PHOTO credit- alchetron.com: Late Liberian Pres. J.J. Roberts
By Rev, Torli Krua
Since it is Robert’s birthday I think investing in education remains his unmatched legacy compared to African leaders who invest in building mansions at home and abroad.
When it comes to Liberia I think it’s time to put the “freed slaves” settlers and nascent “democracy” myths to rest because the American colony of Liberia was created by the Government of the USA, of the USA, and for the USA.
Whether we were talking about 1821 or 1822 or 1847 of 1951 or 1980 or 1989 or 2003 or 2005 or 2021 Liberia was never free economically, politically or culturally. Imagine talking about ownership of a house or a vehicle without first checking the title deed or the vehicle title to see whose name is written on it.
The name Liberia did not come from indigenous Africans or African American Settlers. The constitution wasn’t written by indigenous Africans or African American Settlers. The first decades of Liberia were directed by white people and security was enforced by the United States Navy.
The independence of 1847 was neither legal nor democratic because it excluded the majority of the people from citizenship-indigenous Africans. July 26, 1847 ceremony was conducted under the Flag of the USA 🇺🇸. Article 1 of the 1824 constitution of Liberia: “All persons born in Liberia…are entitled to all privileges enjoyed by citizens of the United States.” Even so, only the top Liberian politicians enjoy that privilege. The US Embassy in Monrovia.
I can go on and on but my point is simple; when Gold-coast became independent, it shed the colonial name and flag and became Ghana. When Rhodesia became independent, it got rid of the colonial name, flag, and capital city to become an authentic African Country called Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 , meaning “houses of stone” with an African flag, and the capital city changed from Salisbury in honor of a British General to Harare in honor a 19th-century African leader.
Not only is Liberia not free in 2021, Liberians are suffering worldwide because of ongoing atrocities of American Colonization, systemic corruption, and a government designed to enrich and empower politicians. Look at Monrovia’s neighborhood of West Point. The place isn’t fit for human habitation, to say the least.
Blame the folks who live there if you like but that is Liberia! In Washington, D.C., in a deadly winter and deadlier COVID-19 pandemic with 1/2 million people dead, our colonial master, the USA continues the March 26, 1790 American Apartheid policy of protecting dogs and cats through the law signed by President Trump in November 2019 criminalizing cruelty to Animals, while at the same time denying Liberian Refugees protected status and work permits since October 2002, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 2019 and President Biden’s DED Executive Order on Inauguration Day notwithstanding.
That is why the Free Liberia Movement is calling for a rebirth of an authentic African country with African values and honoring abolitionists and freedom fighters and putting to rest the relics of white supremacism, slave masters in the name Liberia, Monrovia, Bushrod Island, Harper, Buchanan, etc
There is time for everything. A time to sow and a time to reap. If we desire a different country, we must sow a different seed now because it’s planting season. If we sow the seeds of justice and equal opportunities, doubtless, we shall come rejoicing when it’s harvest time. “A good tree can’t bear corrupt fruits. And a corrupt tree cannot bear good fruits. A tree is known by its fruits.”