy, of beauty, of excellence, of innovation.

Poor training benefits no one. Some have claimed that many colonial era officials' gross policy errors had to do with a fundamental in- adequacy in their training. Of course, Liberia was never colonized. Yet those who would help Liberia out of her poverty, even Liberians themselves, must be well trained. In many hard ways Liberia has experienced the blunt force of incompetence. Development thinkers not only stress the importance of training but are even careful to suggest some professional and academic disciplines that are necessary for work in development. Not surprisingly these are all scientific and professional in nature. This is all very good, but a theologian or a literary scholar or some such person may be just as important to the work of development. The problem of development is not primarily scientific or technical. Development has to do primarily with responsible well-being. Even so the person who would be fit to do development work should not only be intellectually trained, but also spiritually trained. The failures of the last fifty years of development in Africa have led some careful thinkers to highlight the place of humility in a development professional. Here the net must be cast broadly to include the educated class of a developing country. All of us concerned about the development and growth of a country must start from the premise that we are simple people and do not know as much as we think we know nor as much as we should know. In fact, it may be well to acknowledge that

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we are in fact ignorant about many things concerning human community; that we do not even know ourselves that well. And all this remains true in spite of an otherwise impeccable professional and academic training. Liberia might have had a better experience if her critics of the 1970s were a little more appreciative of their limitations. So let us all remember not to harbor exalted opinions of ourselves. We do not have all the right answers for Liberia. This will allow us to start with Liberia as she is and not to assume more of her then we ought. Some thinkers would also urge us to do our work with a bias towards peace. This bias towards peace was lost on some of the critics of the 1970s in Liberia. It is evil to agitate a people towards bitterness, hatred, and violence. So we should always assume in all of our transactions, no matter how strenuous and difficult, the ontology of peace.

Sustainability: Ultimately, for any effort to be considered successful it must be sustainable. A community cannot thrive on the distribution of non-sustainable handouts. Equally true is the fact that the community could not be sustainable if it were not already so in some ways. Liberia in its very existence is sustainable at some levels. Of course, the last twenty-five years of Liberia's history, greatly tested Liberia's sustainability. And it may yet be said that Liberia's sustainability is still being tested. Nevertheless, Liberia could not be today if she was not sustainable.

Sustainability though is multi-dimensional. Physical sustainability, where the community is being enabled to provide for its own material well-being, focuses on teaching the poor how to create their own wealth. By contrast, mental sustainability is interested in the poverty of being. Poverty of being, ontological poverty, is the deepest form of poverty. In a poverty of being a person is robbed of all values and reasons to be. Liberia suffered not only physical destruction, but also psychological and spiritual destruction. Her identity was disfigured and marred. She is now most in need of healing and a restoration of her psychological and spiritual well-being. Liberia must learn how to think and be in the world again, so that she can make sense of her world and of her place in that world. This is where a faith-based organization or

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a religious community can be very helpful. They may help in not only being repositories of values tradition, but also the source of values formation - contributing not only to the moral instruction of the community, but providing persons with good life enhancing values for service in the community. The discussion of life enhancing and preserving values bring us to the consideration of social sustainability. Here the concern is with the development and growth of law within a community. A sustainable community will preserve, protect and expand the legal rights of the individual and the group. It will respect the civil and political liberties of both the individual and the group. It will encourage the building of civil society. A strong civil society is valuable to strong and weak states alike. But it may be of greater value to a weak state. A strong civil society may actually provide the foundation to a strong and enduring state. Finally, ecological sustainability entails preserving Liberia's natural environment and encouraging an environmentally sensitive exploitation of Liberia's natural resources.

Project Evaluation: Development thinkers have noted that one of the reasons for the great loss of resources in foreign aid over the last several decades had to do with the lack of evaluation. So much was lost because no one thought of asking these simple questions: Is this thing working? Are we getting the results that we had hoped for? Where is the money going? Are people being helped? Therefore any consideration of best practices must address the matter of project or program evaluation. Another matter of equal importance is what is the evaluation for? Is the evaluation for the community in which development work is being done? Or is the evaluation primarily for the donor organization? It is for both the community and the donor organization. They both have a vested interest and similar purpose in the outcome of the project. It is simply good stewardship that a donor should seek verification that her money has been used properly and for its intended purpose. Evaluation should also be in the interest of the community. A good evaluation will try to determine if the development project is creating life, and providing for growth and change for the better. Resources should be poured into those projects or aspects of those projects where life is being affirmed. Even where ac-

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knowledged failures have occurred, learning opportunities must be sought. Even in failures there may be unanticipated successes. The really good economists have a preference for the rigorous methods of randomized trials. This method is expensive and will involve outside experts; but to hear the economist talk of it, it has great value. How- ever, it seems not quite able to evaluate quality, and a good evaluation must go beyond quantities to include quality. A qualitative evaluation will include the evaluation of relationships. Given the premise that poverty is relational at its foundation, and that the relationship spoken of here is broad and all inclusive in its scope, involving the self relationship with itself, others, nature and transcendence. But that this relationship has become deeply flawed resulting in violence, conflict, greed, alienation and marginalization. A development program will then seek to be evaluated in terms of changes in these relationships. How has a people's view of their world and their place in that world changed? And is the change life enhancing and affirming? Or is it di- minishing life's value? Will the new fabric of values emerging from the development program support and sustain ongoing positive change? Is the new values system promoting the life and good of the community? Evaluation though must go even further to include the development agencies and their staff. The community must be allowed to participate in this level of assessment. Besides assessing the technical competence of the development agency and its staff, the question of project values must be reviewed. Is the right thing being done? What message is the development technology communicating? What is the community learning about itself in this development project? How is Liberia learning to recompose its story so that it is life enhancing? There were testimonies before the TRC that did suggest that Liberia recompose its story to encourage and affirm life. A good evaluation regime will be careful to listen to women and children. Women's issues in Liberia are in no way resolved even with a woman president. Nev- ertheless, Liberia is well ahead in listening to women. Childhood is so impressionable. It is in childhood that values and character are formed, and often remains fixed until life is ended. The children, boys and girls, are the future of Liberia. Mrs. Sirleaf has rightly expressed such deep compassion for the Liberian children, profoundly lamenting

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the many cruel ways they were brutalized and abused. What will such abused and brutalized children visit on Liberia when they become adults?

Challenges

The Secretariat is an evolving institution, at this point fluid in what it will eventually become. Yet even now we may appreciate that the very existence of the Philanthropy Secretariat is a tacit recognition of the increasingly important role played by private donors in development work. In international assistance work, emphasis should be placed on the role of the citizen-to-citizen model of assistance and policies developed to maximize private donor contributions while simultaneously not depreciating bi-lateral and multilateral partners. The Liberian government should be applauded for trying to do just these things, developing policies and setting up administrative structures to take advantage of this new and emerging paradigm in foreign aid. Likely, because of this new model and the advantages it affords in personal contacts, we may reasonably hope that the next half century of foreign aid will be better than the last.

The Secretariat has as part of its mission the expansion of its outreach activities to attract more private donors to opportunities in Liberia. This is good. The Secretariat may want to expand its outreach pool beyond the foundations and philanthropists to include universities, colleges, corporations, private voluntary organizations, and religious organizations. The Philanthropy Secretariat currently facilitates non-monetary assistance such as donations of books and medical supplies. It is recommended that the Secretariat expand this area of interest to include donation of gifts in kind such as professional technical services.

The Secretariat may want to consider remittances as part of the data it collects. Closely related to this, it may want to look for ways to involve the large pool of the Liberian Diaspora with its work and mission in order to sustain their continued interest in Liberia. Knowing that remittances tend to dwindle in every succeeding generation, in-

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volving the Diaspora in its work can be one way to counteract this tendency. Liberia will need its educated people for a long time to come, and most of those educated people are in the Diaspora. A critical mass of educated people is essential to a rapid and enduring recovery from civil war. The Diaspora can and is willing to provide development assistance.

It will be best for Liberia if the Secretariat expand and not curtail international participation in its management. Indeed, it is recommended that the management of the Secretariat be permanently inter- nationalized so that both Liberia and her international partners are finally responsible for the management of the Philanthropy Secretariat. It is recommended that its legal status be finally determined as a semi- governmental agency of the Liberian government being equally controlled by both the Liberian government and her international private partners of philanthropists and donors. This might allow the Secretariat to serve as its own fiscal sponsor for various projects in Liberia. Whereby, it could become a secondary grant making organization. The Secretariat could also serve as a good place for providing Liberians with international exposure and opportunities for professional growth. Mentorship/fellowship programs could become an integral part of the Secretariat's mission, contributing to the development of good leadership for Liberia. At some level it could be expanded into a membership based organization for Liberia and her friends.

The Secretariat may already be evolving into this form, but it could become a think tank for Liberia in development and reconstruction matters. The objective of the Presidential Advisory Council already points in this direction. It may also consider becoming a place where social entrepreneurship is encouraged and developed.

The Secretariat may want to consider producing some kind of regular publication either print or electronic with feature stories and other items documenting the quality of its work and that of its partners in development in Liberia.

We recommend that the Presidential Advisory Council along with

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the smaller working groups not restrict themselves to investment and economic policy, but expand their advisory role to include security and governance.

The task that the Secretariat has set for itself cannot be accom- plished with the present staff of two. The Secretariat will need to increase its staff to execute its work well. Indications that the Secretariat is growing in its appreciation of this point have already emerged.

Summary

The Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat is a unit of the Liberian government established in 2009 for the purpose of facilitating privately funded donor projects in Liberia. It presently has a small staff of two and is headed by the Chairman of the National Investment Commis- sion, a cabinet level position. This case study is a review of the administrative structure and purpose of the Secretariat.

The Secretariat is evolving and as a result is still trying to determine its legal status and place within the Liberian government apparatus.

The Liberian government is wise in taking this step of establishing the Philanthropy Secretariat to leverage private philanthropy interest in Liberia. In the last decade the role of the private sector in international assistance has greatly expanded. Figures from the Hud- son Institute would indicate that private flow from OECD (Organiza- tion for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries (rich developed countries) to developing countries has surpassed official development assistance by roughly a factor of three.

The private sector participation in foreign aid represents something relatively new, and brings with it much hope that the present and the future of international assistance and development will not be like the past. Private sector muscular participation in international development brings with it the possibility of reinvigorating the current regime of international assistance generally, and ultimately leading to

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positive changes in policies. Indeed, this has already begun to happen. With the Sagamore Institute's interest in the private sector citizen-to- citizen model of international assistance, this paper has sought to provide a context for appreciating the role of private philanthropy in foreign aid including the non-philanthropic role of remittances and the Liberian Diaspora. The paper considers the policies of the Liberian government that are geared toward attracting the many opportunities afforded by the international community to its national development interest, including the establishment of the Liberian Philanthropy Sec- retariat.

Liberia is in need of much assistance, and it is in her best interest to receive that help from wherever she may legally do so.

And yet there are broader policy concerns that must be considered to make this new approach to foreign aid a resounding success. To broaden the policy discussions, it is best to begin with the consideration of the causes of poverty as fundamental to any development work or international assistance program. Poverty is relational at its foundation, and this relationship is with the self, other people, nature, and transcendence. Best practices are being considered from the standpoint that progress is a measure of our successes on our way to full knowledge and full love, emphasizing the defining importance of relationships, and appreciating the goal of national development as the discovery of the true identity and vocation of a people. The accent is on the development of people and their capacities, not infrastructural development, though this too is important. From this position, in light of the accumulated losses of roughly 2 trillion dollars in development assistance over the past 50 years, mostly in Africa, and with the hope for better in the next 50 years, best practices are being considered in the following categories:

Knowledge: The knowledge of a people, their worldviews, beliefs and cultural practices are important to helping them meet their developmental needs;

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Goals: Great institutions and nations emerged only from a focus on the individual aspiring to the highest possible spiritual and intellectual development and growth. Meaning is of utmost importance. The question of why cannot be neglected. Development is helping the poor recover their true identity and vocation;

Personnel: Persons (Liberians or internationals) who would be fit to do development work should not be only intellectually trained, but also trained spiritually. The failures of the last fifty years would have us highlight the place of humility in a development professional. All of us concerned about the development and growth of a community must start from the premise that we are simple people and do not know as much as we think we know nor as much as we should know. In fact, it may be well to acknowledge that we are in fact ignorant about many things concerning human community; that we do not even know ourselves well. And all this remains true in spite of an otherwise impeccable professional and academic training;

Sustainability: for development effort to be considered successful it must be sustainable. Sustainability is multi-dimensional, that is, both physical and mental. Mental sustainability deals with the poverty of being where a person is robbed of his reason to be;

and Project evaluation: Project evaluation is for both the community and the donor organization. Resources should be allocated to those projects or aspect of those projects where life is being affirmed. A good evaluation must include not only quantities but also quality. Development agencies and their staff must also be subject to evaluation. A good evaluation regime will be careful to listen to women and children. Additionally, in our reflections going forward, we have emphasized the theme of selfless service and a presumption or bias towards peace.

The Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat could prove to be of im- mense value to the Liberian Republic if managed wisely and with vision. It may yet carry to new heights private giving to development

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projects in Liberia, and this not only in funds disbursement but also in ideas and professional exchanges and assistance. The Secretariat could be a place where Liberia can deepen its international private-public partnership, involving on a more personal level the participation of its international partners. The Secretariat could be used to strengthen international commitment to Liberia so that in the future, Liberia may not be so easily abandoned and marginalized. The Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat could be strategic to Liberia's national development in more way then is currently anticipated. Through the recommendation that a think tank be developed as part of its administrative structure, the Secretariat could be a place for not only studying and providing public policy options, but also a place for developing policy experts and leaders. It could play a coordinating role by becoming a registry for all NGOs and civil society institution operating in Liberia and likely to receive aid or donor support. It could become the clearing house for these organizations, publishing in a regular newsletter its most successful activities and profiling stories of excellence amongst NGO and civil society players in Liberia.

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Sources:

Can the West Save Africa?, by William Easterly, pub: NBER Work- ing Paper Series, 2008.

Dead Aid, by Dambisa Moro, pub: Farra, Straus and Giroux, 2009.

Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works, by Stephen C. Smith, pub: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

http://www.lifiliberia.gov.lr/content.php?sub= 104&related= 63 &thir d=104

Liberia and the United States during the Cold War: Limits of Reci- procity, by D. Elwood, Dunn, pub: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Liberia: History of the First African Republic, by Dr. Abayomi Cas- sell, pub: 1970.

Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat Program Assistant TOR, govt. document, May 2009.

Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat Year One Work Plan, govt. document, March 2009.

Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat Year Two Objectives, govt. document, February 2010.

Liberian Philanthropy Secretariat Key Activities for Year Two, govt. document, February 2010.

Liberia Poverty Reduction Strategy, IMF Poverty Reduction Strat- egy Paper, July 2008.

Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle, pub: Barnes & Noble, 2004.

Pathologies of Power, by Paul Farmer, pub: University of California Press, 2005.

The Bottom Billion, by Paul Collier, pub: Oxford University Press, 2007.

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The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs, pub: Penguin Books, 2006.

The Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances, 2009, pub: The Center for Global Prosperity, Hudson Institute.

The Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances, 2010, pub: The Center for Global Prosperity, Hudson Institute.

The Investor's Guide to Liberia, National Investment Commission, Monrovia, Liberia, 2007.

The Politics, by Aristotle, pub: Penguin Books, 1970.

The White Man's Burden, by William Easterly, pub: Penguin Books, 2007.

Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transforma- tional Development, by Bryant Myers, pub: Orbis Books, 2004.

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ENDNOTES

' Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 74.

2 Hudson Institute, The Center for Global Prosperity publication: The Index of Global Phi- lanthropy and Remittances 2010.

3 These numbers are from the Hudson Institute, The Center for Global Prosperity publication: The Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances 2010.

4 http://www. liftliberia.gov.1r/content.php?sub=104&related=63 &third=104

5 For this section I would like to acknowledge the cooperation of the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat.

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BOOK REVIEW

Russell W. Irvine, The African American Quest for Institutions of Higher Education Before the Civil War: The Forgotten Histories of The Ashmun Institute, Liberia College and Avery College. Lewiston: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2010. Pp. 706. Hard Cover

In The African American Quest for Institutions ofHigher Educa- tion Before the Civil War Russell Irvine examines the deportation of antebellum blacks who obtained higher education. The policy of "removal" was the solution proposed by President Abraham Lincoln, the Emigration Secretary, and the American Colonization Society. Irvine asserts that this notion of education for blacks to gain and maintain independence in their own countries in Africa was the underlying educational foundation of white leaders, white institutions of higher education and other antebellum organizations. Irvine argues the paucity of research regarding the pervasive educational ideology of whites reveals an important notion: whites believed that they could create jobs and opportunities for blacks once they were educated.

This notion was prominent because the colonization society in- nately fostered the ideology that blacks "in a republic politically, socially, and economically dominated by whites would never achieve their highest potential in America because of the inveterate prejudice of whites against skin color." Furthermore, whites insisted that black repatriation would be beneficial to the society as well as to blacks. In- evitably, these factors would allow blacks to assist with spreading Christianity to Africa as missionaries, as well as reinforce an American influence on the continent. However, despite the push for blacks to repatriate to Africa, Irvine clearly demonstrates how the whites also supported higher education for a select number of blacks.

White support for black education existed through the efforts of colonization societies and anti-slavery advocates who provided fund-

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ing opportunities for blacks to attend higher educational institutions to become lawyers, medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, public ad- ministrators, educators and ministers. In addition, Irvine emphasizes the number of blacks that were admitted to medical and seminary schools. A result of the large number of white college presidential alignments with the colonization movement was an increasing diffi- culty in securing wide spread continuity to support educating blacks. He apprises scholars of the challenging environment blacks found themselves in as they sought to gain educational opportunities in the hostile educational environment of antebellum America.

This thoroughly researched monograph took over fifteen years to complete and not only highlights the colonization and abolitionist movements, it also provides a clear and succinct look at black agency as free blacks sought to better themselves as persons seeking equality in America. Blacks understood the importance of education for social, political and economic advancement. Abolitionists helped to advance the concept of racial equality by supporting educational opportunities for blacks. The African American Quest for Institutions ofHigher Ed- ucation Before the Civil War identifies antebellum blacks who received higher educational opportunities. Though the majority of these pro- tagonists have been lost in the annals of antebellum black education, their successes despite stringent opposition remain evidence of their important contributions. These biographical sketches provide valuable historical references for blacks that founded medical practices, churches, or law firms in black communities throughout the United States.

Irvine seeks to explicate the multifaceted contributions of blacks, abolitionists and colonization societies in obtaining or denying higher educational opportunities for blacks and to explain the significance of why these actions led to opportunities for a select number of blacks being admitted to colleges and universities. The use of an extensive array of primary and secondary source material including newspapers, periodicals, theological catalogues, university alumni catalogues, state

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and national colonization records, records of state legislatures, and the records of pro and anti-slavery organizations make his arguments con- vincing. The African American Quest for Institutions of Higher Edu- cation Before the Civil War expands and enriches the discourse on higher education for blacks in antebellum America and is a valuable addition to the fields of American, African American and African Di- aspora History.

Jim C. Harper II North Carolina Central University

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Minutes of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Liberian Studies Association at North Carolina Central University Durham, North Carolina

March 30-April 1, 2011

Welcome & Greetings: Conference Chair, Dr. Emmanuel 0. Oritsejafor

The annual business meeting of the Liberian Studies Association was opened by President Edward Lama Wonkeryor, who turned to the Secretary/Treasurer, Mary Moran, for the annual Financial Report.

The Secretary/Treasurer reported that the Association is currently in excellent financial shape. The precarious situation of several years ago has been much relieved by the renewed regular publication of the journal, which has caused our members and library subscribers to re- sume paying their dues. Our bank account balance as of the end of February 2011 was $23,014.23. Our fixed yearly expenses include warehouse storage for the back issues, website maintenance, and production of the journal, with each issue costing about $2800.00 to produce and mail. We publish two issues a year. In addition to membership dues and library subscriptions, we sometimes make a small profit on the annual meeting. Last year's meeting at Temple Uni- versity brought in $1887.00, less $600 that we paid for student assistants, leaving us a profit of $1287. We have a healthy balance to act as a "cushion" while we try to "catch up" on issues of the journal, which is currently running about two years behind schedule due to multiple editorial transitions. The Secretary/Treasurer was thanked by President Wonkeryor for her report. She was also reminded that if she ever wants to retire, she is responsible for finding her own successor.

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The President next called on the Liberian Studies Journal's Editor and the organizer and host of the current meetings, Emmanuel Oritse- jafor, for his report on the state of our publication. Dr. Oristsejafor noted that the editors' term is usually for two years, but due to the delays associated with the transition of the journal from the previous editors to the current team, it has taken some time to get the system up and running. We are currently in the midst of publishing issues from 2009 (Vol. 34). It was suggested that some theme or special issues that could be assembled quickly by a guest editor might "fill in the gap" while the current editor worked on getting the publication back to date. Dr. Elwood Dunn offered to help with these special issues and also suggested that the current editor (Dr. Oritsejafor) stay on for another year until we can find a new editor who is willing to take on the job and arrange for the institutional resources necessary to support the journal. A small group (Dr. Oritsejafor, Dr. Dunn, and Dr. Ruth Stone) could begin exploring possibilities for a new editor and make an an- nouncement at the meeting next year. Our past practice has been to use a small group like this to identify candidates for the position, since it requires a great deal of institutional support. Dr. Verlon Stone asked how many articles are currently in the pipeline? Dr. Oritsejafor reported that there are four. Dr Stone noted that, based on the experiences of editors at both Western Michigan and NCCU, it may be that the two year term for editors is too short. It takes a significant "start up" period to learn the process, get a staff in place, and actually produce the journal; it takes more than just being a good scholarly editor. Dr. Dunn said we should check the by-laws to see if the two year term for editors is mandated or if we can change this practice? (NOTE: according to the 1998 by-laws, the Editor is supposed to serve for a THREE YEAR term and is eligible for re-election). Dr Oritsejafor noted that it is a hard job, and you need support at both the top and bottom of your institution. He acknowledged the hard work of Mrs. Monica Tsotetsi, his assistant, who brought expertise from a previous job in publishing. (Mrs. Tsotetsi was acknowledged with applause). President Wonkeryor stated that given these challenges, let Dr. Orit- sejafor continue in his current position and, if the by-laws allow it (NOTE, they do), he should continue as Editor of the journal for an additional year.

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The next item on the agenda was the site for next year's meeting. Jackie Sayegh-Birch offered Cornell University in Ithaca New York as a site for the 2012 meetings. There are long-standing relationships between Cornell and Liberia and many prominent Liberians have had connections there. The administration has offered its support. There was a motion to accept the invitation from Cornell, which was seconded and unanimously approved. Jackie Sayegh-Birch will work with members of the national organizing committee to set the date.

President Wonkeryor noted that while the LSA is a scholarly research organization, our members should not limit themselves to scholarship but also explore works that could be marketed to produce income. Those who publish works for a broader audience could contribute their proceeds to the organization. Dr. Oritsejafor noted that you have to have the infrastructure to do this; it costs money to publish. Dr Dunn suggested that a small committee could be assigned to explore this topic. Dr. Dunn has the impression that people who need to know about the journal don't always know about it. What can we do to make it more visible? Dr. Oritsejafor said he has been advertising in some other small journals, but we need a strategic plan to do more, a vision plan for the future. We have a small fund balance now, so can think about more than just the survival of the journal. Dr. Dunn said folks in Liberia need to know about the journal, we should advertise there in the daily papers. From the floor came the comment that the LSA is the best kept secret among Liberians, the message has not reached the younger people. We need an aggressive recruitment strategy. Dr. Yekutiel Gershoni suggested that we should have more of an on-line presence.

Dr. Verlon Stone reported on the progress of our agreement with Ebsco to get the journal on-line. All the back issues have now been scanned, but Ebsco seemed to be backing down from the agreement to make them all available; they were saying they would only make issues from 2009 to the present available. The Secretary/Treasurer was instructed to check the files for the contract that was signed with Ebsco (NOTE, I have done this and have found no mention in the text of only

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putting up content from 2009 forward; however, the contract was SIGNED in 2009; is this relevant?). Ebsco is currently digitizing and indexing all issues since 1969, but it makes this available only as part of an expensive package of journals bundled together for libraries. How can we get better access for our members? The good news is that anyone can access the search engine and get citations for articles they want, then find a library with the hard copies for the full text. We also signed a non-exclusive contract with Ebsco, so we could go back to other vendors (such as Wilson) and try to get a better deal. Most re- quests for back issues are for the early issues, from the first ten years.

Dr. Oritsejafor said the idea of marketing is great, but we also need to encourage scholars to write for the journal. It is a peer reviewed journal and we need quality submissions. He believes if you do not have high quality scholarship to offer, it is better not to publish at all. There was discussion about getting participants from the conference to submit their papers in advance, so they can be vetted and published quickly, but it is hard for scholars to have polished papers ready in advance. Elwood Dunn urged the editor to go after outstand- ing papers presented at the meetings. From the floor, there was disap- pointment that the meetings were not better attended. Dr. Amos Sirleaf said we must urge the Liberian community in the location of the meetings to attend, and to bring young students. There was a question for the journal editor (Dr. Oritsejafor) about the process of peer review; the editors must communicate promptly with those who submit articles. Dr. Oritsejafor repeated that the problem is quality, not quantity of submissions; the editor must have discretion and rely on peer review. The early issues of the journal set a standard for high quality scholarship which must be maintained. Dr. Sirleaf asked about an article he submitted and was asked to revise and re-submit; he has not been informed as to the decision. President Wonkeryor noted that we will follow up and see where it is in the process; peer review takes time. A series of other questions were asked from the floor about how the meetings are advertised, how the business meeting is structured, and how the organization might grow. It was clarified that the minutes of each year's business meeting are published in the journal, that the

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journal is sent to all members, and that you do not have to be an academic to be a member. The membership was reminded that this is an all-volunteer organization, that all the officers do this as an addition to their "real" jobs, and that any member who wants to volunteer to take on a task is most welcome.

Dr. Ruth Stone noted that the system used to put this year's program together, a national committee that met by conference call over the phone, worked well. She encouraged the program committee for the 2012 meeting to limit the presentations to one by each participant so the program could be less crowded and there would be more time for discussion. Jackie Sayegh-Birch will be the head of local arrange- ments for the 2012 meeting in Ithaca and incoming president Em- manuel Oritsejafor will appoint a national program committee. By tradition, the organizer of the current meeting becomes president of the LSA for the coming year. President Wonkeryor opened the floor for nominations and Dr. Oritsejafor's name was moved and seconded. He was approved as the new LSA President by acclimation. The past presidents of the LSA were called upon to perform the ancient ceremony of "laying on of hands" to induct the new president. Many pictures were taken of this event. Out-going President Wonkeryor reminded everyone that according to the bylaws, the business meeting of the LSA is open only to members; this year we had many non-members in attendance, but everyone should please update their membership. The application form is in the meeting program and on line, and there are lower-cost categories for students and retired people. The meeting was adjourned and the members retired to prepare for the ban- quet. Respectfully submitted, Mary H. Moran Secretary/Treasurer

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