Liberia kicks off bicentennial celebrating arrival of Black Americans

FILE PHOTO: Liberia President George Weah speaks during the 75th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, November 12, 2021. Julien de Rosa/ Pool via REUTERS

MONROVIA (Reuters) - President George Weah on Monday called on Liberians to embrace unity and reconciliation as he launched year-long celebrations of the bicentennial of the arrival of the first free Black Americans in 1822.

The former slaves arrived in Providence Island, now the capital Monrovia, in 1822, as part of a mission by the American Colonization Society, which aimed to reduce the number of free Blacks in the U.S. by settling them in Africa.