Eventual Salvation

Founded in 1847 as a home for former African-American slaves, the West African nation of Liberia has welcomed generations of expatriate Americans fleeing racism. One such immigrant was Earnestine “Amma” Smith, who settled in the capital, Monrovia, in 1958. An educator and landowner, Amma fled her new home during the recent deadly civil wars. Smith’s granddaughter, documentary filmmaker Dee Rees, accompanies Amma on her return to a new Liberia, now governed by Africa’s first woman president, as she attempts to rebuild her life.