Out of Virginia: Black Americans' Search for Freedom in Nineteenth-Century Liberia
Joseph P. Stinnett
Rivanna
In October 1865, six months after the Civil War ended, more than one hundred of the Black residents of Lynchburg, Virginia, left their homes to cross the ocean and begin their lives anew. Their destination was Liberia. They risked everything for the chance to live as full citizens, educate their children, own land, and make a good living—all of which they felt they stood a better chance to do outside the United States, despite their newfound freedom.
Why did they leave so soon after the dream of emancipation had finally been realized? And what happened when they ultimately disembarked in West Africa?
Out of Virginia tells their story.