W.E.B. Du Bois and the Liberian Question: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Tensions of a Black Republic

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2025

Publication Title

The Journal of African American History

Abstract

During the 1920s and early 1930s, W.E.B. Du Bois regularly turned his attention to the question of Liberia and specifically to the fragility of Liberian sovereignty in the imperial world. The attention he gave the country came at a time of widespread turmoil in the West African republic due to persistent threats to its political and economic viability, accusations of governmental corruption, and charges of a modern-day slave trade. At that time and in the decades since, Du Bois’s engagement with Liberia has come under criticism for its elitism and failure to take seriously the experiences of the country’s indigenous community. Recognizing Du Bois’s blind spots in his interwar Liberian activism, this article reexamines his engagement with Liberia as a site where he sought to make sense of the tensions and limits of Black sovereignty and global democratic possibilities during the era of twentieth-century imperialism.

Volume

110

Issue

1

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