Alison McCann

I am predoctoral fellow at the Richard’s Center and a doctoral candidate at the University of Miami. I am working on my dissertation titled “Until Freedom Be Done: African American Place-Making in Liberia, 1790-1880.” My research explores the experiences of African Americans who migrated to Liberia, Africa, and how they reconstructed their lives abroad. I aim to highlight specific families and individuals from both the American Southern and Northern regions. Through analyzing the transnational journeys of African American emigrants, I seek to contribute new insights to colonization studies from a bottom-up perspective. I posit that the complex lives of Black settlers offer a nuanced understanding of Black Atlantic migration and its broader implications for Afro-diasporic movements. The emigration of African Americans to Liberia represents a story of cultural diversity situated on the periphery of the American empire. Consequently, my work aims to deepen interdisciplinary understanding of American imperialism, community, and notions of belonging, both within the United States and across the Atlantic World.