Description: Fritz Wetherbee reports that Annie Johnson, a Boston resident, will receive the Living Legacy Award in Washington DC. Johnson grew up in Boston and organized domestic workers through the Women's Service Clubs of Boston in the 1960s. She led the workers on a campaign for benefits. Interview with Johnson in her home. She talks about the importance of helping others. Johnson discusses her aunt, Eleanor Graves Chandler, who was an early community activist. Johnson preparing chicken in her kitchen and visiting a senior citizen meal program at the Grace Baptist Church.
1:00:12: Visual: Footage of Annie Johnson (Living Legacy Award winner) saying that a person can be poor and "colored" and still help everybody. Fritz Wetherbee reports that Johnson is 83 years old; that Johnson will fly to Washington DC to receive her Living Legacy Award. V: Footage of Johnson preparing chicken in her kitchen at home. Wetherbee reports that Johnson is preparing the food for Project Soup; that Project Soup is a senior citizen meal program at Grace Baptist Church. V: Footage of Johnson saying that people have called her for help when she is sick in bed; that she will get up to try to help them, before going back to bed to lie down. Wetherbee reports that Johnson grew up in Boston; that she has lived in the same house on Elmwood Street for 46 years; that she raised seven children in the house. V: Shots of Elmwood Street in Boston; of the exterior of Johnson's house on Elmwood Street. Footage of Johnson preparing chicken in her kitchen. Wetherbee reports that Johnson organized domestic workers in the 1960s, through the Women's Service Clubs of Boston. Wetherbee notes that Johnson succeeded in winning minimum wage, worker's compensation, social security, and regular days off for the workers. Wetherbee adds that Johnson organized a job training program for the workers. V: Shot of the prepared chicken in a foil dish. Wetherbee reports that Johnson is the niece of Eleanor Graves Chandler. V: Shot of an African American woman serving chicken to elderly women at Project Soup. Footage of Johnson saying that Chandler was a politician; that Chandler believed that African American women should be active in politics and civic life. Johnson says that she can remember taking people to register to vote when she was younger. Johnson talks about another one of her relatives who was "an advocate for her race." Shot of Johnson leaving the Grace Baptist Church, carrying some flowers. Wetherbee reports that Martin Luther King Sr., Jesse Owens, Rosa Parks, A. Philip Randolph, and Roy Wilkins have all been awarded the Living Legacy Award; that Johnson will receive the award this evening. V: Footage of Johnson saying that many other racial groups have followed the lead of African Americans in their struggle for civil rights.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 11/20/1987
Description: Callie Crossley reports on three local recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowships. Crossley notes that mathematician David Mumford, community organizer Muriel Snowden, and MIT professor Eric Lander are three of the thirty-two national winners of the Fellowships. Interview with Mumford about his work in mathematics. Crossley reviews Snowden's community activism. Interview with Snowden about her community work and her future plans. Crossley's interview includes photos of Snowden and footage of Snowden with colleagues. Interview with Lander about his work. mapping the generic patterns of certain hereditary diseases. Crossley's report includes footage of Lander and MIT graduate students in his laboratory.
1:00:07: Visual: Footage of David Mumford (mathematician) solving a problem on a blackboard in a classroom. Callie Crossley reports that Mumford uses mathematics and computers to explain vision. V: Footage of Mumford being interviewed by Crossley in his office. Mumford talks about the complex calculations which underly vision. Mumford says that computers can be used to advance scientific understanding of the role of these calculations. Shot of a print of an abstract design, held of Mumford's lap; of Mumford speaking to Crossley. Crossley reports that Mumford is one of 32 national and 3 local winners of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship; that recipients s are chosen by an anonymous committee. V: Shot of another print of an abstract design held by Mumford. Footage of Mumford saying that he received the news of the Fellowship on his birthday. Footage of Mumford sitting in front of a computer. He talks about the abstract design which is taking shape on the screen. Shot of the design on screen. Crossley reports that MacArthur Fellows receive a monetary grant over a five-year period; that Mumford won $305,000. V: Footage of Mumford saying that the money from the Fellowship will allow him the flexibility to explore new areas in his work. Footage of Muriel Snowden (community organizer) talking about her work with young people. Snowden sits at a table with a small group. Crossley reports that Snowden has been a community organizer in Boston for 35 years. V: Footage of Snowden saying that she does not like to think of herself as retired; that the money from the MacArthur award will give her a "new beginning." Shots of black and white photos of Muriel and Otto Snowden; of Muriel Snowden with city officials; of Snowden with John F. Kennedy (former US President). Crossley reports that Muriel Snowden founded Freedom House in Roxbury with her husband Otto in 1949; that Snowden has advocated city programs to eradicate racial bias; that Snowden has pushed for greater educational opportunities for minority youth. V: Footage of Snowden saying that her husband and colleagues share much of the credit for her work; that she wants those people to share in the honor of being awarded the MacArthur Fellowship. Shots of Snowden sitting at a table with a small group of people. Crossley reports that Snowden will use her $375,000 award to travel and to write a book about desegregation in Boston. Crossley reports that there was an air of subdued excitement at the Whitehead Institute at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); that Eric Lander (MIT) is the fourth Whitehead Institute employee to win a MacArthur Fellowship. Crossley notes that Lander and his team of MIT graduate students have created a computer program to map the genetic patterns of certain hereditary diseases. V: Shot of the Whitehead Institute; of Eric Lander in his laboratory; of two MIT graduate students who work with Lander. Footage of Lander working in the laboratory. Lander takes fluid from a bottle with a pipette. Crossley notes that Lander is a mathematician and an assistant professor at the Harvard Business School. V: Footage of Lander being interviewed by Crossley. Lander talks about studying families with genetic diseases to track down the causes of these diseases. Lander says that he has strayed from the study of mathematics in recent years. Lander talks about trying to track down and analyze data about genetic diseases. Crossley notes that Lander will put his award of $205,000 in the bank for future use. V: Shot of Lander talking to a graduate student. Crossley notes that MacArthur Fellowships have been called "genius awards." V: Footage of Lander saying that the awards should not be called "genius awards."
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 06/16/1987