On this day in 1949, history crackled across the airwaves when WERD, the first Black-owned and operated radio station in the United States, began broadcasting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Founded by Jesse B. Blayton Sr., an accountant, professor, and entrepreneur, WERD was truly groundbreaking as it was founded in an era when Black voices were routinely muted in mainstream media. Blayton purchased the station for $50,000. Other Black entrepreneurs made attempts to buy radio stations in the past but were unsuccessful. Blayton brought the 1000-watt station from a white family and hired his son, Jesse Jr., to be the new manager, and Ken Knight to be the program director.
WERD functioned as a megaphone for the community, giving Black announcers, DJs and journalists the chance to control narratives, share music and uplift local businesses.
Operating from the Prince Hall Masonic Temple on Auburn Avenue, WERD was neighbors with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In fact, legend has it that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would send messages up to the DJs using a broomstick to pass notes through the window, guaranteeing that the civil rights movement reached listeners quickly and effectively.
While WERD eventually went off the air in the 1970s, it laid the foundation for countless Black-owned stations that followed.
Hairstylist and educator Ricci de Forest has worked diligently to transform the historic Madam C.J. Walker beauty shop into the Madam C.J. Walker Museum & WERD Studio. The museum preserves the story of Madam Walker, the nation’s first self-made female millionaire, while showcasing the evolution of Black hair and the role WERD played in amplifying voices during the Civil Rights Movement.
