'A man for the people': Marion director to release short film celebrating Paul Cuffe
Director Anita Allison reviews the script during a weekend shoot in Dartmouth. Photos by Abby Van Selous
A painting of Paul Cuffe. Source: New Bedford Port Society
Tyson Brown as Paul Cuffe films a scene for the upcoming film "Cuffe: Untaxed" on the bank of the Slocums River.
Crew members go over a scene on the bank of Slocums River.
Salustiano Berrios as Michael Wainer with the grandfather clock.
Director Anita Allison gives actors Tyson Brown, right, and Salustiano Berrios directions.
A boat built by high schoolers in New York City was used in the shoot. 
Food props wait on set.
Director Anita Allison reviews the script during a weekend shoot in Dartmouth. Photos by Abby Van Selous
A painting of Paul Cuffe. Source: New Bedford Port Society
Tyson Brown as Paul Cuffe films a scene for the upcoming film "Cuffe: Untaxed" on the bank of the Slocums River.
Crew members go over a scene on the bank of Slocums River.
Salustiano Berrios as Michael Wainer with the grandfather clock.
Director Anita Allison gives actors Tyson Brown, right, and Salustiano Berrios directions.
A boat built by high schoolers in New York City was used in the shoot.
Food props wait on set.
MARION — After George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis in 2020, Marion native Anita Allison felt the need to tell stories that were more meaningful than the marketing videos she produced for her corporate job, so she left it to discover the story she’d like to tell.
When Allison returned home from Sierra Leone, she visited the New Bedford Whaling Museum and learned about Paul Cuffe for the first time.
She said amidst most stories about Black and native people that focus on their suffering and genocide, she wanted to tell the story of someone who “thrived and supported their communities.”
“I was really surprised to hear about his story, this guy who was born free and thriving and politically influential and wealthy,” Allison said. “It kind of pissed me off a little bit. It certainly lit a fire, and I was like, ‘Why hasn't this story of thriving been told before?’”
His story inspired her to create “Cuffe: Taxed”, a short film about the Black and Wampanoag man who was born on Cuttyhunk Island in 1759 and lived in Old Dartmouth.
Cuffe, who likely lived in Russells Mills in the 1770s and 80s, was the first Black captain of a fleet of whaling ships and was a prominent figure during the Revolutionary War.
“He was one of the richest Black men of his time, and he also was the first Black man to sit with an active president — James Madison,” said Producer Joy Walsh, “And he opened schools, and he poured that money back into his community.”
Walsh called Cuffe a “man for the people.”
“He did so many things for the future, and just was that figure, and we just don’t hear about our leaders in that time.” she said. “You don’t hear about Black leaders … we barely hear about Indigenous leaders of that time.”
In the short film, Paul Cuffe is 19-years-old and a British blockade runner, running supplies and food to Nantucket during the Revolutionary War, along with his brother-in-law Michael Wainer.
At the time and in a fight against taxation without representation, Cuffe was being taxed “really egregiously” by the government and more than what his property was worth, Allison said.
“[The colonists] are doing it to Black and Indigenous people — the same thing that the British are doing to them,” she said, which is an irony she explores in the film.
Allison said that the film is meant to encapsulate the feel of the South Coast, celebrate a local hero and get people excited about Paul Cuffe.
She’s lived full-time in Marion since the COVID-19 pandemic, and knew she wanted to make her film in the area. There’s something “magical about having this story where we're so close to it,” she said.
When people see the film, Allison said she hopes they are inspired to help others in their community. She said it takes strength to be a good person, and she hopes Cuffe’s story shows that generosity is powerful.
She also hopes audiences fall in love with Cuffe.
Tyson Brown, who plays Paul Cuffe in the film, said that Paul Cuffe is “definitely an absolute legend that I feel like a lot of people haven’t heard about. Hopefully this is the ending of that, and people will start to hear about him.”
“Cuffe: Taxed” will premiere at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on Thursday, Aug. 13.
