National Radio Day: Black Stations And The Pioneers Who Helped Shape Their Programming

UPDATED: 5:00 p.m. ET, Aug. 20, 2024

In honor of National Radio Day, which falls on Aug. 20 every year, we are taking a look back at some of the hero’s both past and present who trailblazed into the industry with their iconic ideas. In what was once considered as Black Radio’s “Golden Age,” from 1920 to the late 1940’s African American radio stations began to rise out of cities like Chicago and Atlanta.  Their AM and FM dials offered unique programming in a time where Black American’s relied heavily on their community to provide news, information, and knowledge.

A number of cultural icons rose from the movement, from station owners and disc jokey’s to radio programmers and writers. Over the years, these stations would become cultural institutions that served as archives and safe heavens for Black expression, music, art and culture. Some would undoubtedly go on to impact and cultivate the personalities and station program directors of today with their revolutionizing programming.

Legendary DJ and actor Jack Gibson who was known by his on-air name “Jockey Jack” Gibson made his big radio break in the 1940s when he appeared in the famous radio drama “Here Comes Tomorrow,” a soap opera written by Black-script writer Richard Durham. Gibson recalled how iconic the show was for its time when it first made its debut on WJJD, a 50,000 WATT Clear Channel station based in Chicago–a station that would unknowingly revolutionize radio for Black Americans.

“It was such a controversial show that we were about 25 years before our time,” Gibson explained in an audio archive. “There were times that the script was so strong they used to have to take us out of the studios by freight elevators and put us in taxicabs and go up the alley.”

Gibson went on to star in another audio drama series Durham created called “Destination Freedom.” The weekly docudrama featured “politically outspoken” scripts that detailed the lives of prominent Black historical figures like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth who used their voices to champion Black rights and freedom.

“I remember that I played Duke Ellington on a show one time. And I played Thurgood Marshall on a show. Those were good days. When I think about the parts that we had, and what we had to do with it. And we learned to use our voice to simulate the action that we were in. And I thought that that was fantastic. You know, people could hear, and through our voices, they could picture the scene that we actually were in,” Gibson shared. The star would go on to host shows with WERD-FM, Atlanta’s first Black-owned radio station.

Keep reading to learn more about a few more radio stations and titans who shaped the industry with their fearless pursuits and riveting programming over the years.

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