The River Niger

The River Niger, a three-act play written by the American playwright Joseph A. Walker, was first performed off-Broadway in 1972 by New York's Negro Ensemble Company. The following year, the play made its Broadway debut, running for 162 performances. The play concerns a young African-American who returns to his home in Harlem from the Air Force and becomes involved with a group of young revolutionaries. In 1976, The River Niger was adapted into a film starring James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, and Louis Gossett, Jr.

Jeff Williams, a young African-American man, returns home to his family in Harlem, New York after a few years during which he served in the Air Force. Eagerly awaiting his return are his mother, Mattie, his father, John, and his grandmother, Wilhemina Brown. John shares a drink with his friend, Dr. Dudley Stanton while Wilhemina sneaks a drink from her secret stash. Before Jeff's arrival, Ann Vanderguild, a young nurse arrives without invitation. A nurse from South Africa, Ann met Jeff in a hospital in Canada. While the family perceives that Ann's unannounced arrival signals her plans to convince Jeff to marry her, all the men are clearly physically attracted to her. Although Ann wins over Mattie with her charm and good manners, Wilhemina still doesn't trust the woman.

After John and Dudley leave for the bar, Ann reveals to Mattie that her father is imprisoned in South Africa due to her brothers' involvement with anti-Apartheid revolutionaries. While her father took the rap for the anti-government activities, the brothers fled the country. As Ann and Mattie prepare dinner, Jeff's childhood friend, Chips arrives and is very sexually aggressive toward Ann. Later that night, as Ann sleeps in the living room, a group of local revolutionaries enters the house without warning in search of Jeff. Led by a man named Mo, the group also includes Chips, Skeeter, Al, and Gail, Mo's girlfriend. They are run off by John and Dudley who return drunk from the bar brandishing a gun. After things calm down, Jeff finally arrives. He tells no one of his arrival except for Ann. After having sex with Ann, Jeff sneaks upstairs to his bedroom.



In Act II, John—an amateur poet—composes a poem that begins with the line, "I am the River Niger." After John and Dudley leave for the bar, Mattie tells Ann that John quit school to support Mattie's family who had relocated from the South to Harlem. Because she feels responsible for John's professional failures, Mattie doesn't interfere with her husband's drinking. Mattie and Wilhelmina leave Ann in the house to go shopping as Jeff continues to rest in his bedroom. Mo's gang of revolutionaries arrives and begins to intimidate Ann. When Ann runs upstairs to alert Jeff, Al follows her with a gun and tries to rape her. Jeff enters and takes the gun away, pointing it at Al. Despite Mo's insistence that he join their gang, Jeff refuses, saying that he wants to work hard to become a lawyer, adding that he disagrees with the group's politics. After Mo and his compatriots leave, Mattie and Wilhelmina return and finally discover that Jeff is home. Later, a drunken John urges Jeff to put on his Air Force uniform. Jeff refuses, adding that he hated the Air Force and flunked out. Enraged, John walks out, presumably to return to the bar.

In Act III, almost a week has passed since the incident between Jeff and John regarding the Air Force, and John still hasn't returned. At the dinner table, Dudley reveals to the family that Mattie has cancer and will have to undergo radium treatment. Mo and Gail arrive, and Mo tries to enlist Jeff's help in identifying a spy or "stool pigeon" in his organization. Although Jeff is reluctant to get involved, Gail begs him to help. She worries about Mo's growing intensity and paranoia surrounding the organization. Jeff and Ann agree to do what they can to assist Mo. After Mo and Gail leave, John finally returns home from his bender, drunk and with a gash on his head from an altercation with Mo's men. He recites his poem, "The River Niger," dedicating it to Mattie. Mo enters with a severely injured Skeeter, followed shortly by Gail, Chips, and Al. The group had just engaged in an attempt at violent political action that went sour. The characters hear the voice of Lieutenant Staples who announces that his men have the house surrounded. Jeff senses that Al is the stool pigeon who alerted the police in advance of the group's political action. John and Al pull out guns and shoot one another simultaneously. While Al dies instantly, John drops to the ground, alive but mortally wounded. As he dies in Mattie's arms, John makes the group promise to blame the entire fiasco on him in order to protect Jeff.

The River Niger is a harrowing tale of family, race, alcoholism, and dashed opportunities.