{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/90753"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/90753","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"The sweet, sweet sound of liberty: black settlers and their early education initiative in Liberia, 1820-1860","abstract":"This dissertation examines early educational initiatives in Liberia, West Africa, from 1820–1860: a period where colonization to Liberia was voluntary, supported by the American Colonization Society, and therefore attracting many colonists. The traditional narrative of Liberia's unique history was built on colonization, Christianization, and Westernization. The history of silencing the voices of Black Americans has been a practice in early historiography of Liberia. As a result, it has overlooked the important role freed Blacks from the United States played in the formation of Liberia's educational system. Black Americans arrived in three successive waves; each group contributed to the development of Liberia’s educational, social, and political institutions. While struggling to survive malaria and negotiate conflicts with white colonists, native Africans, and each other, Black settlers navigated their new environment while transplanted their acquired Western culture and Christian faith from the United States. By charting this process, this study also offers a unique social history as well as an educational history during a time where Black settlers’ identities begin to change from American to Americo-Liberian. Through a critical examination of archival documents—including narratives from Black and white colonists, journals, and memoirs—I provide a multilayered account of the processes that led to the foundation of Liberia’s existing educational system.","abstract_html":"This dissertation examines early educational initiatives in Liberia, West Africa, from 1820–1860: a period where colonization to Liberia was voluntary, supported by the American Colonization Society, and therefore attracting many colonists. The traditional narrative of Liberia's unique history was built on colonization, Christianization, and Westernization. The history of silencing the voices of Black Americans has been a practice in early historiography of Liberia. As a result, it has overlooked the important role freed Blacks from the United States played in the formation of Liberia's educational system. Black Americans arrived in three successive waves; each group contributed to the development of Liberia’s educational, social, and political institutions. While struggling to survive malaria and negotiate conflicts with white colonists, native Africans, and each other, Black settlers navigated their new environment while transplanted their acquired Western culture and Christian faith from the United States. By charting this process, this study also offers a unique social history as well as an educational history during a time where Black settlers’ identities begin to change from American to Americo-Liberian. Through a critical examination of archival documents—including narratives from Black and white colonists, journals, and memoirs—I provide a multilayered account of the processes that led to the foundation of Liberia’s existing educational system.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Saleh-Jones, Sammer A"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Policy Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Span, Christopher M.","Anderson, James D.","Pak, Yoon K.","Zamani-Gallaher, Eboni"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-07-07T20:27:18Z","date_published":"2016-07-07T20:27:18Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:26:34Z","subjects":["Liberia","Education"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2016 Sammer Saleh Jones. 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Black Americans arrived in three successive waves; each group contributed to the development of Liberia’s educational, social, and political institutions. While struggling to survive malaria and negotiate conflicts with white colonists, native Africans, and each other, Black settlers navigated their new environment while transplanted their acquired Western culture and Christian faith from the United States. By charting this process, this study also offers a unique social history as well as an educational history during a time where Black settlers’ identities begin to change from American to Americo-Liberian. Through a critical examination of archival documents—including narratives from Black and white colonists, journals, and memoirs—I provide a multilayered account of the processes that led to the foundation of Liberia’s existing educational system.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2018-05-01","The student, Sammer Saleh-Jones, accepted the attached license on 2016-04-14 at 04:19.","The student, Sammer Saleh-Jones, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2016-04-14 at 04:32.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2016-04-15 at 09:16.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #9218 on 2016-07-07 at 13:49:14","Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-07T20:27:18Z (GMT). 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Through a critical examination of archival documents—including narratives from Black and white colonists, journals, and memoirs—I provide a multilayered account of the processes that led to the foundation of Liberia’s existing educational system.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2018-05-01","The student, Sammer Saleh-Jones, accepted the attached license on 2016-04-14 at 04:19.","The student, Sammer Saleh-Jones, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2016-04-14 at 04:32.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2016-04-15 at 09:16.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #9218 on 2016-07-07 at 13:49:14","Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-07T20:27:18Z (GMT). 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