Liberia and The Back-to-Africa Heritage and Archaeology Research Project | Chrislyn Laurie Laurore & Craig Stevens

In 1822, Black American settlers seeking respite from racialized persecution in the United States arrived at Providence Island, cementing the Back-to-Africa Movement and catalyzing the founding of Liberia in 1847. While the African continent’s first independent Black republic represents a reversal of the “point of no return” and a re-entanglement of Africa and its Diaspora, the more recent histories of sociopolitical inequities and civil war (1989-2003) illuminate the challenges of materializing early Pan-African freedom dreams.  The Back-to-Africa Heritage and Archaeology (BAHA) research project investigates the legacies and material histories of 19th century Black American and Afro-Barbadian settlements in Liberia. In this profile on the project, two current BAHA graduate researchers reflect on our experiences within the public heritage initiative, recent findings, and future goals for the project. Attuned to the post-conflict and settler-colonial ideals entangled within the Providence Island landscape, we examine the historic and contemporary power structures that mediate knowledge production about the site. Together, we discuss the dynamics of community-grounded heritage work in the context of our collaborative archaeological and ethnographic research methods. Informed by conversations with University of Liberia students and Providence Island caretaker staff, we consider perspectives on the future of Liberian heritage sites as a constructive force of survival, reconciliation, and national identity.

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