NPR’s “Broadcasting History: The HBCU Radio Legacy” podcast debuted this week with its first episode, covering the origins and impact of radio stations at historically Black colleges and universities.
The series, produced by NPR in collaboration with Miami Valley Public Media’s WYSO (91.3) Dayton, OH, uses archival recordings, oral histories, and visits to these colleges to explore how HBCU stations serve as vital communication hubs, launchpads for Black voices, and catalysts for social change, while exploring their relevance to today’s media landscape. The podcast is part of the HBCU Radio Preservation Project, supported by the Mellon Foundation’s $5 million grant to WYSO in 2024.
“In the landscape of American broadcasting history, some of the most significant chapters remain largely untold — among these crucial narratives is the story of radio stations at HBCUs,” says the Project’s founder, Jocelyn Robinson. “[Episode 1] showcases how these stations emerged as powerful platforms for Black voices, music, and perspectives in an era when mainstream media offered limited representation.”
The podcast begins with a study of radio’s earliest days, and what co-host Miles Johnson describes as “a dichotomy for Black Americans,” who were often portrayed through harmful stereotypes and caricatures. “It started with us not being taken seriously, joking and laughing, singing, slapsticking,” Miles College Professor of Mass Communications Dr. Bala Baptiste says. “White people wanted to present Black people as though they need not be taken seriously by any respectable white person.”
The program notes that it wasn’t until after World War II, during the era of segregation, that the first HBCU stations signed on and, Robinson says, “created crucial platforms when few existed elsewhere.” Stations such as Hampton University’s WHOV, Florida A&M’s WANM, and Texas Southern University’s KTSU “faced enormous challenges. Technical and financial hurdles were steep. Additionally, HBCU stations had to carefully navigate the racial politics of their era, especially in the South.”
The debut episode points out that HBCU stations have served as “educational spaces training generations of Black media professionals, cultural archives preserving Black musical traditions from gospel to hip-hop, [and] community lifelines providing vital information during crises and covering local events ignored by mainstream media.”
Robinson takes time to note the Project’s importance, as it “represents the most comprehensive effort to identify, digitize, and preserve the audio archives of HBCU radio stations nationwide. When we preserve HBCU radio, we ensure future generations understand the richness of Black intellectual and cultural life, the strategies of resistance and community building, and these institutions’ vital role in shaping American media and society. The story of HBCU radio is American history.”
