Black History

Malik Perkins, a graduate of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, who shared his radio memories with the HBCU Radio Preservation Project’s 2025 Fellow Olivia Green in May of 2025.

In recognition of Black History Month, Legacy Listening: HBCU Radio Memories features excerpts from the HBCU Radio Preservation Project's growing collection of oral history interviews, focusing on WCSU at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.

This episode follows the preservation team to coastal North Carolina's Elizabeth City State University, where decades of radio history lay hidden in locked cabinets. Through the collaborative efforts of librarians, radio staff, archivists, and oral historians, we discover how WRVS-FM has served as a vital community voice since 1986 and how preservation work sparked an institutional commitment to safeguarding these irreplaceable recordings for future generations.

This inaugural episode of "Broadcasting History: The HBCU Radio Legacy" examines how radio has functioned as both a tool for oppression and resistance, and highlights the extraordinary achievements of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in creating broadcasting operations that not only trained students but transformed American culture.

Jonas Bender is a former Yellow Springs resident who became one of the first Black Marines. He was stationed at Funafuti and the Ellice and Marshall Islands during WWII.

Follow the HBCU Radio Preservation Project as we rediscover the magic of Black college radio. Through archival recordings, oral histories, and visits to historic campuses, we explore how HBCU radio stations serve as vital communication hubs, launching pads for Black voices, and catalysts for social change. Tune in as we bring these vital histories to life and explore their relevance to today's media landscape.

Black Korean War veteran Joe Lewis stood up to a racist bus driver in the Jim Crow South when he was working at Keesler Air Force Base in the 50s in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will announce its 2024-25 season schedule on Juneteenth this year.

On Saturday, Feb. 10, WCSU General Manager Charles Fox will deliver a performance tracing his family legacy from Africa to a West Virginia slave plantation and finally to his birth home of Maryland.

New Businesses are Thriving; Food Prices Not Deterring Shoppers; Restoring Black Cemeteries Inspired by Cincinnati Burial Ground; Homeless Shelter Needs Bedding Donations

Hear from Betty Ford and Phyllis Jackson. These two women helped guide this community oral history project. Jackson especially had a passion for black history and genealogy and spent years researching her family's story.

The third annual Black Farming Conference hosted by Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice is next month. This will be the first time it will be held in-person.