From a small brick building located two blocks from what is now The King Center boomed a voice for Black Atlanta: Jesse B. Blayton Sr. a professor at Clark Atlanta University. It was 1949, and radio was the most popular medium of mass communication for the Black community.
Blayton (1897–1977), wanted to produce on-air shows that blended language, music, politics and culture aimed specifically at Black audiences. So he started WERD and broadcast information relevant to Atlanta’s Black community from sunup ‘til sundown. It was the first radio station owned and operated by an African American in the United States.
Born in Fallis, Okla., Blayton first worked with investors to raise money to start the station. “When that didn’t work out, he went in his pockets … $50,000 later, he started the station [on his own],” said Ricci de Forest, who is continuing the WERD’s legacy, during an interview with National Public Radio.
After Blayton graduated from University of Chicago, he relocated to Atlanta. It was there he established a private accounting practice. After passing the Georgia accounting examination in 1928, he had become the first Black Certified Public Accountant and only the fourth African American nationwide to hold the certification. He later taught accounting at Atlanta University, where he had little success in recruiting Black students for the profession.
Difficulty in recruiting lay in the fact that white-owned accounting firms would not hire Black people. Blayton had the only Black-owned firm in the South; it was small and had few openings. Thus jobs were non-existing. In the 10 years that followed, there were only seven other Blacks in the U.S. who had achieved that accountant status.
At WERD, Blayton pioneered what he called “Negro-appeal music,” which included early versions of rhythm and blues music that could not be found elsewhere on the air. There were other stations broadcasting music for Black audiences, but WERD was the only one that was Black-owned. By 1954, there were approximately 200 Black-oriented radio stations, but fewer than a dozen were owned by Blacks.
The growth of WERD, its roots in the Black community’s history, is storied. The station was instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement. “King wouldn’t have had a radio station to coordinate with the Movement if WERD hadn’t been here,” de Forest said. “Dr. King’s office was on the first floor of the building and he would broadcast from upstairs.” King used his office for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
The building in which WERD was located, Prince Hall Mason on Sweet Auburn Avenue, is an original Madame C.J. Walker beauty shop. Today, the space houses a museum dedicated to the station and hosts live performances weekly.
WERD, music and information for the Black community at its best, was sold in 1968 when Blayton retired. He died in 1977 in Atlanta and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.
De Forest keeps the station alive by broadcasting an online version of WERD.
Tamara Shiloh
Tamara Shiloh has published the first two books in her historical fiction chapter book series,
Just Imagine…What If There Were No Black People in the World is about African American inventors, scientists and other notable Black people in history. The two books are
Jaxon’s Magical Adventure with Black Inventors and Scientists and
Jaxon and Kevin’s Black History Trip Downtown. Tamara Shiloh has also written a book a picture book for Scholastic,
Cameron Teaches Black History, that will be available in June, 2022.
Tamara Shiloh’s other writing experiences include: writing the Black History column for the Post Newspaper in the Bay area, Creator and Instruction of the black History Class for Educators a professional development class for teachers and her non-profit offers a free Black History literacy/STEM/Podcast class for kids 3d – 8th grade which also includes the Let’s Go Learn Reading and Essence and tutorial program. She is also the owner of the Multicultural Bookstore and Gifts, in Richmond, California,
Previously in her early life she was the /Editor-in-Chief of
Desert Diamonds Magazine, highlighting the accomplishments of minority women in Nevada; assisting with the creation, design and writing of a Los Angeles-based, herbal magazine entitled
Herbal Essence; editorial contribution to
Homes of Color; Editor-in-Chief of
Black Insight Magazine, the first digital, interactive magazine for African Americans; profile creations for sports figures on the now defunct PublicFigure.com; newsletters for various businesses and organizations; and her own Las Vegas community newsletter,
Tween Time News, a monthly publication highlighting music entertainment in the various venues of Las Vegas.
She is a member of:
- Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
- Richmond Chamber of Commerce
- Point Richmond Business Association
- National Association of Professional Women (NAPW)
- Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA)
- California Writers Club-Berkeley & Marin
- Richmond CA Kiwanis
- Richmond CA Rotary
- Bay Area Girls Club
Tamara Shiloh, a native of Northern California, has two adult children, one grandson and four great-grand sons. She resides in Point Richmond, CA with her husband, Ernest.
www.multiculturalbookstore.com
