Joseph A. Walker

Joseph Alexander Walker (February 24, 1935 – January 25, 2003) was an American playwright and screenwriter, theater director, actor and professor. He is best known for writing The River Niger, a three-act play that was originally produced Off-Broadway in 1972 by the Negro Ensemble Company, before being transferred to Broadway in 1973 and then adapted into a 1976 film of the same name starring James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson. In 1974, Walker became the first African-American writer to win a Tony Award, receiving the Tony Award for Best Play for The River Niger. The playwright previously won an Obie Award during that play's 1972 to 1973 Off-Broadway run. Walker was born in Washington, D.C., to Joseph A. Walker and Florine G. Johnson. He earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Howard University and completed all requirements except the thesis for a master's in philosophy. In 1957, he entered the Air Force as a second lieutenant and later received a master of fine arts degree in drama from Catholic University. In his later years, he taught drama at Howard University and served as chairman of the theater department at Rutgers University's Camden, New Jersey, campus.Walker was one of the first African Americans, along with Lorraine Hansberry, to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play, which he won for The River Niger. His efforts and talents drew him critical acclaim at the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC), with Douglas Turner Ward as the artistic director. The River Niger's run was one of the NEC's longest consecutive runs. Other works include the drama District Line, Yin-Yang, The Harangues (Tribal Harangue 1, 2, and 3), The Lion is a Soul Brother, Out of the Ashes, Absolution of Willie Mae, Koulaba D. Haiti, and the musical King Buddy Bolden.