The chair of Whiteman Hill Community, in Johnsonville, outside Monrovia, has announced that the community has been named.
Moses P. Kollie shed light in the change of name that transitioned Whiteman Hill Community to “City View Community #2” in Johnsonville Township, Montserrado County.
The symbolic change of name Whiteman Hill, was a decision the entire community made to set a collective pace for development.
“Other people told us that a white man had lived here way back, but when we came, we did not see the Whiteman.”
Every successful neighborhood goes beyond not physical planning; relies on bringing people together and created a unified identity for progress, like the case of the former Whiteman Hill Community.
Kollie informed the In profile newspaper about how he was amongst the few people, who bought land at the pre-development stages of the community.
He moved in the area to settle back in 2014, when the place was still a forest.
When he arrived, Kollie said: “l met a fellow from America called Daniel Caldwell, who had earlier settled in community. Many people referred to him as Whiteman. He was one of the first settlers, who always used his car and hauled rocks that fixed the damaged roads, which lead to the community.”
Kollie added: “The man told us that he was not actually a white man, because he knows that his route is from Africa. Whenever he goes to America, the people called him black man, and when he gets back to Liberia, we called him white man. On each occasion, he refused to be called white man.”
Based upon that, the community had a meeting to suggest a name that would represent the true identity of it, and majority of them voted, agreed and adopted the name: “City View Community.”
The name became suitable for its location. The community is situated on the hilltop that gives dwellers a plain view of surrounding communities in the area.
But the struggle for identity did not end until they renamed it “City View Community #2.”
Kollie: “It happened because there was an existing community already named: City View within the same township.”
He further narrated how confusion erupted during township meetings because the two leaders will rise when called to give community’s update.
As a result of the embarrassment, Kollie’s leadership agreed to be called “City View Community #2” to resolve the identity problem of bearing similar name.
The community also decided, and named a street in honor of Mr. Caldwell for his contributions