As Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana states, neocolonialism is the worst form of imperialism because those who practice it have power w/out responsibility and those who suffer it endure exploitation w/out redress. #Liberia #Liberia15 #ThursdayThoughts

Transitioning from.a slave economy to a capitalist one, the U S. found itself with surplus Black labor the solution for which the U.S. ruling class created the American Colonization Society in 1816. The ACS explored both Sierra Leone & the Grain Coast (now #Liberia) #KlayKieh

The first group of African American expatriates reached the Grain Coast ( #Liberia) in 1820 and were initially accepted by the indigenous. Later the African-Americans' desire to Christianize and civilize the African indigenous created rifts.

An #ADOS aside in this thread: One consequence of ADOS failing to address internationalism and Pan-Africanism is analysis of how the U.S. created Liberia as a dumping ground for excess Black labor. African-American life has always been international. #Liberia

#ADOS is retrograde b/c it doesn't acknowledge the international dimensions of U.S. imperialism and how Liberia was created to make the notion of reparations null and void. #Liberia #Africa

After creating the state of Liberia, the U.S. lost interest in the region until 1862 when gold and other minerals were discovered in the region. #Liberia #SundayMorning

How neocolonialism works: U.S. never intended to industrialize #Liberia. The goal was to have it supply raw materials & serve as a base for CIA operations against African Unity & #Nkrumah & serve as a tax haven for the 50 U.S. corporations that would eventually locate there.

How #neocolonialsm works: Labor unions were outlawed in Liberia amongst its agricultural workers until 1980 as designed by U.S. policy and Liberian ruling-class complicity. #Liberia #SundayMorning

How neocolonialism works: The profits of Firestone Tire in #Liberia were 3X the total income of the Liberian treasury in 1951. Profits (to U.S.) of the Liberian Mining Co. surpassed Liberian Govt. revenues until the 1960's. #imperialism #Africa #SundayMorning

How neocolonialism works: Liberian Dictator Samuel Doe (U.S.-backed) sold some of the food aid from the U.S. to his impoverished population and pocketed the profits. #Liberia #Africa #SundayMorning

How Neocolonialism Works: The U.S., Britain, France, Germany provided a loan to #Liberia in 1910 for $1.7 million in exchange for control of Liberia's ports of entry & their revenues. By 1980 Liberia owed the U.S. Govt. $50m & owed U.S. banks $118m. #Africa #SundayMorning

Sound familiar? The U.S. released Charles Taylor from a Massachusetts prison & sent him back to his native #Liberia w/ CIA assistance to remove the Doe regime which was no longer functioning in accord w/ U.S. strategy. Taylor assumed presidency in 1997. #Africa #SaturdayThoughts

Dictator Samuel Doe, of the Krahn ethnic group, overthrew the govt. of the corrupt William Tolbert (an Americo-Liberian) in 1980. During his dictatorship, Doe stole $300 million in public funds. #Liberia #Africa #ThursdayThoughts

Made a haven by Southern whites for former American slaves in 1822, the Black Americo-Liberians dominated all aspects of life in #Liberia for more than a century w/ political structures based on the U.S. #AfricaDay2019

Amongst weaknesses of the Americo-Liberians was the requirement that one must own land to vote which excluded various ethnic groups & would lead to the resentment & conflict that resulted in civil war. #Liberia #liberia15

"Neocolonialism: American Foreign Policy & the First Liberian Civil War, " George Klay Kieh. "Ethnopolitical Violence in the Liberian Civil War," Earl Conteh-Morgan & Shireen Kadivar. #Liberia