John L. Waller: Striving For Equality
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John L. Waller: Striving For Equality
a documentary for television 









Synopsis:





Born into slavery in New Madrid County, Missouri (USA) in 1850, John Waller rose to become a lawyer, publisher and 
prominent member of the Kansas Republican establishment.  Although spurned in his attempts to seek elected office, he 
was the only African-American elector in the 1888 U.S. Presidential election.  In 1891, he was appointed United 
States Consul to Madagascar, by President Benjamin Harrison. His imprisonment (and subsequent release) by the French, 
after attempting to form an African-American colony on that island elevated his status to that of an national and 
international figure.


Following his service in Africa, Waller organized a company of Black American soldiers to fight in the Spanish-American 
War.  Under Waller's command, this unit was sent to Cuba as part of the Twenty-Third Kansas Volunteers.







Producers:





David M. Talley and Melvin H. Cox
The Executive Producer, David M. Talley, is a former network television executive and a graduate of the 
University of California, Berkeley.  Mr. Talley also holds advanced degrees from the Stanford University 
Law School and from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

 
 
The Technical Producer, Melvin H. Cox, is a graduate of Merrill College at the University of California, 
Santa Cruz, and holds a certificate in UNIX System Management and Administration from the University of California, 
Santa Cruz Extension.  Production teams under Mr. Cox's leadership have successfully completed documentary 
assignments in Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States - and in various African nations and 
throughout the African Diaspora.   


The Waller documentary includes historic news clippings, illustrations and photographs drawn from a variety of 
sources.  The production features interviews with distinguished scholars including (listed alphabetically):







    

  • Dr. Allison Blakely, Boston University

  • Dr. Liliane Koziol, University of California, Berkeley

  • Dr. Susan O'Donovan, Harvard University

  • Dr. Manisha Sinha, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  • Dr. Clarence Walker, University of California, Davis

  • Dr. Calvin White, Jr., University of Arkansas

  • Dr. Randall Woods, University of Arkansas








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An official selection of the 2011 San Francisco Black Film Festival



Order the DVD here





Photo Credit: Velda Goe
© 2010 AFRICAN CONNECTIONS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FUND


     

 
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