Amplify Color Interval Presents

Radio connected people like never before. It changed the way we received information and advertising, as well as how we listened to music. Everyone got to enjoy radio … but that doesn’t mean everyone got to participate. How and why did African-Americans get excluded? In this episode we explore the origins of how the medium of radio rose to dominance and changed the world, and how African-Americans refused to be denied.
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Everyone on this list is forever indebted to Jack Leroy Cooper, America’s very first Black radio disc jockey and radio programmer. Despite no formal education and dropping out of elementary school, Cooper paved the way for Black folks to be entertainers on-air and to control the content that was heard. In 1929 he created the “All-Negro Hour” on WSBC in Chicago. He was the first DJ to play gramophone records on air. This was, of course, not without many obstacles as we learn the hurdles that Mr. Cooper faced to lay the groundwork for where Black folks are on radio today.
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In 1949, WERD became America’s first radio station owned and programmed by African-Americans. Founded by Jesse B. Blayton in Atlanta, Georgia, WERD was known for playing Black music that wasn’t traditionally played on white-owned stations, offering Black artists and DJs new opportunities to be heard. The station also played a huge role in the Civil Rights movement, allowing leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. to relay his message to his audience. The station faced opposition along the way. The city of Atlanta regulated the station to 1000 watts which was just enough to reach local Black neighborhoods but not much more. The impact of WERD would soon spread across America and its founder Jesse B. Blayton would be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.
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“Petey Greene the Talking Machine” was Washington DC’s fast talking, provocative, but tell-it-like-it is radio disc jockey. His life is a turn-your-lemons-into-lemonade success story. Petey served 21 years in prison but it was in prison where he found his calling as a radio personality. Prison guards used to let Petey use the prison PA system for two hours a day so that he could entertain his fellow inmates with his quick wit and sharp humor. Upon his release, he landed his own show, “Rappin’ with Petey Greene,” on DC’s AM radio station WOL 1450. Though he battled many demons throughout his career, he used his own story as a message to listeners to not make the same mistakes he made in life. Extremely foulmouthed and brutally honest, Petey was loved by all, from street cronies to even the President of the United States. His life in radio proved that the power of authenticity can take one to new heights.
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When she was just in her early 30s, Cathy Hughes created the largest African-American broadcasting company in the United States. This did not come without extreme adversity. When looking to buy her first radio station, she was denied bank loans 34 times. In this episode, listeners will hear how Cathy’s persistence and determination led not only to the creation of a new radio format, but to Cathy becoming the second wealthiest Black woman in America. Her impact and legacy have changed Black radio forever.
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Though June has been known as Black Music Month since 1979, it wasn’t until Dyana Williams met with President Clinton years later before The White House officially recognized it. Today Dyana is known as an activist for the rights of Black musicians. She got her start in radio back in the 1970s when she joined the staff of 96.3 WHUR-FM in Washington D.C. Two years later she returned to her hometown of New York City to become an on-air personality and the first Black-Latina woman to host rock music station WRQX-FM. Her career in radio has left a legacy of fighting for Black musical creatives and is proof that radio personalities can have a positive impact on our world outside of the airwaves.
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