Donald Trump praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for his strong grasp of the English language on Wednesday. But the African leader was educated in Liberia, where English is the official language.
As he hosted five African leaders at the White House, Trump asked Boakai: “Such good English, it’s beautiful. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”
Boakai informed Trump of his place of education, prompting Trump to express his curiosity. “That’s very interesting,” he said, “I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”
Several Liberians voiced their offense over Trump’s comment to Boakai, given the US president’s past remarks on African countries and the colonial legacy left by the US organization in Liberia.
“I felt insulted because our country is an English-speaking country,” Archie Tamel Harris, a Liberian youth advocate, told CNN.
Fascinating, just read up on the topic. I never knew! No wonder their flag looks so similar.
Yeah we dont talk about it much because it was a shitshow that’s definitely political but not really in line with any side. Like it made perfect sense to Americans at the time that black people who were sick of racism and their ancestors were brought here against their will should be allowed to just go to Africa.
Its definitely a story we should remember when we talk about decolonization. Not as a deterrent but as a warning of what doing it poorly could look like.
But yeah thats why there’s that one country in Africa whose flag is weirdly similar to the American flag, and the lack of knowledge of it is why its emoji is regularly used to refer to America