HBCU Radio Preservation Project: James Davis
James Davis on the value of a scientific background, co-authoring papers, radio engineering, the demand of radio, and more!
It's Wednesday, which means an oral history just dropped on our YouTube! Part of the HBCU Radio Preservation Project, the Margaret Walker Center is serving as a repository for the histories of these stations and the community members who have been a part of them.
James Davis had early foundations that have fostered his radio career, including one teacher in particular, Dr. Lanker, who encouraged his interest and education in science. James gained a lot of experience at Duke University’s campus radio station, which he continued to work with even after his time as a student. His entry into professional radio began in 1965, and he continued working in Philadelphia, where he was raised. Gaining much experience over the years in his diverse roles, he now serves as a contract engineer, volunteer disc jockey, and presenter on weekends at the WNCU station. He has also worked at Shaw as an engineer and at the Institute for Parapsychology, co-authoring several papers and helping to design experiments. James also reflects on how the demand for radio has changed over the years, but he remains grateful for his experiences and communities.
About the Project
Each Wednesday, tune into our YouTube channel, @mwalkercenter, to catch a new oral history from the HBCU Radio Preservation Project!
We are proud to partner with several organizations for the HBCU Radio Preservation Project, which is dedicated to honoring and preserving the rich history and cultural resource of HBCU radio.
Here’s some more info from their website:
Much of the material created at these stations is at risk of being lost, though they document the rich history and diversity of the Black experience through the Civil Rights era and beyond. The goals are to preserve the stations’ audio collections and to foster a community of sustainability for the stations and institutional archives on campus.
The project provides preservation training and workshops for campus stations, archivists and community members, recruiting HBCU graduates as interns and fellows.
Field archivists will collaborate with stations and campus archivists on collections assessments and follow-up field services such as inventories, reformatting, rehousing, and other preservation activities.
Oral historians will interview a range of community members to document the history of the stations. Training in gathering oral histories and using historical audio in content creation will also be offered. Other goals include launching an interactive website, a podcast series, and annual symposia.
