Abraham Lamina James (1933-2009): A Tribute

It is vital to the present and future generations of Liberians that we pause and mark the passing of Abraham Lamina James, for he was of a rare breed of public intellectuals teaching, writing and speaking about the relationship of his disciplines to the social, cultural and political world around him. He was unassuming but effective as he strove to contribute to the weaving of the fabric of Liberian society. He carried forward his purpose as a public functionary, an educator, and an advocate.

Born September 27, 1933 in Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County to William H. James and Teneh Mendemassa, Abraham L. James was educated in Cape Mount County's public schools and the nation's public university, the University of Liberia, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in 1955. Graduate studies followed at leading universities in the United States and Britain law and diplomacy at Tufts University (M.A., 1961), law at Harvard University and Oxford University (Masters of Letters in Public International Law, 1970), and then in late career, a PhD degree in comparative politics and development studies from the University of Pennsylvania (1990).

Abraham L. James began and ended his career as a public functionary. In the 1960s he was a diplomat serving in the Department of State (now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and subsequently as Consul at the Liberian Embassy in Washington, D.C. In 1970 he was appointed General Assistant in the office of President William V.S. Tubman, where James served until the President's death in 1971.

Dr. James’ career as an educator then ensued as he joined the faculty of his alma mater, the University of Liberia. There he would labor for 13 years imparting knowledge to scores of Liberians who have themselves gone on to become professionals in service to Liberia and other parts of the world.

Counselor James’ legal education came in handy at least during two crucial moments in his life and that of the nation. As Liberia stood at a crossroads in the aftermath of the 1980 military coup d'état, James was called upon to serve on the National Constitution Commission that produced the first substantive draft of what unfortunately was truncated into the present 1986 Constitution of Liberia. Both as a public intellectual and as legal advisor in the office of Vice President Joseph N. Boakai, Counselor James has worked tirelessly to advance passage of the Threshold Bill (Legislative apportionment) that is regrettably still pending before the Legislature. He joined the effort as well in targeting constitutional amendments in order to address issues of excessive presidential powers, legislative terms, and removing privileged safeguards placed in the Constitution by the military junta.

I have known Abraham Lamina James since my own return home to Liberia from graduate studies in the early 1970s. A decent man with a gifted mind, I have observed his tireless efforts on Liberian constitutional reform matters both during the constitution-writing process in the early 1980s, as well as during the very recent past (and ongoing) effort regarding the Threshold Bill, and constitutional amendment imperatives in the service of genuine governance reform in Liberia. Whether targeted or random, Dr. James also suffered political violence in Liberia. He once shared with me his experience during the infamous military regime’s attack on the University of Liberia on August 22, 1984. As the campus came under siege that fateful day, he and a few others hid themselves in offices at the height of the violence. As dusk fell, he tried to leave the campus quietly, but was viciously attacked by the military, beaten and left half naked. Help came from employees of the nearby Ministry of Foreign Affairs as he finally exited the University campus, wounded and in obvious distress.

When civil war circumstances placed him in the United States in the 1990s, he used his time at the University of Pennsylvania to organize an important forum on Liberia that drew the participation of such prominent Liberians as the late Secretary of State J. Rudolph Grimes, the late Secretary of Education Augustus F. Caine, and the late President of the University of Liberia, Dr. Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman. Dr. James edited and had published the conference proceedings as Liberia: Reconstruction and Unity for the Coming Decades (1991).

Abraham Lamina James has left a legacy of quiet, effective and exemplary service as he performed the roles of tactful diplomat, dedicated educator, and unyielding advocate. May the occasion of his passing hasten the actions of the appropriate authorities to bring public clarity and resolution to the two issues on his active radar screen the Threshold Bill and constitutional amendments, both vital to the ensuing national elections.

Though Dr. James was a devout Baptist, I as an Episcopalian offer a parting supplication:

“O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercies grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest and peace at the last. Amen!”

MAY HE REST IN PEACE!

About the Author
Dr. D. Elwood Dunn, a product of Cuttington College and Divinity School (now Cuttington University), the University of Liberia and The American University in Washington, D.C., where he took the doctorate degree in International Studies. In the 1970s he served as Minister for Presidential Affairs in the government of President William R. Tolbert, Jr. Following the 1980 coup he traveled with his family to the United States, where he joined the faculty of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, and rose to the post of Chair of the Department of Political Science. He is the author and co-author of several books. His most recent work, published this year, is “Liberia and the United States during the Cold War: the Limits of Reciprocity.” Among his other works is an earlier “History of United States-Liberia Relations.” An editor of the “Liberia Studies Journal,” Dr. Dunn is a co-author of “Historical Dictionary of Liberia,” First and Second Editions.