Actor and entertainer LeVar Burton took to the stage to a standing ovation while being honored at Friday's 6th annual Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children's Media in Distler Performance Hall. Burton earned the award for his work as host and executive producer of the PBS television series "Reading Rainbow".
The annual event is co-sponsored by the Communications and Media Studies (CMS) program and the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development. Its purpose is to recognize individuals, organizations or companies with a commitment to innovation, creativity, diversity, non-violence and developmental appropriateness in children's media.
In addition to his twenty-six years of work on "Reading Rainbow", which came to a close in 2006, Burton is well-known for his role as KuntaKinte in "Roots" and as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge in the "Star Trek" franchise. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie "Smart House".
"We selected LeVar Burton this year because of his long-standing commitment to promoting diversity, equality and literacy in his many outstanding roles as an actor, director and producer of children's media," CMS Program Director Julie Dobrow said. "LeVar has been not only versatile, but truly ahead of the curve in his efforts to use the power of television, film and now the digital world to inspire children and encourage them to read."
Dobrow presented Burton with the framed Eliot-Pearson Award as well as a Tufts Jumbo hat and sweatshirt.
Last year, comedian, writer, actor and producer Bill Cosby along with Harvard Medical School Professor of Psychiatry Alvin Poussaint received the award.
Dobrow said the criteria for the award reflect media that are free of stereotyping, show children varied cultural contexts and creatively reflect thoughtful and civilly-engaged characters.
"In evaluating children's media content, we look for media that are appropriately pitched for children in different developmental levels," Dobrow said. "We look for media that have good humor, intelligence and good production values. We look for media that are both educational and entertaining."
The ceremony began with remarks from Dobrow, Dean of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Child Development Department Chair JayanthiMistry and Associate Professor of Child Development Chip Gidney.
"Your impact factor is off the charts," Berger-Sweeney told Burton in her introduction.
Mistry provided a brief history of the Child Development department, founded at Tufts in 1964, and the Eliot-Pearson Award, which honors innovation and creativity in media. She explained that the award is affectionately known as "The Abby" after Abigail Adams Eliot, after whom the department is named.
"For over eighty years, our department has been dedicated to promoting the well-being of children, families and their communities," Mistry said. "Our department's historical roots actually resided in the early part of the childhood movement of the first part of the twentieth century when Abigail Adams Eliot and Elizabeth Pearson established the Ruggles Street Nursery School in Boston to serve children living in poverty; and this was in 1922."
Gidney began his remarks by telling a story of being mistaken for KuntaKinte — who Burton portrayed in the 1977 television miniseries "Roots" -— while traveling in Poland.
Gidney noted that while media reveal some negative influences through stereotypes and advertising, there are still a lot of positive benefits in media.
"Media opens up a window through which children can see into other worlds," Gidney said.
After the introductory speeches, a slideshow was shown highlighting Burton's many roles throughout his career.
Burton took the stage to a standing ovation and opened by mentioning "Smart House," which resonated well with an audience that grew up with the Disney movie.
He said his mother's passion for reading and his family's history as teachers, ministers and soldiers helped him arrive at where he is today.
"This is genuinely an honor. I believe there is such a thing as genetic encoding," he said. "All of the members of my family are teachers. I feel that I come to the work I do very honestly. Being a teacher bears and comes with certain responsibilities. You have to take a personal interest with growth and development."
Burton believes that combining the two mediums of reading and television are tools for creating positive change in the world.
"I've said for many years that I believe that television and the attendant web we have created around communications in this world is the most powerful tool for creating growth and change in society in the history of civilization," he said.
Before leaving the stage after his address, Burton thanked the Tufts community for the award.
"I thank you for this," he said. "I will hang it with genuine pride and appreciation. It isn't often that you realize or recognize that there are people out there paying attention."
Burton energetically read one of his favorite books, "Enemy Pie" (2000) by Derek Munson, to first and second graders sitting in the first two rows in Distler.
The ceremony concluded with a performance of the "Reading Rainbow" song by the Flannery Brothers, a band that performs children's music.
