Liberia's progressive movement challenges True Whig Party dominance

During the 1970s, Liberia’s long-standing political dominance by the True Whig Party (TWP) faced significant intellectual and generational challenges. This period saw the rise of two key opposition organizations: the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA) and the Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL).

MOJA, emerging in the late 1960s, consisted of intellectuals, students, and professionals who critiqued Liberia’s economic and political structures. Influenced by Pan-Africanism, anti-colonialism, and socialist ideologies, MOJA members—including figures such as Amos Sawyer, Togba-Nah Tipoteh, H. Boima Fahnbulleh Jr., and Edward Kesselly—challenged the concentration of power and systemic economic inequality within the country.