The University of Liberia and United States-based Princeton Theological Seminary, have jointly kicked off a three-day International Conference on the Afterlives of Slavery in the Trans-Atlantic World in Monrovia.
The conference is being conducted under the theme: “Colonization, Christianity, and Commerce: The Afterlives of Slavery in the Trans-Atlantic World’.
The international conference is geared towards understanding the impact of the more than four hundred years of slavery on former slaves and the local population.
The international symposium which is expected to climax this Wednesday is part of events commemorating Liberia’s Bicentennial Celebration in observance of the arrival of free Black slaves in Liberia in 1822 to settle following the abolishing of slavery in the 1800s.
Several Liberian and international historians, clergymen, and clergywomen are discussing Colonization, Christianity, and Commerce at the conference which brings together local and foreign guests at the EJS Ministerial Complex in Congo Town.
Speaking at the conference, Liberia’s Minister of Information, Mr. Ledgerhood Rennie officially launched the conference on behalf of the University of Liberia and President of Liberia, President George Weah.
Meanwhile, in his opening statement, Prof. Dr. Julius Julukon Sarwolo Nelson, President of the University of Liberia, said the conference is historical because it is a part of the Bicentennial Ceremony and the first of its kind in the existence of the University of Liberia.
Meanwhile, Prof. William Ezra Allen, Chairman of the Afterlives of Slavery International Conference Planning Committee, University of Liberia, said the conference is being held to deliberate on the lives of people of African descent who, having been emancipated, relocated to Africa.
Reported by: Joseph N. Kerkula
Email: jnkerkula@gmail.com
Contact: +231777376826
