Birmingham Black Radio Museum
The Birmingham Black Radio Museum (BBRM) is a non-profit organization which preserves and exhibits materials relating to African American radio in Birmingham.
Bob Friedman began collecting artifacts, interviews, photographs and other materials to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of WJLD-AM in 1992. WJLD-AM owner Gary Richardson quickly supported the project. Additional materials have been donated by Edward "Johnny Jive" McClure, Manuel Fitch, and others. The museum was incorporated as a non-profit in 2004. Through Friedman's Four Octave Productions, the museum created an educational video, "A Radio Hero", which tells the story of "Tall Paul" White's role in communicating with young people involved in the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights' 1963 "Children's Crusade".
The collection, which covers the decades between the 1930s and 1980s was initially housed at the Carver Theatre. It was moved to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute during the Carver's renovation. Method-1 Interiors was commissioned to design a new exhibit for installation at the Carver Theatre in 2022.
In addition to individual and corporate gifts, grant funding for the museum has been awarded by the Daniel Foundation, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the Alabama Humanities Alliance. The museum's website was launched in 2016. In 2017, the BBRM was welcomed as a Ceremonial Partner with the Radio Preservation Taskforce of the U.S. Library of Congress, and in 2018 the BBRM received a "Community Engagement Award" from the University of Alabama.
Efforts to organize the collection into an accessible archive have been assisted by interns from the University of Alabama's School of Library and Information Sciences and a grant from the Alabama Department of Archives and History. In 2022 the museum was awarded a $50,000 grant from the U.S. National Park Service's African American Civil Rights Grant Program.
References
- Haden, Courtney (March 28, 2013) "Tall Paul’s long shadow." Weld for Birmingham
- Black, Hank (March 30, 2016) "Birmingham Black Radio Museum maintains unique aspect of local heritage." Southern Company. Alabama Newscenter
- Crenshaw, Solomon Jr (February 20, 2020) "The Rich History of Birmingham’s Black Radio Museum" The Birmingham Times
- Riter, Robert Barnet; Bob Friedman; Kimberly McDade and Jeff Hirschy (October 18, 2021) "Preserving the history of Birmingham Black Radio: a discussion of preservation, outreach and collaboration". Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication ISSN 2514-9342
- Crenshaw, Solomon Jr (January 31, 2024) "Museum of Black Radio History to Open This Spring in Birmingham." The Birmingham Times
External links
- Birmingham Black Radio Museum website