PHILADELPHIA, July 26, 2022— Members of the Greater Philadelphia Region’s Liberian community gathered at the Northwest corner of Philadelphia City Hall on Tuesday, July 26th, for the raising of the flag of the nation of Liberia and the 175th year of Liberian Independence.
Liberia is the only Black state in Africa never subjected to colonial rule and is Africa’s oldest republic. Liberia is bounded by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, Côte d’Ivoire to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west.
The Flag Raising is one of many events organized this year by the Philadelphia-Liberia Bicentennial Committee to commemorate the 200 years since the arrival of the first free Blacks on the coast of West Africa in what would become the Republic of Liberia and the historic and meaningful relationship between the City of Philadelphia and Liberia.
Philadelphia has one of the largest populations of Liberian-born residents living outside of Liberia. Philadelphia has maintained strong ties to the Republic of Liberia since its establishment, starting with the Philadelphia residents who were among the first group of settlers that arrived on the ship ‘Elizabeth,’ the “Mayflower of Liberia” in 1822.
The flag-raising program included performances from Liberian artists and an address from Bill Rogers, the 2020 Nelson Mandela Freedom Award winner from the Chicago-based We Dream in Color Foundation.
The Nelson Mandela Award honors exemplary leaders who serve as a vital force for positive change in their communities. Rogers, who is from Liberia but lives in the United States, was honored with the Freedom Award for his efforts on behalf of disadvantaged youths in Liberia through his Bill Rogers Youth Foundation. He empowers the young people of his country by encouraging them to participate in athletics, organizing education and agriculture programs, and providing access to safe drinking water in rural communities. Rogers’ foundation has also provided exposure for talented Liberian athletes by connecting them with various scholarship programs in the United States.
The flag raising ceremony was hosted by the Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs, the City of Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs, the African Cultural Alliance of North America, the African and Caribbean Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, and the Liberian Ministerial Alliance in North America.
