Citizenship and Naturalization Requirements in Liberia: The United States' Racial Legacy

• In Event: 452 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 06. Race and Citizenship

Abstract

Liberia was founded under the auspices of the American Colonization Society (ACS) as a place there free(d) African Americans could be repatriated to, as their presence in the U.S. threatened the system of racial slavery. The ACS set up a country modeled after the U.S. This can be seen in the importance that race continues to play in Liberia’s citizenship and naturalization requirements.

This paper analyzes how race, ethnicity, and ancestry have influenced eligibility for Liberian citizenship, and how this has and has not changed over the years.
From its inception, first as a colony of the ACS, and then as an independent country, race—and more concretely being of African ancestry—has been central to Liberia’s national identity. Subsequently, this was codified into law. Of relevance here is that according to Liberia’s Aliens and Nationality Law only “Negro[s] or those of Negro descent” are eligible for Liberian citizenship, rendering all others ineligible. Among those excluded are the Lebanese who—like in other West African countries—originally came as traders and entrepreneurs to Liberia. While Lebanese have continued to make economic gains—often to the chagrin of Liberians—they remain politically disempowered and also landless; because only Liberian citizens are permitted to own land and property in Liberia. The current situation regarding citizen and non-citizen residents in Liberia is similar to the period when Liberia was a two-tier society: Americo-Liberians—the descendants of African Americans—who were citizens and ruled the country until 1980 and indigenous Liberians who were not.

Author

• Bernadette Ludwig, Wagner College