Carew, Topper, 1943-

Film director Topper Carew was born on July 16, 1943 in Boston, Massachusetts. Carew attended Howard University School of Architecture in Washington, D.C. and received his B.A. degree in architecture and his M.S. degree in environmental design from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Later, Carew obtained his Ph.D. degree in communications from the Union Graduate School and Institute for Policy Studies.

In 1966, Carew founded The New Thing Art and Architecture Center, in Washington, D.C., to teach inner city youth. In 1972, Carew transitioned into film and received the Community Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and, in 1973, went to work atWGBHin Boston where he producedSay Brother, Tonite From Harvard Squareand several nationalPBSseries includingSay Brother, National Edition, andRebop I & II. Carew received a broadcast fellowship from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and spent four years there. Carew and his late wife, producer Alyce S. Carew, co-founded the non-profit Rainbow Television Workshop, in 1974. Included in his filmography are credits for his work, as director forBreakin' N' Enterin'in 1983; storywriter and producer for the theatrical release ofD.C. Cabin 1983; producer ofBe Somebody or Be Somebody's Foolin 1984; producer ofAnd The Children Shall LeadTV movie in 1985; executive producer ofBustin' LooseTV series in 1987; executive producer ofA Little Bit Strangethe TV movie in 1989; executive producer ofHomeroomTV series in 1989; director and screenwriter forTalkin Dirty After Darkin 1991; executive producer ofMartinfrom 1992 to 1997; director ofThe Journey of Allen StrangeTV series in 1998; director ofThe Jersey TV Seriesin 2000; director ofThe 100 Deeds of Eddie Mc Dowdin 2001; director ofWe Don't Die, We Multiply: The Robin Harris Storyin 2006.

In 2012, Carew was appointed as a research scholar at Life Long Kindergarten Lab at the MIT Media Lab; and, in 2016, he was promoted to principal investigator at the MIT Media Lab. He later launched the Techquity Research Group and was named faculty fellow at the Innovation Lab at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia in 2018.

His honors include the Boston Neighborhood Network's "National Media Hero Award"; the national "Hometown Video Award" for the best Public Access Television "On Air" promotional campaign; and a 2013 MIT Martin Luther King Leadership Award. He was the keynote speaker at Boston's 2015 King Breakfast and at Boston's 2016 Annual King Afternoon Celebration at Faneuil Hall.

Carew served on the advisory board for The Color of STEM. Carew has won more than forty film and television awards, and eight Gold Medals for graphic design. His awards also include three Action for Children's Television Awards, four NAACP Image Awards, a People's Choice Award, and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

Topper Carew was interviewed byThe HistoryMakerson November 14, 2018.