Southwest Atlanta's Connection to Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Just watching a presentation of a Nobel Peace Prize is to witness a moving moment in our world's constant struggle for peace.

But this year's award is especially notable.

On the world stage in Oslo Saturday, three women were presented the $1.5 million prize: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian women's rights campaigner Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, a female icon of the protest movement in Yemen. So, this was a big year for women fighting oppression, sexual violence and abuse around the world.

However, for the many African-Americans not knowledgeable of African history (and there is a surprising number) this also was a big year for those who descend from southern slaves.

This is because two of three laureates are from Liberia, the country established by black American slaves—from Georgia and other southern states—and their supporters in the 1820s.

So, if you did not have the good fortune to study Liberian history in high school or college, it's never too late to learn about this fascinating country and the ongoing battles and class divisions that have occurred, unfortunately, between the colonizing black Americans (called Americo-Liberians) and the original native Liberians.

Sound familiar?