Gathering rock for the Selega road

Willie A. Whitten

Willie A and Lucile S. Whitten Photography Collection

The Willie A. and Lucille S. Whitten Photography Collection contains nearly 700 images reproduced from slides taken during the Whittens’ stays in Liberia in the 1960s and 1970s. A native of Mississippi, Mr. Whitten first traveled to Liberia in 1963 on a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project while completing his graduate studies in adult education. Whitten conducted research for his doctoral dissertation in Lofa County, receiving a Doctorate in Education from Indiana University in 1966. He continued as a USAID education officer in Liberia during the late 1960s. He returned to Liberia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before and after the violent overthrow of the William Tolbert presidency in the military coup led by Samuel Doe in 1980. The collection includes photographs of the Liberian towns and schools Whitten visited in his USAID work, photographs of Liberian government and cultural events, and family photographs.