Collections

The Jeanette Carter Papers spans the dates 1928-2014. Renowned anthropologist on West Africa and women, this collections includes her research on women in Liberia and the Gambia, personal accounts of the Liberian Civil War, her field notes, research on ethnic groups, and extensive reports, publications and news articles on Liberia.

Bai T. Moore was a renowned poet and author whose work was greatly influenced by his experiences growing up in Liberia. In addition to Moore's career as a writer, he served as a government official for several years, first as Chief of the Liberian Bureau of Agriculture, and later, as Deputy Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism. This collection consists of government papers, ethnographic materials, published works, manuscripts, and drafts of his writings.

E. Reginald Townsend (1917-1980) is best known as the man who built Liberia's Information Service. He served as Press Secretary and Chief of the Bureau (now the Department of Information, Culture and Tourism) to William V.S. Tubman, President of Liberia from 1944 to 1971, and as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs to William R. Tolbert, President of Liberia from 1971 to 1980. Townsend's wife, Evelyn Diggs Townsend (1932-2004), was involved in and led several church and women's organizations. After a coup brought down the Tolbert government and resulted in her husband's execution in 1980, she worked to attain peace in Liberia. The materials in this collection include papers from the years of Reginald Townsend's service during the Tubman and Tolbert presidencies and those from Evelyn Townsend's work in many service organizations, as well as personal correspondence and memorabilia from the Townsend family