African American Settlements in West Africa

John Brown Russwurm and African American Settlement in West Africa examines Russwurm's intellectual accomplishments and significant contributions to the black civil rights movement in America from 1826 - 1829, and more significantly explores the essential characteristics that distinguished his thoughts and endeavours from other black leaders in America, Liberia and Maryland in Liberia. Not surprisingly, the most controversial of Russwurm's ideas was his unwavering support of the American Colonization Society (ACS) and the Maryland State Colonization Society (MSCS), two organizations that most civil rights activists found racist and pro-slavery. Beyan probes the social and intellectual sources, underlying motives and the legacies of Russwurm's thoughts and endeavours, all in an attempt to dissect why Russwurm acted and made the choices that he did.

"Authoritative and approachable. A significant contribution to the literature." - Katherine Bankole, West Virginia University "John Brown Russwurm analyzes the relationship between nineteenth-century colonization societies interested in Africa, which were dominated by whites and advocated Christian morals and American values; African-American settler communities, comprised of persons with varying levels of dedication to these Western codes; and indigenous Africans, who clung to their own beliefs and cultures. At the center of this multifaceted situation stood the African-American John Brown Russwurm. By exploring Russwurm s unique biography, Amos Beyan offers a fresh approach to the historical narrative of Liberia and Maryland in Liberia. This important book is highly recommend for those interested in the history of nineteenth-century African-Americans, the colonization movement, and the African-American settler movement in West Africa." - Yekutiel Gershoni, University of Indiana

"Study of major 19th century black figures straddling Liberia and the New World has been enriched by Beyan's work on John Brown Russrum. Along with the biographies of Edward Wilmot Blyden and Alexander Crummell, two 19th century intellectuals who left their imprints on both sides of the Atlantic, we now have a competent articulation of the thoughts and actions of a third intellectual of that era." - D. Elwood Dunn, Sewanee-The University of The South

AMOS BEYAN is Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Western Michigan University, USA.