The President is urging Liberians to look beyond historical divisions and embrace a unified national identity. The government of Liberia dedicates a National Remembrance Park today, Tuesday.
Monrovia, Liberia, July 1, 2025 – In a deeply symbolic act of remembrance and reconciliation, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, on Monday, June 30, 2025, signed the Book of Condolence for slain Liberian President William R. Tolbert, Jr., urging all Liberians to look beyond historical divisions and embrace a unified national identity.
According to a press release, the solemn ceremony held at the Centennial Pavilion marked a renewed national effort to confront the wounds of Liberia’s past with dignity and healing.
President Boakai stated that Liberia must no longer be defined by the dichotomy of “Americo-Liberian” versus “Native Liberians”, saying rather, “We are one Liberia. There is no Americo-Liberia or Native-Liberia; there is only Liberia.”
The President’s remarks come at a pivotal moment, as the nation prepares for Celebration of Legacies and Dedication of the April 22nd Memorial Group Remembrance Park, slated for today, Tuesday, July 1st, 2025.
The event, to be held at two symbolically chosen sites – the Centennial Pavilion on Ashmun Street and the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary in Paynesville City, will honor not only late President Tolbert, but also thirteen senior government officials, who were summarily executed following the April 12, 1980 militray coup, as well as other state and security officials, who perished in the wake of political violence.
Among those to be remembered are: former businessman Cyril A. Bright, ex-diplomat C. Cecil Dennis, and Cllr. James A. A. Pierre and ex-speaker Richard A. Henries. These men were brutally executed without the benefit of a trial—an act widely condemned as a gross violation of human rights and the rule of law. The Memorial Park aims to offer a sacred space for reflection, remembrance, and public education about this dark chapter in Liberian history.
At the same time, Cllr. Dr. Yvette Cherlson Wureh revealed that the ceremony, organized by the April 22nd Memorial Group —a collective of descendants, advocates, and historians —is dedicated to preserving the legacy of those lost and promoting national healing.
In a joint statement, the group declared: “The flagrant disregard for human rights, when our beloved fathers were denied legal representation, denied the right to appeal, and summarily executed, is something Liberians should never forget. Nor should it ever be repeated.” Cllr. Dr. Wureh said.
This initiative is bolstered by President Boakai’s broader reconciliation agenda. In February, the President established a National Committee for the Dignified Reburial of Presidents William R. Tolbert, Jr. and Samuel Kanyon Doe, chaired by Education Minister, Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah. The goal is not only to locate and rebury the remains of these former leaders but also to symbolically mend the nation’s political fractures.
As anticipation builds for the July 1st memorial, Liberians across the country are being called to participate in what many are calling a landmark moment for collective memory and national unity. The presence of government dignitaries and former Presidents is expected to underscore the significance of the day.
President Boakai’s signing of the condolence book is being viewed as more than ceremonial; it is a powerful political and moral signal of a government determined to heal Liberia’s past while charting a more inclusive and unified path forward.
In his concluding message, President Boakai emphasized: “Let us bury the divisions of the past and rise as one people.
The President led an array of officials, family members, and sympathizers to Tuzon, the hometown of slain President Samuel Kanyon Doe and former First Lady, Nancy B. Doe, in Grand Gedeh County, where they were buried following funeral rites. Rebel forces killed President Doe during the Liberian Civil War, while the former First Lady died in Monrovia in May after a brief illness. Editing by Jonathan Browne
