On this day in 1824, Liberia was founded as a project of the American Colonization Society which believed that black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States. Between 1822 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born African Americans, along with 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia. Gradually developing an Americo-Liberian identity,
Between 1461 and the late 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch, and British traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area Costa da Pimenta (“Pepper Coast”) but it later came to be known as the Grain Coast, due to the abundance of melegueta pepper grains.
In the United States, there was a movement to settle African Americans, both free-born and formerly enslaved, in Africa. This was partially because they faced racial discrimination in the form of political disenfranchisement and the denial of civil, religious, and social rights. It was also partially because slave owners and politicians feared uprisings and rebellions of enslaved peoples.
Believing themselves different from and culturally and educationally superior to the indigenous peoples, the Americo-Liberians developed as an elite minority that created and held on to political power. The Americo-Liberian settlers adopted clothing such as hoop skirts and tailcoats and generally viewed themselves as culturally and socially superior to indigenous Africans. Indigenous people did not enjoy birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904.
African Americans depart for Liberia, 1896. The ACS sent its last emigrants to Liberia in 1904.
Ambition and self-confidence…
Don’t piss off your baggage handler…
That first sip…
and now….TRASH PANDAS!!!
How people communicated before the digital era…
(Thanks, Bob)
SIGNZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
On this day in 1976, ABBA released ‘Dancing Queen’ as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Arrival. Dancing Queen’ (which had the working title of ‘Boogaloo’) went on to top the charts in more than a dozen countries including the United States where it became ABBA’s only No.1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s
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