Civil Rights on the FM Dial: Building Community Radio in Communities of Color

Civil Rights on the FM Dial:
Building Community Radio in Communities of Color

Monday, January 9
4pm-5:30pm
live webstream at (TBA)

New America Foundation
1899 L St NW, Suite 400
Washington DC

Cosponsored by:

Prometheus Radio Project, Media Action Grassroots Network, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Free Press, and New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative.

Thanks to the passage of the Local Community Radio Act, 2012 offers the largest expansion of community radio in U.S. history. But for whom? Radio remains relevant in our communities, yet only 7% of radio stations are owned by people of color. Commercial media consolidation and unfair restrictions on community radio have narrowed already limited access to the airwaves for communities of color. Unable to get an FCC license, Albert Knighten was recently arrested, charged with running an unlicensed station serving the black community of Dunbar, Florida with gospel music and local public affairs programs. Knighten will miss his own arraignment to come to Washington and share his story. He will join other grassroots leaders from across the country to discuss the challenges and successes of building community radio in communities of color. Kai Ayetero of Prometheus Radio Project, John Freeman of KOCZ in Opelousas, Louisiana, Jabari Moketsi of South Carolina’s Gullah Sentinel, and Danielle Mkali and Steven Renderos of Main Street Project in Minneapolis will discuss their radio projects and their visions for their communities.

Moderated by Corrine Yu of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, with special introductions from Betty Yu of MAG-Net and Free Press’ Joe Torres, co-author of News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media.