By Amara Thoronka
President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow will today 14 February 2022 travel to the Republic of Liberia to attend the official opening of the country’s bicentenary commemoration, making 200 years since the arrival of the first batch of Liberated Africans (slaves) from the United states of America.
Liberia is the only country in Africa that was not subjected to colonial rule and it’s Africa’s oldest republic.
The theme of the commemoration is, Liberia: The Land of Return-Celebrating 200 Years of Freedom and Pan-African Leadership. The Bicentennial seeks to deepen US-Liberia historical ties, forge stronger economic and social bonds between Liberian and Americans and most importantly place US-Liberian relations on a more productive foundation.
President Weah recently set up a national steering committee and named Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel Mcgill as the General Coordinator while the Minister of Information, Ledgerhood Julius Rennie was named as National Chairman. Several Sub-committees were also set up to primarily design and execute strategies, programs, and activities for the successful hosting of national events planned to commemorate the Bicentennial of the Republic.
President Weah on November 9th named the Embassy of Liberia near Washington DC on the National Committee and Ambassador Patten has since mobilized several diaspora Liberian organizations who have been holding weekly consultations to garner support for the bicentennial anniversary.
In a related Development, President Weah has invited the Chairman and members of the US Congress Committee on International Development, International Organization and Global Social Corporate Social Impact to participate in programs marking the bicentennial.
In a letter to the Chair of the Committee, Congressman Joaquin Castro, President Weah recognized the supportive role the committee played in the US action to extend the deferred enforced departure for over 10,000 Liberians living and working in the US and setting a clear path to them getting permanent residency and eventual citizenship. President Weah noted “This action is in tandem with the freedoms and political emancipation that the bicentennial seeks to celebrate”.
On 10 February 2022, United States President Joseph R. Biden announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Liberia to attend the Bicentennial Celebrations in Monrovia, Liberia on February 14, 2022. This marks the arrival of the first Free Black Americans to Providence Island in 1822, which led to the establishment of the City of Monrovia, and in 1847, the Republic ofLiberia.
The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, will lead the delegation.
Members of the Presidential Delegation include: Ambassador Michael A. McCarthy – United States Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia; Honorable Dana Banks – Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Africa, National Security Council: Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch III – Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Rev. Dr. Teresa Jefferson-Snorton -Bishop of the Fifth Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Chair of the Governing Board, National Council of Churches in the United States.
The bicentennial programs officially kick off in Monrovia on February 14, 2022 and runs through December 10, 2022.
