A Liberian Life

Memoir of an Academic and Former Minister of State for Presidential Affairs

Series: 

Author:
D. Elwood Dunn
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 More than an impressionistic account, the author employs a rich repertoire of unpublished documents that include his personal cabinet notes and a wide range of government papers.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?
Copyright Year:
2022
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-50764-7
Publication:
22 Feb 2022
Paperback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-50763-0
Publication:
15 Mar 2022
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Front Matter
Preliminary Material
Copyright Page
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Early Years
Chapter 3 Early Education
Chapter 4 Post-secondary Education Formation
Chapter 5 Career Initiation
Chapter 6 Student in France
Chapter 7 From Lyon to Washington, D.C.
Chapter 8 Graduate Student in USA
Chapter 9 Seton Hall, 1970–1974
Chapter 10 Marriage in 1971
Chapter 11 Government Service
Chapter 12 Government Service
Chapter 13 Return Home, April 22, 1980
Chapter 14 Uncertainty & Consultancy at Foreign Ministry
Chapter 15 Stint at University of Liberia (June – Dec. 1980)
Chapter 16 Transition back to USA
Chapter 17 Back in the USA – Seeking Permanent Residency
Chapter 18 Sewanee Materialized Summer 1981
Chapter 19 Highlights of My Sewanee Career
Chapter 20 Return to Academia
Chapter 21 My Scholarship
Chapter 22 Liberia Engagement, 1981–2012 (and beyond)
Chapter 23 Summary of Academic Career
Chapter 24 Focus on Rebuilding Post Civil War Liberia
Chapter 25 The Center for Policy Studies
Chapter 26 Reflections on the Consultancy
Chapter 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, Centennial Memorial Pavilion, Monrovia, Republic of Liberia July 26, 2012
Appendix 5 Reflections on Research Challenges as LSA Turns Fifty
Appendix 6 Partial List of Articles and Other Publications
Back Matter
Illustrations
Index
D. Elwood Dunn, Ph.D (1972), American University, is the Alfred Walter Negley Professor of Politics Emeritus, Sewanee, University of the South (a University of the Episcopal Church in Tennessee). Dunn published widely on Liberia during his 31 years at Sewanee, including Liberia And The United States During The Cold War, Limits of Reciprocity. Before Sewanee, he served in the government of his native Liberia, becoming the last Minister of State for Presidential Affairs during the First Republic.
[...] 'The memoir is wrapped in the author’s belief, clearly deeply held, that Liberians must emphasize commonality, and stop focusing on the dichotomies of the nation, even as we recognize our differences. Dr. Dunn views commonalty and communality as central to writing true Liberian history and nation-building' [...].

'As you read Dunn’s inspiring memoir, the ever hopeful and optimistic theme (even in the face of disappointments and failures regarding Liberia) affects you and leaves an especial meaningful impression. This is definitively his country’s story integrated into his story'.

Mohamedu F. Jones, Esq, in The Liberian Observer, published 04/25/2022

[...}A Liberian Life[...] is recent history in the form of autobiography. It is his story from birth through its publication, and his country's story from the mid-1070s through the years of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf presidency. It contains thoughtful analyses, evidence-supported findings, and presents his views of the long list of unfinished and unresolved Liberian subjects that are necessary to transform the country and create a sustained nation'

Mohamedu F. Jones, Esq, in Liberian Studies Journal, vol. 46.1-2, pp. 148
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

Audience could include the Liberian studies community, African studies community, individuals and institutions in Liberia and abroad interested in Liberian history, diplomacy, politics and culture, Sewanee and Episcopal/Anglican Church communities, and Liberians and other Africans in the Diaspora. The book highlights how a Liberian academic’s career illuminates Liberian studies, as it provides rare insights into the last years of the First Republic, and into the reform agenda of the Johnson Sirleaf administration.
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