Boston Globe reports, TV news pioneer Sarah-Ann Shaw honored by Old South Church

On Phillis Wheatley Sunday, May 8, 2016, Old South Church honored a living legend, Sarah-Ann Shaw, with the Open Door Award. Sarah-Ann Shaw is Boston's first female African American television reporter, hired by WBZ-TV in 1969.

Read Old South Church honors pioneering black reporter via The Boston Glove (5/9/16)

The Open Door Award is named for the words carved into Old South Church: "Behold, I have set before thee an open door" (from the Book of Revelations). Past award recipients include former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick; Rev. Frank Schaefer, who in 2013 made national headlines after being defrocked by the United Methodist Church for officiating his son’s same-sex marriage; and Larry Kessler, founding director of AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts.

Phillis Wheatley Sunday is an annual celebration of the first published African American poetess, who opened doors for persons of color and enslaved persons with pen and ink, with poetry and letters, with wit and fortitude. Phillis joined the church in 1771.