Description: Meg Vaillancourt interviews Elma Lewis (Roxbury community leader) about the Roxbury neighborhood. Lewis says that Roxbury is portrayed as "unworthy" by the news media. Lewis criticizes media coverage, housing policy, and police performance in Roxbury. Lewis talks about the need for a community to set its own standards, saying that she complains about certain types of behavior on her block. Lewis says that she will not be driven from her home by the problems in the neighborhood. She talks about her obligation to work for improvements in the community. Vaillancourt's report is accompanied by footage of residents and police in the Roxbury area and a shot of a photograph of Darlene Tiffany Moore (Roxbury resident). This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following items: Teachers and parents are frustrated over new starting times for the Boston Public Schools for the coming school year Boston parents frustrated with Wilson and School Committee Charles Laquidara organizes a boycott against Shell Oil Company
1:00:21: Visual: Footage of Elma Lewis (Roxbury community leader) being interviewed by Meg Vaillancourt. Lewis says that the media portray Roxbury as "unworthy." Shot of a Boston Herald newspaper article with a photo of eleven -year-old Darlene Tiffany Moore (Roxbury resident). Vaillancourt reports that Lewis lives on the same block as Moore; that Moore was killed by a stray bullet in Roxbury last weekend. Vaillancourt reports that Lewis says that Roxbury is a better community than is portrayed in the media. V: Shots of stately houses on Homestead Street in Roxbury; of a camera man filming a man in a business suit on a street. Vaillancourt reports that drug dealers are not common in Roxbury. V: Shot of an African American woman pulling weeds from a crack in a sidewalk. A boy on a bicycle is with her. Shots of two white police officers patrolling a residential street in Roxbury. Shot of multi-family houses on a residential street in Roxbury. Vaillancourt reports that Lewis says that federal housing requirements create crowded and hostile conditions in Roxbury residences. V: Shots of houses in a new development in Roxbury. Footage of Lewis saying that section eight of the federal housing policy was designed to disseminate people over a large area; that the result of section eight has been new housing projects. Vaillancourt notes that Lewis has criticized the performance of the Boston Police Department in Roxbury. V: Shots of a police cruiser traveling down a Roxbury street; of a small group of African American kids on a street corner. Footage of Lewis saying that every child in Roxbury knows where the drugs are; that the police need to be reminded constantly of where the drugs are. Vaillancourt reports that Lewis is tough on her own community. V: Footage of Lewis saying that residents need to refuse to allow certain kinds of activity on their block. Lewis says that she will harass city authorities and those responsible for the activity until the behavior stops. Shots of African American women and children crossing a Roxbury street; of a police cruiser traveling down a residential street. Shots of people doing yard work outside of a new development of houses in Roxbury. Footage of Lewis saying that a community needs to set its own standards; that residents need to stop bad behavior before it gets out of control. Vaillancourt says that Lewis is optimistic about the people who live in Roxbury. V: Shot of African American children playing in front of a building in Roxbury. Footage of Lewis saying that she will not be driven from her home; that she will not get up and move every twenty years while others relax comfortably in the suburbs. Lewis says that she has an obligation to stay in the community and work for improvements.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 08/23/1988
Description: Hope Kelly reports that Charles Laquidara (WBCN disc jockey) is leading a radio campaign against the Shell Oil Company. Laquidara is encouraging listeners to cut up their Shell credit cards to protest Shell's involvement with the repressive South African government. The campaign is part of a larger international boycott aimed at all Shell products. Interview with Laquidara about the campaign. Footage of Laquidara and employees in the WBCN studios and footage of Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox) in the WBCN studios. Kelly quotes Norm Allsteader (Shell Oil Company) as denying any Shell involvement with the South African government. Kelly reports that Jerry Straccia (Shell Oil dealer in East Boston) is feeling the effects of the boycott. Interview with Straccia about the boycott. Straccia criticizes the boycott. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following items: Teachers and parents are frustrated over new starting times for the Boston Public Schools for the coming school year and Meg Vaillancourt interviews Elma Lewis about the Roxbury neighborhood
1:00:13: Visual: Footage of Charles Laquidara (WBCN disc jockey) in the WBCN radio studio. Laquidara introduces a song. Shots of Laquidara putting up anti-apartheid signs in the studio. Shots of the signs. Footage of Laquidara saying on-air that the Shell Oil Company supports the South African "military machine." Hope Kelly reports that Laquidara is leading a radio campaign called "Shell shock"; that Laquidara is encouraging radio listeners to cut up their Shell credit cards in order to protest Shell's involvement with the South African government. V: Shots of a WBCN female employee opening the mail; of cut up credit cards pulled from the envelopes. Kelly reports that local celebrities are participating in the campaign. V: Footage of Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox pitcher) in the WBCN studio. Clemens reads an anti-apartheid radio spot. Kelly reports that Clemens came in to do a radio spot; that Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) has turned in his credit card. V: Shots of WBCN employee pulling cut-up credit cards from envelopes received by WBCN. V: Footage of Laquidara in the studio, being interviewed by Kelly. Laquidara says that twenty or thirty credit cards are being turned in each day; that he would like to see 1,000 credit cards be turned in each day. Laquidara says that each credit card represents money to Shell. Shot of a sign above a Shell gas station. Kelly reports that the Shell Company says that the campaign has had no effect. V: Footage of Laquidara saying that he hopes these campaigns will convince Shell to get out of South Africa; that he hopes other companies will follow suit. Laquidara says getting out of South Africa is the right thing for Shell to do. Shot of a radio script with instructions for listeners on how to participate in the campaign. Kelly reports that Laquidara's campaign is part of a larger international boycott aimed at all Shell products. Kelly notes that Royal Dutch Shell has approximately 300 subsidiaries; that Shell Oil Company is a visible subsidiary in the US. V: Shot of Laquidara in the studio holding a bumper sticker reading, "Get the Shell out of South Africa." Laquidara speaks on the air. Shots of a car pulling up to a Shell gas station; of a large Shell sign above the gas station. A quote from Norm Allsteader (Shell Oil Company) appears written on-screen. Kelly quotes Norm Allsteader (Shell Oil Company) as saying that "Shell Oil Company has no employees, no investments, and certainly sells no oil to South Africa." V: Footage of Laquidara saying that members of the Board of Directors of Royal Dutch Shell sit in on board meetings at the Shell subsidiary in Houston, Texas. A second quote from Norm Allsteader (Shell Oil Company) appears written on-screen. Kelly quotes Allsteader as saying, "No Shell company outside of South Africa is sending any oil to South Africa." V: Shot of Jerry Straccia (Shell oil dealer in East Boston) wiping the gas pumps clean at his Shell gas station. Kelly stands in the parking lot of Straccia's Shell station in East Boston. Kelly reports that there are over 300 Shell stations in New England. Kelly notes that Straccia says that he is feeling the effects of the boycott. V: Footage of Straccia standing in front of gas pumps at his station. Straccia says that Laquidara's campaign is going to hurt a lot of people before it affects Shell. Shot of the Shell sign above Straccia's gas station. Shot of Straccia and a mechanic looking under the hood of a car. Audio of Straccia saying that he has noticed a 50% drop in business; that the decline is most noticeable during the morning hours when Laquidara is on the air. Kelly reports that Straccia has been a Shell dealer for over three years; that Straccia had been a fan of Laquidara until now. V: Shots of Straccia standing near the gas pumps; of the handle of a gas pump in the gas tank of a car. Kelly reports that Straccia has not spoken to any other Shell dealers about the campaign; that Straccia has spoken to Laquidara. V: Footage of Straccia saying that Laquidara told him that he understands Straccia's position. Straccia says that he does not think that Laquidara understands how much he is hurting Straccia. Footage of Laquidara saying that he does not know how long he will keep the campaign going.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 08/23/1988
Description: Marcus Jones reports that teachers and parents are frustrated over new starting times for the Boston Public Schools for the coming school year. The Boston School Committee voted in favor of the new starting times in May as part of an effort to cut costs. Parents have not yet received notification of the new starting times. Many parents blame the Dr. Laval Wilson, the Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Footage from a Boston School Committee meeting. Parents and teachers address their complaints about the new starting times to the Committee members. Interview with Dede Calhoun, a Dorchester parent, about her dissatisfaction with the new starting times. Calhoun talks about the difficulty of finding after school care on short notice because school hours have been altered. Support for Wilson among School Committee members may be slipping, and discussions on the renewal of Wilson's contract will begin soon. Interview with Peggy Davis-Mullen of the Boston School Committee, who says that Wilson is not able to deliver the school-based management policies that are necessary to improve the schools. Wilson will begin his third year on the job under intense scrutiny by School Committee members. This edition of the Ten O'Clock News also included the following items: Meg Vaillancourt interviews Elma Lewis about the Roxbury neighborhood and Charles Laquidara organizes a boycott against Shell Oil Company
1:00:15: Visual: Footage from a Boston School Committee meeting from August 23, 1988. A white man addresses the committee members. Shots of the members as they listen, including Jean McGuire (Boston School Committee). Marcus Jones reports that every meeting of the Boston School Committee opens with a period of public comment. Jones reports that questioners at tonight's meeting focused on the same problems as in previous sessions. Jones notes that these questions never seem to get solved. V: Footage of a woman addressing the Boston School Committee. The woman says that she has been waiting for four years for an answer to a specific problem. The woman asks what the committee does. Calhoun asks for answers. Jones reports that many questioners focused on the altered starting times for schools next year. Jones reports that teachers and parents told School Committee members that staggered starting times for schools are difficult for them. V: Shots of the School Committee members seated at the front of the School Committee chambers; of a woman addressing the School Committee members. Shot of Peggy Davis-Mullen (Boston School Committee), Dr. Laval Wilson (Superintendent, Boston Public Schools), and John Nucci (President, Boston School Committee). Shot of audience members. Footage of a female teacher addressing the members of the School Committee. The teacher says that her school was set up as a school to facilitate mainstreaming. The teacher says that she has one group of students starting at 7:30am and another group of students starting at 9:30am. The teacher says that she cannot wait until 10:00 to begin mainstreaming. Jones reports that the School Committee members voted in favor of the new starting times in May; that the new starting times are part of an effort to cut costs. Jones reports that parents have not yet received official notification of the new start times; that many parents blame the superintendent. V: Shots of Wilson; of Davis-Mullen. Footage of Dede Calhoun (Dorchester parent) being interviewed outside of the meeting. Calhoun says that her kids are lucky enough to be in an after-school program; that they may not be eligible for an after-school program now. Calhoun says that it will be difficult to find an after-school program because the start of school is two weeks away. Calhoun says that waiting lists for specific time slots are very long. Calhoun says that many students are "latch-key kids"; that the new school times put these kids out on the street for an extra hour in the afternoon. Footage of Wilson speaking at the School Committee Meeting. Wilson says that there are four options. Jones notes that Wilson's contract finishes at the end of the upcoming school year; that the Committee members must discuss Wilson's contract in the coming weeks. Jones reports that Wilson's support may be slipping; that there is growing frustration with his leadership. V: Shots of audience members at the meeting; of Nucci speaking at the meeting; of Wilson. Footage of Davis-Mullen being interviewed outside of the School Committee chambers. Davis-Mullen says that the school system needs more school-based management. Davis-Mullen says that she does not think that Wilson is willing or able to deliver a policy of school-based management. Jones stands outside of the School Committee chambers. Jones reports that Wilson will start his third year on the job under intense scrutiny; that Wilson may be in for another rocky year. Jones notes that Wilson may be running out of chances to prove that he can improve the Boston Public Schools.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 08/23/1988