For 64 years, one of the world's largest rubber plantations was operated in Liberia by the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company. In 1926, just after Firestone had gained permission for their plantation, the company sent a team of Harvard scientists and medical doctors on a four-month survey of the West African country's interior. A Liberian Journey is a public history resource intended to "inform, raise questions, and elicit stories about [this] transformational moment in Liberia's past." Visitors to A Liberian Journey will find a fascinating collection of photos, archival film footage, diaries, and letters documenting the survey team's experiences. This resource also features oral histories, an interactive map, and a digital exhibit focused on Chief Suah Koko, the Liberian woman who held a prominent leadership role during the Firestone survey (a rarity for her time). Led collaboratively between the Liberian Center for National Documents and Records Agency and Gregg Mitman, Professor of History of Science, Medical History, and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (with contributions from several other institutions), A Liberian Journey is a valuable resource that will appeal to anyone interested in West African colonial history.
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