African American Officers in Liberia tells the story of seventeen African American officers who trained, reorganized, and commanded the Liberian Frontier Force from 1910 to 1942. In this West African country founded by freed black American slaves, African American officers performed their duties as instruments of imperialism for a country that was, at best, ambivalent about having them serve under arms at home and abroad. The United States extended its newfound imperial reach and policy of "Dollar Diplomacy" to Liberia, a country it considered a U.S. protectorate. Brian G. Shellum explores U.S. foreign policy toward Liberia and the African American diaspora, while detailing the African American military experience in the first half of the twentieth century. Shellum brings to life the story of the African American officers who carried out a dangerous mission in Liberia for an American government that did not treat them as equal citizens in their homeland, and he provides recognition for their critical role in preserving the independence of Liberia.

"The story of seventeen African American officers who trained, reorganized, and commanded the Liberian Frontier Force to defend Liberia between 1910 and 1942"--

This dissertation examines the deployment of a predominantly African American army force to Liberia during the Second World War. It specifically analyzes how the racial make-up of US Army Forces in Liberia (USAFIL) collided with the unique socio-racial landscape of the historic Black republic to unsettle contemporary norms and hierarchies in the army unit and country. This clash created what USAFIL's white leadership called "an exceptional situation." Using the notion of "exceptionalism" as a heuristic, this dissertation demonstrates how competing imperial logics of race, as well as gender and sexuality, shaped interactions between Black and white American soldiers (commonly referred to as "GIs") and Liberian men and women during the war. It particularly examines how these interactions affected GIs' cultural constructions of Liberia and Liberians, segregation and racial violence within the US Army force, the training and employment of Liberian men by USAFIL, sexual liaisons between GIs and women in Liberia, and US Army policies to control these. This dissertation ultimately does two things. First, it argues that the "exceptional situation" identified by USAFIL's white minority was in fact the unique challenges the deployment of the Black US Army force to the Black republic posed to white supremacy. This rendered the traditional logics and mechanisms used to manage American soldiers-African American soldiers specifically-and their interactions with local civilians untenable. This necessitated "exceptional measures" on the part of USAFIL's white minority to not only control Black GIs, but uphold their white military authority in the Black US Army force in the Black-governed country. Second, it illuminates the different impulses at odds for African American soldiers and officers in Liberia during the world war. While they perceived their wartime military service in the historic Black republic as integral to the global fight against racial oppression and fostering a broader Black transnationalism, many came to evince a condescension toward Liberians that resembled the very racism they resented in the US Army and United States more generally. These Black American troops did not adopt white American imperialism wholesale though. Rather, they developed a unique logic of Black kinship without equality driven by their desires to achieve racial equality within their own formation and society.

Liberian Politics tells the fascinating story of Liberia's early nation-building efforts, its attempts to establish democracy, and the pivotal role played by African Americans in exporting the American democratic experiment to Liberia. The story of the rise of Africa's oldest democracy is told through the writings of J. Milton Turner, an African American diplomat who served in Liberia from 1871 to 1878. Turner's official diplomatic correspondence--superbly organized and edited by Walton, Rosser, and Stevenson--document Liberia's struggle to define its political institutions and processes. They chart Liberia's struggle to establish its relationship with the wider world and offer an intimate portrait of Turner's role as the agent of U.S. foreign policy in Liberia. A comparative study in the best tradition of Tocqueville and Myrdal, this pathbreaking work reveals the global dimensions of nineteenth-century African American politics and offers rich insight into the direction of early U.S. diplomacy in Africa.

African American Officers in Liberia tells the story of seventeen African American officers who trained, reorganized, and commanded the Liberian Frontier Force from 1910 to 1942. In this West African country founded by freed black American slaves, African American officers performed their duties as instruments of imperialism for a country that was, at best, ambivalent about having them serve under arms at home and abroad. The United States extended its newfound imperial reach and policy of "Dollar Diplomacy" to Liberia, a country it considered a U.S. protectorate. Brian G. Shellum explores U.S. foreign policy toward Liberia and the African American diaspora, while detailing the African American military experience in the first half of the twentieth century. Shellum brings to life the story of the African American officers who carried out a dangerous mission in Liberia for an American government that did not treat them as equal citizens in their homeland, and he provides recognition for their critical role in preserving the independence of Liberia.

American racism traps Blacks -- even in Africa. Prof. Dennis chronicles the compulsive and repetitious nature of racism and its destructive effects on peoples and societies, Dr. Dennis's observations of the twists of irony and misplaced pride on all sides will provoke a wry smile as well as dismay. During the 1990s, Liberia descended into civil war and anarchy. African-Liberian rebel groups roamed the countryside randomly killing as they vied for power. Doe was killed by a segment of these rebel groups and warlord Charles Taylor eventually became president in 1997.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Liberia, Or, The Early History And Signal Preservation Of The American Colony Of Free Negroes On The Coast Of Africa: Compiled From American Documents William Innes Waugh and Innes, 1831 Social Science; Ethnic Studies; African American Studies; African Americans; Liberia; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies