How do we even start our tribute to Dr. Dahn who left us to join our ancestors and other Liberia’s nation builders and taken with him some parts of the progressives’ souls.
As we write, we are taken back to the early part of the1980s traveling with Dr. Dahn, attending meetings for PAL, ULAA, LOLAO and many other Liberian organizations in the diaspora.
We traveled from Canton, Ohio (his home base) to Chicago, Illinois, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and many other parts of the United States of America in search of solutions to Liberia’s many political and economic problems. Oh yes Marcus, you were inside it good, good.
We are not paying tribute to one of Liberia’s great progressive personalities to celebrate his awesome progressive achievements.
That is the work of historians. Instead, we pay tribute to one of the progressive visionaries who at a very young age realized that Liberia, after so many years of existence had “achieved no more than pseudo-democracy”.
When he was asked by Mr. Baccus Matthews and Mr. Wesley Johnson, Marcus joined PAL (the Progressive Alliance of Liberia) and became to write, call and travel to meet with and convince Liberians to engage in Liberia’s politics. On many occasions, Marcus will challenge the Liberian people to “stop, reappraise their position and then follow an upward path towards progress and prosperity with outright dynamism and all the strength that God has given”.
As a tactician and the Propaganda Minister who, when a young progressive wrote asking for clarity on the rationale behind PAL’s revolutionary message with respect to Liberia, Marcus simply replied to the young progressive by affirming what Mr. Matthews had stated on so many occasions, “History has revealed that where a government fails to protect the fundamental and civil rights of the governed, it loses its raison d’etre and concurrently its capability to maintain peace, order and stability within the body politic. A change of government, whether by revolutionary or evolutionary means, thus becomes an imperative”.
As a tactician of the group, Marcus demonstrated here that he was a well-disciplined member of PAL and that whatever message that is in their political playbook (talking point) and had worked in the past was utilized.
Sadly for us, when the offensive effort to liberate the suffering and the oppressed was about to became a reality, those who shoulder a high degree of responsibility for the struggles of Liberation were denied the opportunity to lead and full implement their message.
For instance, as the long fight to liberate our people by the Liberian Progressives was about to be realized, Marcus and the progressive were not given the chance to lead a government and demonstrate some of the leadership skills that they said were lacking within the Tolbert’s government during the struggle. However, Marcus was never regretful about his involvement in the modern Liberian politics (one man one vote) and that solaced us.
The history of the Liberia progressive movement cannot be fully recognized without acknowledging this great man and his contribution to the movement. In one of our last telephone conversations, Marcus told me something which I thought was profound.
He said, “as we the PAL’s revolutionary generation leave the stage -Baccus is gone, Oscar is gone, Wesley is gone and many more are gone and for me, I don’t know where I will be tomorrow- but as we leave the stage and turn the leadership mantle to the next generation, I hope that they will fight for what is good and right and not just for themselves”. Without understanding the gravity of his statement at the time, I quickly side THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES.
To Karen Dahn, Michael Dahn and Miaghen-Dahn-Kusanke our deepest sympathy for the passing of our brother. To my Liberian people, we have lost a great patriot and a great son of mama Liberia.
Marcus SG Dahn, we thank you for your work and sacrifice for the people of Liberia and we salute you Dr. Dahn and we ask that God rest your soul in peace.
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