Professor Emerita Dr. Melissa Walker Featured in ETV Documentary

Written by Karen Rhodes

Converse University’s George Dean Johnson Jr. Professor of History Emerita Melissa Walker, Ph.D., will be featured in an upcoming South Carolina ETV documentary premiering on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 8 PM. “Our Story, Too: Women, Native Americans and African Americans in the Revolutionary War” focuses on groups whose experiences were often untold and helped shape America’s future.

Walker worked with producer, director, videographer, and editor Mark Adams on the project last fall and requested that the filming of her segment take place in the Converse College for Women’s Student Commons space in Wilson Hall. 

“Since Converse College for Women has been equipping women to be leaders in society for more than a century, it seemed a fitting location to film my discussion of the role of women in the American Revolution,” she shared. 

Walker said people often have the misconception that eighteenth century women were bystanders or victims of war. “In reality, they were often active participants. They served as couriers and scouts, made political statements, participated in the boycotts of British goods, and sometimes even took up arms themselves.”

“Our Story, Too” is part of SC250, South Carolina ETV and Public Radio’s partnership to commemorate and highlight South Carolina’s role in the Revolutionary War. A special screening of the documentary is being planned in Newberry, SC, in the coming weeks.