Golden Age of Black Radio - Part 3: Community Engagement

Martha Steinberg recalls WDIA's role in serving the Black community

WDIA played a very, very important role in the Black community because they mixed entertainment with serving the community. They could have done that because they were white owners and maybe it was a demand to get more into the Black community - to the Negro community at that particular time what it was called - and it could be from the goodness of their hearts. Or it could be making so much money on the Black community. Just by chance they hit something that was different and felt had somewhat of a conscience and wanted to put something back.

But, whatever it was at that particular time there were no - no one was interested in the crippled children of Memphis. And WDIA, through Bert Ferguson and David James, who was the program director, and David James was a German guy. He was very bright. He taught us what all we knew. He was very smart. And he knew radio. But he also had some - he was a Catholic and I think he had somewhat of a conscience of wanting to give something back. And I think he encouraged Bert Ferguson to want to give something. And Bert Ferguson might of - I can't read to say whether they wanted to do it or they didn't want to do it, but they did do it. We had Goodwill Revues, Starlight Revues, and the money raised would buy buses and also pay the driver of the bus to take the Black, crippled children to the hospitals and to school and back home. And we formed Little League teams and I think that at WDIA when I learned - I was exposed to what being involved in the community - what a business could do to bring things to some kind of semblance of respect and an acceptance in the community.

I think we were more a community radio station because we really didn't have that much competition. We had some of the best disc jockeys, and it was all just beginning for Black radio anyway. We beamed throughout - we had 50,000 watts - so we beamed throughout most of the Southern states. So we were just a phenomenon, and we didn't have anything to worry about because there was not much to compare with us. So we were great. We got national business. A national person could buy one shot at DIA and hit 'em all. And nobody was interested in Black radio and so there was no competition. So we had no competition so far as ratings, so we just did what we thought was best to do - was being the best we could on the radio, and then serving the community.

Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg, who began her career as a deejay at Memphis radio station WDIA in 1954.

Novella Smith addresses the need for broadcast news on Black radio

Black people read newspapers. We wanted to know what was going on in our community, as well as in the world. And I convinced the owners that's what we needed to do in here. And they bought it. And then I sold it to beer companies, car dealers, what have you. Sold the concept of sponsorship.

So they had to do it. If somebody paid for it, they'd have to do it. And you always did that. You'd say, "Well, if it's bought, they'll have to put it on the air." And then I convinced the sponsors this was something they should do because it's something that consumers liked.

-- Novella Smith, Houston deejay

Martha Steinberg salutes the Black working class on her radio show

I realized what Detroit needed. And I started with my blue collar worker salute. I was going to Inkster one day, and I saw all the men in the hole on Ecorse Road. They were diggin'. They always workin' doin' something on those expressway out there.

So when I got to the radio station that day, I said, "To all my men in the hole on Ecorse Road. The Queen is touching you today."

And from that, then the next day somebody called and said, "Well, you talked about the men on the - what about us, the men over here at this plant?"

So, I had a blue collar worker salute that we play on the station right today saluting all of my - we play the blues and we say, "To all of my blue collar workers. All of you who earn your bread by the sweat of your brow. I want you to know that you are somebody. You are responsible for the wheels of this world going around, and don't you ever forget it."

And then I'd say, "For my truck-drivin' friends, and for my fellows at Ford, and Dodge Main, for my pantry girls."

So we would have that salute and it became very popular.

-- Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg, Detroit deejay

Indiana University ethnomusicologist Dr. Portia K. Maultsby and Alfred Wiggins interview Jack Gibson in 1981 about the role of deejays in the Black community.