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02/06/2023

Did you know who took the most slaves for Africa?

For the first 130yers the Portuguese dominated the transatlantic slave trade
After 1651 they fell into second position behind the British who became the primary carriers of Africans to the New World.

But did you know many slave owners were black?

Here are the most famous:

(5) Nat Butler
An African American slave owner in Maryland who gained a bad reputation for his scheming actions purchasing and selling others.

(4) Dilsey Pope
An African American woman slave owner in Georgia(America) she and her husband fought and Dilsey sold him to her white neighbor out of Spite.

(3) The Pendarvis Family
Owned the biggest rice plantations in the palmetto region and was one of the wealthiest slaveholding families in South Carolina.

(2) Justus Angel
Was a wealthy slaves owner and trader in Charleston South Carolina.

(1) Widow Richards
Operated a large sugar plantation and owned more slaves than all other black slaves owners in Louisiana until the 1860s.

Source: African facts zone and stories

27/03/2023

WAS THE PROPERTY REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING EVER ENFORCED?

The constitutional clause restricting the electoral franchise to property owners was overturned in the late 70s, to the credit of MOJA and President Tolbert. But there's no evidence this stipulation was ever enforced, that anybody was asked to show a deed or other proof of property ownership at the polls. There were no homeless people in Liberia, everyone had a home, from luxurious townhouses and simple bungalows in the cities to mud huts in the villages, practically everybody was a property owner, or renters with some land somewhere upcountry. In 1945, the franchise was extended to all males of legal age, and in 1946, to women of legal age. All males from the rural areas were property owners, with a hut or house, and farmland. It's hard to envision how this property clause, often cited as proof of exclusion and oppression, was ever enforced. It was not. Ever.

LIB Daily History

13/02/2023

FIRST AIRPLANE IN LIBERIA, 1930. Introduced by the Firestone Company at their Harbel plantation, where it picked up President Edwin Barclay, his wife and officials for a flight around Monrovia.

07/02/2023

According to Liberia: a Country Study (!984, 292n1), the word Gio "appears to be pejorative, e.g. Gio means slave". The same source indicates that the Gio are also known as the Dan. The Dan tribe belongs to the southern branch of the Mande, one of the three main linguistic families of Liberia (ibid.). According to Ethnologue: Languages of the World, the population of the Dan, or Gio, in Liberia was estimated at 196,800 in 1991 and is concentrated in Nimba county, in north-central Liberia (1992, 287-88). The attached sections of the above-mentioned publications provide maps with information on the geographical distribution of the Dan.

A doctor of social anthropology, who specializes on West Africa and who is currently working at the Maryland Office for New Americans in Baltimore, Maryland, stated during a 29 March 1996 telephone interview that although there are some occasional ritual murders in Liberia, these occurences are not specific to the culture of the Dan (Gio) or of any other ethnic group in Liberia. The same source added that the Gio are reputed for their ritual masks which, according to Gio popular beliefs, conceal supernatural powers or attribute such powers to those wearing the masks.

Further information on Gio culture and animist beliefs, as well as information on the treatment of those who leave the tribe, could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. For information on indigenous religions in Liberia, please refer to the attached excerpts of Liberia: A Country Study.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

06/02/2023

HISTORY OF FORT NORRIS, MONROVIA

The Dutch built a rock walled fort on the highest point of Cape Mesurado sometime before 1822. The fort was renovated by the US Navy and renamed Fort Stockton. In 1840 the fort was renovated again and renamed Coastal Battery Fort Norris. -Steve Schluessler

04/02/2023

Do you know that River Gee is a county in the southern portion of Liberia? One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Fish Town serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 5,113 square kilometres (1,974 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 66,789, making it the third-least populous county in Liberia. It was created in 2000

The tenth-largest area, it is bordered by Sinoe County to the west, Grand Gedeh County to the north, and Grand Kru and Maryland counties to the south. The eastern part of River Gee borders the nation of Ivory Coast along the Cavalla River. The current County Superintendent is Daniel Johnson.

River Gee split from Grand Gedeh County in May 2000 after receiving approval from Liberia's House of Representatives in May 1997 and Senate approval in March 2000. On the east of the county is the Cavalla River that forms Liberia's border with the Ivory Coast. River Gee's capital is Fishtown. The Country was created by splitting the Grand Gedeh County.

The River Gee watershed has lower tropical forests with mid size hills and various valleys. These forests receive a very high rainfall ranging from 3,000 mm (120 in) to 4,100 mm (160 in) per year in two distinct seasons. It has evergreen forests. While in the uplands it is conducive for rice cultivation, the low lying areas are conducive for yam, cocoa, plantains, potatoes, vegetables, rubber, coffee and sugarcane. The county accommodates the Glaro Reforestation Project with a designated National Plantation area of 1,008.89 ha (2,493.0 acres). It also shares the National proposed reserve of Grebo Forest (97,136 ha (240,030 acres)) with Grand Gedeh County.

As of 2011, the area of rice plantation was 7,190 ha (17,800 acres), 3.010% of the total area of rice produced in the country. The total production stood at 8040 metric tonnes. According to 2011 data, the number of Cassava plantation was 3790, which was 3.1% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The total production stood at 1550 metric tonnes. The number of Cocoa plantation was 1550, which was 4% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The number of rubber plantation was 660, which was 1.1% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The number of Coffee plantation was 140, which was 0.6 per cent of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. As of 2008, the county had 1,744 paid employees, 19,331 self-employed people, 4,381 family workers, 566 people looking for work, 1,300 not working people, 2,154 people working in households, 19,290 students, 090 retired people, 252 incapacitated people, 334 part-time workers and 4,053 others, making the total working population of 53,495.

The districts of River Gee County include (2008 population): Chedepo District (10,518), Gbeapo District (10,934), Glaro District (4,992), Karforh District (5,956), Nanee District (6,002), Nyenawliken District (5,159),
Nyenebo District (5,703), Potupo District (7,337), Sarbo District (5,320) and Tuobo District (4,868)

02/02/2023

Former President Charles Gyude Bryant was born 17th January 1949 and died 16 April 2014, He was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional government was part of the peace agreement to end the country's second civil war, which had raged since the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebelled against President Charles Taylor in 1999. Bryant was previously a businessman and was chosen as chairman because he was seen as politically neutral and therefore acceptable to each of the warring factions, which included LURD, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), and loyalists of former President Taylor. He was a prominent member of the Episcopal Church of Liberia, and was critical of the governments of Samuel Doe (1980–90) and Taylor (1997–2003).

In January 2007, Bryant was questioned by police regarding allegations of corruption during his time in office. On 27 February 2007, Bryant was charged with embezzlement. His government is alleged to have embezzled more than US$1 million. On 12 March a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was not immediately arrested because he was said to be absent from Monrovia and in Lofa County instead, but on 13 March he was arrested and released on bond shortly thereafter. In court on 25 April, the defense argued that Bryant constitutionally enjoyed immunity for actions taken as head of state, while the prosecution argued that he did not because his appointment resulted from the Accra Accords in August 2003 and occurred outside the constitutional framework. On 24 August 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the prosecution's argument, enabling Bryant's trial to continue.

Bryant was arrested on 7 December 2007 after failing to appear in court earlier in the week. He had said that he was boycotting the court because of his belief that he enjoys immunity. As he was being taken to a prison in Monrovia, he said: "This is a very, very dark day for Liberia. This is the reward we get for restoring peace and democracy to our country." He was released from the central prison in Monrovia on 8 December after he signed a commitment to appear in court on 10 December.

On 30 April 2009, Bryant, along with four others, was acquitted of embezzling US$1 million from the state oil refinery. Additional charges regarding the alleged theft of US$1.3 million from the state were dropped on 24 September 2010 as the government failed to provide any proof of wrongdoing.

Former President Gyude Bryant was Born in Monrovia during the early years of the Tubman era, Bryant's mother was a descendant of settlers and his father was a member of the Grebo people. He matriculated at Cuttington University in 1972, and in 1974 he married the former Rosilee Williams; together they had two children, Cheryl and Charles. Bryant also had a son named Charles Mleh. Before becoming the chairman of the interim government, he was a successful businessman operating a company that supplied machinery for the Freeport of Monrovia, and he was the chairman of the Liberian Action Party, which has since merged with President Sirleaf's Unity Party.

31/01/2023

"Rather than a dismal failure as is the prevailing opinion, Liberia is an astonishing success." – Dr. Frederick Starr, Chairman, University of Chicago Anthropology Department, 1913.

DR. FREDERICK STARR went to Liberia in 1913 to see for himself whether the country was a complete failure as was the popular conception. His curiosity was further picqued when earlier on a steamer to the Congo, they passed Cape Mesurado and the Kru boys working on the vessel pointed out to him their homeland and how fond of it they were. Starr’s masterful work LIBERIA: DESCRIPTION, HISTORY, PROBLEMS has been ignored by academic circles in deference to less scholarly, more slanted and propagandist works by J. Gus Liebenow and others.

30/01/2023

On today, the 25th President of Liberia, George Manneh Weah will hold the annual State of the Nation Address. This will be his sixth and final address to the nation unless he is re-elected as president in the upcoming elections this October

What do you expect to hear from President Weah in regards to the development of our country?

28/01/2023

Gbarpolu is one of the fifteen counties of Liberia. The county is located in the northwestern part of the country. Gbarpolu county has a surface area of 9,689 square kilometers and a population of 83,758 according to 2008 data. County was established in 2001, and its capital is Bopolu. Gbarpolu is divided into six districts. Gbarpolu is the newest county in Liberia.

The districts of Gbarpolu County, with their 2008 populations, include:

Belleh District (17,288)
Bokomu District (10,460)
Bopolu District (18,298)
Gbarma District (15,972)
Gounwolaila District (8,115)
Kongba District (13,625)

The Gola Forest straddles the border between Liberia and Sierra Leone and is home to diverse species of importance to the country. In Sierra Leone, the forest is incorporated into the Gola National Forest, and because of the unity of the forest with Liberia, considerations of conservation must consider a collaborative management with Liberian inhabitants as well.

Within the Liberian portion of the forest reside four clans: the Sorkpo Clan in Porkpa District, the Tonglay and Zuie clans within Kongba district and the Jawijah Chiefdom. There are 24 villages within the Liberian portion of the forest, most of which are accessible by road, but several accessible only by footpath. Residents of these remote villages use footpaths to bring their commodities and services to the other towns with motor roads.

Leadership within the community is purely by traditional authorities, but centers of such authority are very few in relation to the number of temporary mining camps. The landlord-stranger system is the main means to regulate activities of migrants to the forest (mainly miners), but the system is currently weak due to town being distance and limited roads, transportation and communications. Some chiefs are not correctly installed or properly elected and therefore lack authority amongst disgruntled illegal miners.

Most of the original Gola inhabitants became refugees during the First Liberian Civil War and were slow to return and reassert control of their villages. The war had lasted for over fourteen years, a time too long for people who have had several relocations to return to their former communities. With the coming of the Western Cluster in the community, many of the people are expected to return to their original communities, as many could begin finding employment. Others will have time to begin other agricultural activities that might contribute to loss of biological diversity.

26/01/2023

Former President David Donald Kpormakpor was born 28th September 1935 – and died August 19th 2010. Mr Kpormakpor was a Liberian politician and the first chairman of the Council of State that ruled Liberia from 7 March 1994 until 1st September 1995 during the height of the First Liberian Civil War.

He was born in Bomi County, Kpormakpor graduated from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law of the University of Liberia. He later served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of Liberia.

During the civil war, Kpormakpor was chosen as the civilian chair of the Council of State, which also included members representing warring factions in an attempt to end the war. Following a year of political stalemate, Kpormakpor and the Council of State disbanded and were succeeded by another council headed by Wilton Sankawulo.

Kpormakpor later moved to the United States, residing on Staten Island. He died in New York City in 2010. A high-powered Liberian Government delegation headed Cllr. Philip A. Z. Banks, II, Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, and Former Minister of the Ministry of Justice attended l the Funeral of Honorable. David D. Kpormakpor, Former Chairman of the Liberia National Transitional Government (LNTG) in he United States of America.

24/01/2023

This is just one example of how the adoption of the language of the colonizers by Liberians and friends of Liberia, may poison the historical narrative. Words like tribes and pagan and inferior, may convey the impression of denigrating the indigenous people.

"The Islamic negro is a great improvement on the pure pagan. I have observed the Bassa, Gola, Kpwesse (kpelle) and other pagan tribes, and in industrial skill, self-respect, energy and intellectual attainments, they are inferior to the Vai and Mandingo Muslims."
- George Washington Ellis, NEGRO CULTURE IN WEST AFRICA, a study of the Vai people.

23/01/2023

PRESIDENT TOLBERT'S MEETING WITH SOUTH AFRICAN PREMIER JOHN VORSTER in 1975 led to the Lancaster House agreements which brought freedom to Zimbabwe and Namibia. He was attempting to avoid a bloodbath and the destruction of SA.

Can't believe some still view Tolbert as some kind of apartheid collaborator because of that. Shows you repeat a lie often enough, people believe it.

South Africa is free because people talked to each other, starting with business leaders reaching out to ANC leaders in Lusaka, and the De Klerk government engaging the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Negotiations that started with President Tolbert. (ABM)

19/01/2023

Olubanke King Akerele was born on May 11, 1946
she is a Liberian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from October 2007 until her resignation on 3rd November 2010. She is the granddaughter of Liberia's 17th president, Charles D. B. King.

Mrs Akerele studied at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and graduated from Brandeis University in Massachusetts, United States with a B.A. in economics. She earned her first M.A. from Northeastern University in manpower economics, then a second M.A. from Columbia University in economics of education. Akerele also completed her first year at the University of Liberia Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law. She later served for over 20 years at the United Nations.

Upon the election of Sirleaf as president in 2005, Akerele was appointed as the Minister of Commerce and Industry. Following a 2007 cabinet shakeup, she replaced veteran diplomat George Wallace as Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 3 November 2010, Sirleaf dismissed her entire cabinet, including Akerele. She resigned that same day. Following the appointment of Toga G. McIntosh as Akerele's successor, Sirleaf disclosed that Akerele had resigned in order to receive medical treatment for an undisclosed illness.

18/01/2023

"The idea of the Unification Policy goes as far back as Mr. Ashmun's administration, and was copied by all his successors." - EDWIN J. BARCLAY, standard bearer, Independent True Whig Party, Kakata, 1954.

"But it was only on paper. Under President Tubman, the people now see it in action. Before, chiefs visiting Monrovia had to sleep in hammocks under people's houses. Now they have a two-storey building with all modern amenities. Schools, hospitals in every county and throughout the hinterland...Mr. Tubman has accomplished more in ten years than everyone before him." - RICHARD A. HENRIES, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Monrovia, 1954.

17/01/2023

THERE'S NO WORD FOR "RACE" IN LIBERIAN LANGUAGES. The concept of "race" or racial inferiority does not exist. Westernized people were called "Kwee" in southeastern languages, whether referring to Europeans or Africans. So why would Liberians make statements like "The Americo-Liberians considered the natives an inferior race?"

Here's an example that can help us understand. Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said in her memoirs that she first realized her country was ruled by a "settler class" when she read J. Gus Liebenow.

SOWEI mask of the Mende, Vai and related peoples.

16/01/2023

PORTRAIT OF A PATRIOT: JOSEPHUS CLAUDIUS MAI LILES

If you lived in Monrovia in the Fifties, Sixties or Seventies, you probably knew "Old Man Liles," the jovial, gregarious, humorous and much loved paymaster at Public Works for decades.

He was born in Edina, Grand Bassa on January 15, 1902, to Edward Liles and his wife. Eddie Liles immigrated from North Carolina. J.C. Mai Liles received an eighth grade education, but wrote and spoke like a college graduate. He moved to Monrovia as a young man, started his career in public service as supervisor of procurement at the Department of Public Works, and then became paymaster.

He traveled all over the interior with thousands of dollars in a strong box to pay the road workers and laborers. When one considers how easy it would have been to defraud illiterate road workers, many of whom weren't even aware they were supposed to be paid for their labor, it is remarkable that not one penny of those funds was ever unaccounted for, in a culture of corruption where many civil servants simply helped themselves to the public coffers.

Some of his contemporaries thought him stupid for not enriching himself, but that simply wasn't his style. For him, God, family and country were paramount, and sacrosanct. While his complete honesty and trustworthiness may have been "stupid" to some, he was revered by the road workers and laborers. Today's public servants could indeed learn a thing or two from this selfless patriot.

Liles was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about Liberian history and its diverse peoples, and would enthrall listeners with stories about his days in the army, his travels upcountry, and the day in 1918 when the German submarine came and trained its guns on Monrovia, threatening to blow it off the map.

Born on the same date as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, he shared many of the characteristics of the great civil rights crusader. Like Dr. King, he was looked up to and adored by the people of his community and the large extended family over which he presided as patriarch. And like Dr. King, he had one major fault-a severe weakness for the opposite s*x.

Liles retired from Public Works in 1978, after decades of dedicated service, and died in December, 1982, while undergoing medical treatment in Brooklyn, New York.

This remarkable man was my maternal grandfather. From him I got my love of Liberian history and a fierce pride in our country and all its diverse peoples.

In this photo, Granddaddy gives his daughter Casselia in marriage at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

12/01/2023

Former President William David Coleman (was born July 18, 1842 –and died July 12, 1908) was an Americo-Liberian politician. A True Whig Party member, he served as the 13th president of Liberia from 1896 to 1900. Born in Fayette County, Kentucky, United States, he emigrated to Liberia in 1853. In 1877, he was elected to the House of Representatives and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives until 1879. Later he served in the Senate and then as vice president before assuming the presidency when Joseph James Cheeseman died in office.

Of mixed-race background, Coleman was born a slave in Fayette County, Kentucky, in 1842. He emigrated to Liberia with his family when he was 11 years old. Upon their arrival, the family consisted of William, his widowed mother Ellen, and three others, all of whom settled in Clay-Ashland near Monrovia. Coleman trained as a carpenter and had other manual labor jobs before becoming a successful trader. Studying at night, he picked up the education he had abandoned as a child when poverty had prevented further schooling.

In 1877, he was elected to the House of Representatives to represent Montserrado County and became the Speaker of the House. Two years later Coleman was elected as a senator for the same county. He remained in the Senate until he was elected vice president alongside Joseph James Cheeseman on the True Whig ticket in 1892. They were re-elected twice to the two-year presidential terms. Upon Cheeseman's death in 1896, Coleman ascended to the presidency, serving out Cheeseman's second term and winning two terms of his own.

In 1896, Coleman married Ophelia Coleman, a native of Arkansas, United States, who emigrated to Liberia in 1895. On June 24, 1898, Ophelia died in the Executive Mansion in Monrovia

After resigning the presidency, Coleman continued to be an active player in Liberian politics. He ran for president three more times (1901, 1903, and 1905) as a member of the People's Party, losing each election. He died in 1908 in Clay-Ashland at the age of 65. His grandson Samuel David Coleman was also involved in politics and was killed by government forces on June 27, 1955, after accusations of a failed coup.

The William D. Coleman High School in Clay-Ashland, Liberia was built in his memory.
William D. Coleman is survived by numerous descendants in Liberia and the Liberian diaspora (the Richards & Coleman Family). Notable members of the family include his descendants, NBA player Noah Vonleh and NFL player Tevin Coleman

11/01/2023

Our Woman Crush Wednesday (WCW) Goes To The First Lady Of Liberia, Clar Marie Duncan Weah (née Duncan; born March 11, 1965) is a Jamaican businesswoman, philanthropist, advocate, and the current First Lady of the Republic of Liberia. She is the spouse of George Manneh Weah, the 25th President of the Republic of Liberia, elected in 2017. Clar established the Clar Hope Foundation in 2018, with the goal of improving the livelihoods of the least privileged in Liberia

Clar Marie Duncan was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and is the youngest of seven children. In her early youth, she migrated along with her family to the United States of America. In the United States, she attended the City University of New York and earned her nursing license and a bachelor's degree in Health Sciences. She launched her career working as a customer service representative in New York at both Citibank and Chase Manhattan Bank, during which time she, in conjunction, managed small businesses.

She later pursued her studies leading her to a nursing career. She worked at Jamaica Hospital in New York City.

Clar met George Weah, the then soccer star, in the early 90s at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, where she was serving as a customer service representative. They married on June 26, 1993, and have three children – Martha Weah, George Weah Jr., and Timothy Weah. Their sons are international football players.

Following the election of her husband as the 25th President of Liberia, Weah started her role as the First Lady of the Republic of Liberia,. She set out to develop programs and social projects that encompass services targeting the assistance of orphans, street children, the elderly, women, and girls, with a focus on rural settings.
In 2018, the Clar Hope Foundation was founded as a non-political initiative. The foundation aims to assist disadvantaged children, youth and women. Its objectives focus on delivering essential educational and emergency healthcare as a universal and constitutional health-right to every Liberian citizen.

The Clar Hope Foundation came from the merger of sustainable development solutions.

In June 2019, President Weah launched Clar Weah's flagship initiative, the "She's You" movement. According to its mission statement, it aims to advance gender equality through the promotion of women's empowerment and fight to end all forms of violence and detrimental practices against women, girls, and children. The She's You movement objectives are to create a conducive environment for women and girls to live free of violence, r**e, gender inequalities At the launch of "She's You", President Weah disclosed that on his wife's initiative, the new home for the elderly in Grand Bassa County was almost ready for use.

In September 2020, at the launch of the Liberian Anti-SGBV Conference, Clar Weah reiterated that there was no excuse for r**e in her country. She explained that despite her efforts with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, s*xual and gender based violence continued. "But with all our efforts," she explained, "SGBV persists. It is sickening to hear children as young as 10 years old are being r**ed." She cited improved awareness of SGBV and the education of men and boys as priorities for reducing threats of violence again women.

The First Lady Of Liberia was appointed in March 2018, at a Women Symposium in Morocco, Ambassador and Champion for Women's Football, by the Confederation of African Football.

10/01/2023

LIBERIA 1980s 🇱🇷

Photo of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf after her release from prison in the 1980s. Ellen was Secretary of State for Finance between 1972 and 1978, then Minister of Finance between 1979 and 1980.

That same year, Samuel Doe carried out a coup and had incumbent President William Richard Tolbert assassinated at his home and most of the ministers on a beach. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf survives because she is a woman and because the new president cannot totally decapitate the bureaucratic apparatus.

She nevertheless manages to go into exile and then returns later, declaring that she wants to campaign against the president, which leads her to be threatened with death again.

From 1985, she was sentenced to ten years in prison for opposing the military regime of Samuel Doe, but was allowed to leave the country shortly after. Her political opposition earned her the nickname "Iron Lady".

She become the first woman elected by universal suffrage as the head of an African state in 2006. She is a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

09/01/2023

The flag of Liberia or the Liberian flag, sometimes called the Lone Star, bears a close resemblance to the flag of the United States, representing Liberia's founding by former black slaves from the United States and the Caribbean.They are both a part of the stars and stripes flag family.

The flag of Liberia was designed and hand-stitched by a committee of seven women. The chair of the committee was Susannah Elizabeth Lewis. The other members of the committee were Matilda Newport, Rachel Johnson, Mary Hunter, Mrs. J. B. Russwurm, Colonette Teage Ellis, and Sara Dr**er. All of the women were born in the United States, and many of them were wives of prominent men in Liberia. Lewis was the daughter of former vice colonial agent Colston Waring, the sister of the first First Lady of the Republic, Jane Roberts, and wife of John N. Lewis, one of the signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence. The flag they designed was adopted on 24 August 1847, about a month after Liberia had declared independence on 26 July 1847. The day the flag was adopted, the nation held a celebration in Monrovia. There, the flag was unfurled to the public for the first time, and Susannah Lewis gave a patriotic speech. The ceremony also featured speeches by a number of notable Liberian politicians and religious leaders, as well as entertainment in the form of band music.

In the 1850s and 1860s, the Eusibia N. Roye became the first Liberian owned ship to display the flag in New York City and Liverpool ports. The vessel was owned by Edward James Roye.[11] In 1860, the Liberian flag was featured on the first known stamp to be issued by the Liberian government. On 24 October 1915, President Daniel Edward Howard signed into law an act which proclaimed 24 August as Flag Day, a national holiday.

On 22 July 1974, the Legislature of Liberia passed an act giving authorization to the president to establish a commission to give consideration to possible changes to a number of national symbols, including the flag and national anthem. The commission was headed by McKinley Alfred Deshield Sr. The commission sought to reexamine the symbols, and remove divisive aspects of them. President William Tolbert appointed 51 members to the Commission on National Unity. The commission was also called the Deshield Commission, after the man who headed it. The commission submitted their report on 24 January 1978. The report ultimately recommended no changes to the flag.

The flag is seen on many ships around the world as Liberia offers registration under its flag. Shipping companies do this to avoid taxes and restrictions that other countries enforce. As the second most popular flag of convenience (after the flag of Panama), it is estimated that 1,700 foreign-owned ships fly the Liberian flag. This brings in much of the country's revenue.

The eleven stripes symbolize the signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence and the red and white symbolize courage and moral excellence. The white star represents the first independent republic in Africa, above the blue square representing the African continent. The Liberian flag is modeled after and resembles the United States flag because Liberia was founded, colonized, established, and controlled by free people of color and formerly enslaved black people from the United States and the Caribbean with the help and support of both the United States government and the American Colonization Society (ACS), a private organization dedicated to the removal of free people of color from across North America. Some time after the African Americans began arriving in Liberia in 1822, they came to be identified as "Americo-Liberians" in an effort to separate them from native groups and enslaved Africans rescued from illegal slaving ports and ships by the U.S. Navy.

Keep the length 110 units and width as 209 units. The canton's each side is 50 units, the circumscribed square of the 5-point star has all sides 30 units and its center is 25 units from the left and upper edge of the flag of the canton/flag.

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Did you know who took the most slaves for Africa? For the first 130yers the Portuguese dominated the transatlantic slave trade After 1651 they fell into second position behind the British who became the primary carriers of Africans to the New World. But did you know many slave owners were black? Here are the most famous: (5) Nat Butler An African American slave owner in Maryland who gained a bad reputation for his scheming actions purchasing and selling others. (4) Dilsey Pope An African American woman slave owner in Georgia(America) she and her husband fought and Dilsey sold him to her white neighbor out of Spite. (3) The Pendarvis Family Owned the biggest rice plantations in the palmetto region and was one of the wealthiest slaveholding families in South Carolina. (2) Justus Angel Was a wealthy slaves owner and trader in Charleston South Carolina. (1) Widow Richards Operated a large sugar plantation and owned more slaves than all other black slaves owners in Louisiana until the 1860s. #LibDailyHistory Source: African facts zone and stories