Moore, Bai T., 1916-1988

Bai Tamiah Moore was born in the village of Dimeh, 20 miles from Monrovia, and given the name Tamiah. Though the exact date of Moore’s birth was not recorded, it has been approximated as either sometime in 1916 or in October, 1920 . The village in which he grew up was ruled by the Dei ethnic group, but was also inhabited by the Gola, Vai, Mandingo, and Bassa peoples. Moore’s parentage was both Vai and Gola, but he identified himself as Vai, using the criteria of patrilineal descent, language, and name. He spoke the indigenous languages of Gola, Vai, Vassa, and Dei. His maternal grandmother was a great and respected storyteller in her home village of Janney. Both his ethnic background and the importance of storytelling in his family were great influences in his life.

Moore was the sixth of seven children, with two older brothers, three older sisters, and one younger brother. Moore's father died while he was a young child, forcing his mother and his older siblings to support the family. Because two of his older sisters were attending an indigenous school for women in nearby Sande, his mother chose to remain in Dimeh after her husband’s death, rather than return to her home village of Janney. While he was still a young boy, Moore's oldest cousin convinced his mother to allow Moore to visit their relatives in Janney . This trip was supposed to last only “a few moons,” but it stretched into a few years. Moore's stay in Janney proved to be very influential in his life because he was immersed and nurtured in the rich culture of the Gola ethnic group while living with his mother’s family. Also as a result of his move to Janney, Moore had his first taste of western culture. After learning his distant cousin attended a mission school in nearby Bendoo, Moore obtained permission to visit the school and to stay with the missionaries who ran it. Soon after his arrival, he was enrolled as a student. There was a large ethnic mix present at the school–Vai, Gola, Mandingo, Kpessi, Basso, Kru and Americo-Liberian students attended. Moore learned English at Bendoo, and there his name was changed to Johnson Moore-Johnson after Reverend R. O. Johnson, and Moore after the Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia that supported the mission. Mommie Bouey, one of the missionaries who ran the school, was so impressed by Moore that she decided he should be given the opportunity to travel to America .

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