Civil Rights on the Airwaves

Building Community Radio in Communities of Color

New America Foundation
Monday, January 9, 2012
4:00-5:30 p.m.

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 people of color own only 7 percent of radio stations. 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 and charged with running an unlicensed station serving the black community of Dunbar, Florida with gospel music and local public affairs programs. With an opportunity to transform the national radio landscape on the horizon for 2012, 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.

Featured Speakers

Kai Aiyetoro
Board of Directors
Prometheus Radio Project

John Freeman
Founder and Executive Director
KOCZ in Opelousas, LA

Albert Knighten
Founder
Dunbar Community Radio, Dunbar, FL

Jabari Moketsi
Founder and CEO
Gullah Sentinel, Beaufort, SC

Danielle Mkali
Media Justice Organizer
Main Street Project, Minneapolis, MN

Steven Renderos
Media Justice Program Director
Main Street Project, Minneapolis, MN

Rashad Robinson,
Executive Director of Color of Change

Moderator
Corrine Yu
Senior Counsel and Managing Policy Director
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Special introductions
Betty Yu
Coordinator
MAG-Net

Joe Torres
Senior Adviser for Government and External Affairs, Free Press
Co-author of News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media

The event will be webcast on this page for those who are not in the Washington, DC area. Online viewers can Tweet questions with the hashtag #civilrightsonair.

Cosponsored by Prometheus Radio Project, Media Action Grassroots Network, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Free Press, Color of Change, and New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative.

To RSVP for the event:
http://newamerica.net/events/2012/on_the_airwaves

For questions, contact Stephanie Gunter at New America at (202) 596-3367 or gunter@newamerica.net