A Liberian life : : memoir of an academic and former Minister of State for Presidential Affairs / / D. Elwood Dunn.

• Superior document: Afrika-Studiecentrum series ; 41
• VerfasserIn: Dunn, D. Elwood,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Afrika-Studiecentrum series ; 41.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (321 pages)
• Notes: Includes index.

An account of the author’s triple careers in academia, and services to two distinct governments of Liberia – William R. Tolbert’s and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s (consultant). Situated between the crisis years of the True Whig Party (TWP) regime, and the hopeful years of the first post-civil war government, stands more than three decades of teaching, research and public intellectual engagement. More than an impressionistic account, the author employs a rich repertoire of unpublished documents that include his personal cabinet notes and a wide range of government papers. His personal research papers acquired from archival research and interviews over the years supplement these. It is this rich background material that enables the telling of a fascinating story of the tensions within the TWP regime on the eve of the bloody 1980 coup, and in the process, paints enlightening portraits of such key players as Tolbert and his finance minister, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, among a host of others. Included as well are some specifics of the 1979 “rice riots” and its impact on the politics of change. Discoveries are also unearthed about the author’s role in racially integrating and internationalizing an American Episcopal/Anglican University in rural Tennessee. Among the questions explained are: Who was President Tolbert? What sort of finance minister to Tolbert was Ellen Johnson Sirleaf? Who was C. Cecil Dennis? Who was Jackson Fiah Doe? Who was Bacchus Matthews? How did the forces for change interact with those of the status quo in the 1970s? What were some of the forces at play in the reform attempts in the early 2000s? All things considered, what are Liberia’s prospects going forward?

Table of Contents

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Early Years  My Ancestors -- 3 Early Education -- 4 Post-secondary Education Formation -- 5 Career Initiation  One Year at Department of State/1965 -- 6 Student in France -- 7 From Lyon to Washington, D.C. -- 8 Graduate Student in USA  American University -- 9 Seton Hall, 1970–1974  Academic Career Launched -- 10 Marriage in 1971 -- 11 Government Service  Foreign Ministry, 1974–1977 -- 12 Government Service  Executive Mansion, 1977–1980 -- 1 The April 14 Crisis -- 2 The Brownell Commission -- 3 Cabinet and the Report -- 4 Appointment Minister of State for Presidential Affairs -- 5 Some Policy Issues and Me -- 6 Sole Report as Chairman of the Cabinet -- 7 Envoy to Zimbabwe -- 13 Return Home, April 22, 1980 -- 14 Uncertainty & Consultancy at Foreign Ministry -- 15 Stint at University of Liberia (June – Dec. 1980) -- 16 Transition back to USA -- 17 Back in the USA – Seeking Permanent Residency -- 18 Sewanee Materialized Summer 1981 -- 19 Highlights of My Sewanee Career -- 20 Return to Academia -- 21 My Scholarship -- 22 Liberia Engagement, 1981–2012 (and beyond) -- 23 Summary of Academic Career -- 24 Focus on Rebuilding Post Civil War Liberia -- 1 Looking toward Liberia’s Post-Conflict Future -- 2 Rescuing and Preserving Priceless Liberian Records -- 3 Investigating Corruption -- 4 Delivering the National Oration in 2012 -- 5 The Constitution Review Committee -- 6 National Symbols Review -- 7 Liberia National History Project -- 8 Governance Reform and Vision 2030 -- 25 The Center for Policy Studies -- 26 Reflections on the Consultancy -- 27 Final Reflections/Epilogue -- Appendices -- Appendix 1 Chronology of Key Events -- Appendix 2 Defining the National Purpose of Liberia, a National Oration by D. Elwood Dunn on the 132nd Independence Anniversary of Liberia, July 26, 1979 -- Appendix 3 The University of the South Resolution of Appreciation -- Appendix 4 Renewing Our National Promise an Address Delivered by D. Elwood Dunn on the Occasion of the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Liberia, Centennail Memorial Pavilion, Monrovia, Republic of Liberia July 26, 2012 -- Appendix 5 Reflections on Research Challenges as the Liberian Studies Association Turns Fifty -- Appendix 6 Partial List of Articles and Other Publications -- Illustrations -- Index.