Liberian Americans are Americans of full or partial Liberian ancestry. This includes Liberians who are of African American descent. It also includes the descendants of Americo-Liberian people in America. The first wave of Liberians to the United States, after the slavery period, was after of the First Liberian Civil War in the 1980s and, then, after the Second Liberian Civil War in the early 2000s. An estimated 100,000 Liberians live in the U.S. as of this time. The diplomatic relationship between Liberia and the USA goes back over 150 years since Liberia's foundation by returning African slaves freed by abolitionist societies which set aside land for the freedmen and paved the way to its independence.
History
The first Liberians in U.S.
The first people that emigrated to the United States from the regions that currently form Liberia were slaves imported between the 17th and 19th centuries. Thus, many individuals can trace backgrounds to groups such as the Kpelle, Kru, Gola, and, perhaps, the Gio, Grebo, Bassa, Vai and Mandingo. Many of them were imported by Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia planters. The children of some of these slaves gained some notability in the United States, as was the case of abolitionist, journalist, physician, and writer Martin Delany, arguably the first proponent of American black nationalism and the first African-American field officer in the United States Army during the American Civil War. However, between 1822 and the second half of the 19th century, with the abolition of slavery in the United States, many slaves returned to Africa, settling in West Africa and founding Liberia. Thus, the Liberian migration in the United States not touched again until the 20th century. In this moment, the first Liberians that came to United States, settled in this country already in the first half of this century. However, in this moment, only several hundred of Liberians immigrated to the United States, a very small number compared with the people who emigrated from Europe, Asia and Latin America. Also in the 1950s and 1960s hundreds of Liberian migrated to the United States. It was not until the 1970s when there was a considerable immigration from Liberia, which amounted to 2081 people. This low immigration was caused, probably because Liberia had one of the most stable democracies and prosperous economies in Africa up until the military coup happened in this country in 1980.
During the 20th century few Liberian emigrated to United States; most who did were students. However, during the First Liberian Civil War, thousands of Liberians emigrated to the United States, becoming the first wave of migration of Liberians to that country. From 1990 through 1997, the INS reported that 13,458 Liberians fled to the United States and lived there permanently. During these years, there were also tens of thousands who sought temporary refuge in the United States. In fact, in 1991 alone, the INS guaranteed Temporary Protective Status to approximately 9,000 Liberians in the United States. However, still after the war, more than 6,000 Liberians moved to Providence, Rhode Island. About 10,000 other Liberians settled across the U.S. and most of them decided to stay after the war ended. Although the INS revoked the status in 1997 following national elections in Liberia, many of these Liberian Americans refused return to Liberia. As of mid-1999, the U.S. Congress decided by legislation to give the Liberian refugees permanent status in the United States.
Second Liberian Civil War
After the Second Liberian Civil War, large numbers of Liberians settled in Rhode Island, Staten Island, Philadelphia, Virginia, Georgia and Minnesota. By 2010, Liberians established another sizable community in California primarily in West Los Angeles and San Francisco-Oakland.
While there is a variety of languages spoken in Liberia, the majority of Liberians in the United States speak Standard English as well as the Liberian Kreyol language also known as Kolokwa which serves as a lingua franca among Liberians of different ethnic groups. The Kru languages such as Bassa, Kru and Krahn are the most widely spoken Liberian native dialects in the United States as well as Kpelle and Mandingo, both Mande languages. Another language spoken by some Liberian Americans is Gullah, a Creole language, though this language is spoken primarily by the descendants of slaves brought from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, and not by recent immigrants. It is spoken by a small group of people in the Carolina Sea Islands and the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States.
Politics
Liberian Americans are actively involved in lobbying the federal government, supporting freedom and democracy in Liberia. They also have organizations that support various issues affecting Liberia, such as humanitarian assistance, wildlife and nature preservation, and women's rights.
