It’s Sacred Ground

This chapter uses the example of Liberia’s returning population to offer a wider examination of the relationship between Appalachian residents and their family land. Using an anthropological lens, the chapter outlines the cultural process by which land becomes a member of one’s family. Specifically, the process entails ownership of family land, occupancy of family land, memories of that land, the merging of land and people through time, and finally the anthropomorphizing of land. The chapter ends with an Epilogue linking enslaved ancestors from the Oolenoy Valley with descendants still living in Liberia, and the sweep of history over the same landscape.

This Is My Home

This chapter brings the story of Liberia into the present. Drawing on memories of current residents, the chapter describes efforts to preserve and present the community’s history to visitors. For example, the original community cemetery is re-discovered, cleared, protected, and interpreted. Newer homes provide refuge for returning relatives or aging kin. Some racist sentiments remain, but overwhelmingly Liberia’s remaining residents fit comfortably into a rural Upstate South Carolina landscape.

It Really Wasn’t a Bad Life

Still segregated under Jim Crow restrictions, the Liberia community continues in this chapter as a semi-protected enclave, anchored primarily by one extended family. The story of Liberia includes the community’s survival as a farming region as desegregation gradually percolated into Upstate South Carolina and as racialized assaults continued. Soapstone Baptist Church persists, but Soapstone School eventually closes under rural (but still segregated) consolidation. The story of Liberia is presented primarily through the memories of contemporary residents, especially the community’s surviving matriarch and her extended family.

The Whites Got the Best

This chapter presents the story of Liberia during the early twentieth century, through the Depression and the world wars. As the nation’s economy changes, African Americans continue to abandon the region for better economic opportunities as they are also forced out by restrictive Jim Crow segregation and racialized attacks. Both Soapstone Baptist Church and Soapstone School continue, critical anchors for community identity. Some residents return to care for aging relatives. The story of Liberia is presented through the memories of elderly residents and some local historical sources, including obituaries.

The Times Ahead Are Fearful

This chapter documents the founding of Liberia and its flourishing during the late 19th century. Discussion includes the names of the founders, the methods of acquiring land, and the reasons for the location and name. Soapstone Baptist Church and Soapstone School are established. African American population expands into the hundreds, but then begins a slow decline under the more restrictive Jim Crow segregation laws in the late nineteenth century. Family stories and local historical sources provide personalized information.

You Zip Your Lips

This chapter describes the white settlement of the Blue Ridge Foothills of upper South Carolina and the documentation of slavery and slave life in the region prior to 1865. The chapter draws upon local (published) histories and some (oral) family histories to document the lives of several enslaved individuals as well. In these family stories are examples of resistance to enslavement and their agency in maintaining their lives.

Shifting Paradigms

This chapter places the story of Liberia in an academic context. A Prologue outlines the book’s major themes. A review of the historical, anthropological, sociological, philosophical, and critical black feminist theory literature contextualizes the story of Liberia for an academic audience. Liberia is an example of African American resistance, resilience, and agency -- a “freedom colony” similar to others in the US and world. The chapter also summarizes and critiques the methods and sources used for the book.

Because Hatred Is All It Was

This chapter describes the critical turning point of the Liberia community: the burning by arson of the old Soapstone Baptist Church and its reconstruction during the height of desegregation in South Carolina. By using eyewitness accounts, resident memories, and newspaper descriptions, the story of the church burning and the community’s rallying of white and black support is documented. Within a year, the church is rebuilt, primarily through the efforts of a now-deceased matriarch. Her role as a community “othermother” (informal leader) is also discussed.