Joe Madison - Radio Active: A Memoir of Advocacy in Action, on the Air and in the Streets

PRAISE FOR RADIO ACTIVE

I found his account riveting, wonderfully written, and exciting to
read. He gives the reader a behind the scenes, Eagle eye view of
personal, historical, and current events that only a handful of people
on earth can speak to.

Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

I always say love is an action word and Joe Madison has been an
example of how acting on words of hope put into actions can change
lives for the better.

Bebe Winans, singer-songwriter

Ive known Joe since I was 16 years old. I like his genuineness,
humbleness and willingness to hold accountable those who dont fight
for the birdies in his nest. You want the Black Eagle on that wall.

Donnie Simpson, host of BETs Video Soul and

Radio Hall of Fame member

I honor the relationship Ive been privileged to have with the
Black Eagle. His commitment to the community and his constant
unapologetic free thinking has been a guideline to sparking the minds
of many generations. Ive learned that hes also a kind and
caring person that naturally mentors and provides.
Thank you Joe for showing us how its done!

Sway Calloway, radio personality and host of Sway in the Morning
on SiriusXM

One of my generations most extraordinary men in so many
dimensions shares extraordinary (and sometimes jaw-dropping)
stories of his life that will inspire and energize you. Joe Madison
brings the arc of modern American and world history into bright view
through a book filled with adventures and challenges that
you wont be able to put down!

Thom Hartmann, talk show host and author of The Hidden History
of American Healthcare

Buckle up. His memoir is the truth!

Roland S. Martin, #RolandMartinUnfiltered Daily Digital Show

RADIO ACTIVE

A Memoir of Advocacy in Action,

on the Air and in the Streets

JOE MADISON

with Dave Canton

Copyright 2021 by Joe Madison.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 09/27/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

763436

This book is dedicated to my wife, Sharon LaVerne
Madison, who has been my angel on earth.

To my children, Shawna, Jason, Monesha and
Michelle, and their children, who inspire me in
everything I do and have done for the benefit of
their world, and will continue to do until I take my
last breath.

Joe Madison

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is primarily a collaboration between Joe Madison and myself, Dave Canton, but we couldnt have done it without a lot of other peoples help.

First among those was our editor, Bryan Monroe, whose unexpected death on Jan. 13, 2021, was a devastating loss to us all. Monroe was an associate professor of journalism at Temple Universitys Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. A longtime friend and a frequent guest on Joes show, Bryan was the former editor of Ebony and Jet and was also assistant vice president of news at Knight Ridder. From 2005 to 2007, he served as president of the National Association of Black Journalists. In 2006, a team of journalists he led won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Most of this book originated from recorded interviews with Joe and from his radio broadcasts, which I compiled and organized into the current narrative. Bryan, the consummate journalist, played a key role in turning Joes reminiscences into a fascinating and coherent story.

We would like to thank our final editor, Karl Kahler, designer, Tracy Cox, and copy editor, Debbie Bride, for their contribution to completing this project. We thank our transcribers, Dion Rabouin, Phyllis Greenhill and Christine Fiore, for their excellent work, and Allison Paynter, professor of English at Chaminade University, who edited early portions of the book.

We thank the staff at the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans, where Joes papers are located. And we thank Connecticut College and the University of Florida, which provided necessary funds to complete the project.

Finally, we would like to thank the Madison family, primarily Joes wife, Sharon Madison, for their assist in telling this incredible story. We thank Joes children, Shawna, Monesha, Michelle and Jason, for sharing photos and information about their father.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD
HOOKED ON THE
BLACK EAGLE

In 2004, I bought my father an XM satellite radio because he was a San Francisco Giants fan and XM satellite allowed him to listen to every single Giants game on the radio. My father is old-school. He listens to baseball on the radio, does not have an ATM card and is a talk show junkie.

When I called him to see if he had enjoyed XM, he said yes, but he told me that he really enjoyed listening to The Power (now called Urban View), an all-Black talk station. He told me about The Black Eagle Show hosted by Joe Madison from 6 to 10 in the morning. My father is a loyal listener, and he told me one of Joes famous sayings: We are culturally conditioned to believe white is better than black, and the manifestation of that condition is to be undervalued, underestimated and marginalized.

Before 2004, I had never heard of Joe Madison. I am a history professor, civil rights scholar and radio talk show fan, but I had never heard of the Black Eagle.

In 2009, I purchased a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country that had satellite radio. When I worked at Connecticut College, I drove an hour to work three to four days a week, so every morning I had the pleasure of listening to the Black Eagle. I was hooked.

Not only did I enjoy listening, I learned a great deal from his show. On some mornings I was so fired up that I brought up Joes daily discussion topic to my class. When I started listening, Joe asked alumni of historically Black colleges and universities to call their alma mater and ask them to divest from Sudan due to slavery and genocide in Darfur. One morning I sat in my childs middle school parking lot listening to the show and Joe asked his alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, to divest.

While mainstream media talked about genocide in Darfur, Joe asked his listeners to do something about it. Joe participated in hunger strikes and conducted acts of civil disobedience to protest genocide in Sudan. He traveled to Sudan and did a number of live remotes to give his listeners a view of Sudan from the ground. In 2011, South Sudan became an independent nation. Joes work paid off.

Joe Madison has been on the radio for more than 40 years, and a great deal has changed for African Americans. In 2003, Oprah Winfrey became the worlds first Black female billionaire; in 2008, Barack Obama became the nations first Black president; and in 2021, Kamala Harris became the first female, Black and Asian vice president.

Yet African Americans remain underrepresented in media, not to mention in corporate boardrooms. This dichotomy of Black progress and structural racism is at the core of the African American experience. But its Black activism that is the major reason why African Americans have progressed.

When most Americans talk about the civil rights movement, they mention Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks. When they talk about the Black Power era, they mention Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party.