The Booker Washington Institute (BWI) is a public, post-secondary school in Kakata,

Margibi County Margibi is a Counties of Liberia, county on the north to central coast of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the Administrative division, first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five Districts of Liberia, districts. ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. Founded in 1929 as the Booker Washington Agricultural and Industrial Institute, it was the country's first agricultural and vocational school. BWI was founded with assistance from Americans and is named after American educator

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

. Located east of the country's capital of

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

, the school sits on a large rural campus and has about 1,800 students. Booker T

History

During the 1920s Liberian President Charles D. B. King visited the United States and toured the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

founded by Booker T. Washington. Upon his return to Liberia, President King hired

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

's first African-American graduate,

Robert Robinson Taylor Robert Robinson Taylor (June 8, 1868 – December 13, 1942) was an American architect and educator. Taylor was the first African Americans, African-American student enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the first acc ...

, to design a campus for a similar school in Liberia. The government donated in Margibi County for use by the new school, which was named after Washington. The school opened in 1929 with the financial assistance of the Firestone Natural Rubber Company and the

Phelps Stokes Fund The Phelps Stokes Fund (PS) is a nonprofit fund established in 1911 by the will of New York philanthropist Caroline Phelps Stokes, a member of the Phelps Stokes family. Created as the Trustees of Phelps Stokes Fund, it connects emerging leade ...

. Firestone had opened the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia in 1926. Other supporters included the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...

, missionary boards, and individuals. American James L. Sibley served as the first principal of the new school. All principals of the institute were white until 1946. BWI's board of trustees was run by Americans until the Liberian government assumed control in 1953. Board meetings were held in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Prior to 1980, the school was one of several in the country to participate in the Army Student Training Program used to train officers for the

Armed Forces of Liberia The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Tracing its origins to a militia that was formed by the first black colonists in what is now Liberia, it was founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, and r ...

. In 1990, the school was closed due to the violence from the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War was the first of Second Liberian Civil War, two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread Political cor ...

, and did not re-open until 2000. During the

Second Liberian Civil War The Second Liberian Civil War was a civil war in the West African nation of Liberia that lasted from 1999 to 2003. The war was mainly caused by transition failures after the First Civil War, especially the peace-building process which would res ...

, it was attacked by rebel forces in April 2002, which then caused the school to close until September 2002. At one point in 2003 it was the only college open in Liberia after the

University of Liberia The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

had been attacked by Charles Taylor's forces. The school was the largest secondary school in the country during part of the first decade of the 21st century with around 1,500 pupils. In September 2003, ECOMIL peacekeeping troops used the school as a base. The alumni association started construction on an alumni center at the school in 2014. As of 2014, the school is transitioning from high school to a community college curriculum.

Academics

The school was Liberia's first agricultural and vocational school. It is located about east of

, country's capital city. As of 2014, BWI has approximately 1,800 students enrolled at the rural campus in

near the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute in Kakata. BWI has a computer lab used by both the school and other students, and offers courses in welding, carpentry, and agriculture. It also is an American Corners institution in which the United States federal government provides items such as computers and books used to study about the United States.

References

External links

BWI National Alumni Association of North AmericaLiberia agriculture students benefit with US$100,000, GVL’s donation
{{Authority control Margibi County Universities in Liberia Universities and colleges established in 1929 1929 establishments in Liberia Agricultural schools

History

Academics

References

Further reading

External links