March 31, 2022–The Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs joined by elected officials, community leaders, and members of the African Diaspora launched the Philadelphia-Liberia Bicentennial Celebration, which will go from April to November of this year.
The Greater Philadelphia Region has the largest Liberian population of any U.S. metro area, according to a November 2008 report from the Brookings Institute. An estimated 30,000 Liberians live in Pennsylvania, one of the largest numbers in any state in America.
The close family and economic ties between the people and government of the Republic of Liberia and the United States–beginning in 1822 with the arrival of free Blacks on the continent of Africa, resulted in the establishment of the first Black Independent Republic (Liberia) in 1847.
Liberia, which is located along the coast of western Africa, is the only Black state in Africa never subjected to colonial rule and is Africa’s oldest republic. It was established on land acquired for freed U.S. slaves by the American Colonization Society, which founded a colony at Cape Mesurado in 1821. In 1824, the territory was named Liberia, and its main settlement was named Monrovia, which is the present-day capital. Liberian independence was proclaimed in 1847, and its boundaries were expanded.
The country enjoyed relative stability until a rebellion in 1989 escalated into a destructive civil war in the 1990s that did not fully cease until 2003. The country’s first post-conflict elections, held in 2005, were noteworthy for the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the presidency, as she was the first woman to be elected head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was president from 2006-18 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
The Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs, African Cultural Alliance of North America, and the African and Caribbean Business Council of Greater Philadelphia have decided to come together to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Liberia’s history and triumphs. The Philadelphia-Liberia Bicentennial Committee will honor 11 Liberian women for their immense contributions to the African diaspora community and their homeland.
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