HBCU Radio Preservation Project: Talbert Gray
Talbert Gray talks about family, military service, managing radio stations, teaching the next generation of professionals, 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.
While growing up in Philadelphia, PA, Talbert Gray shared a close bond with his mother, who was a significant influence on his life. After her passing, he moved to Memphis, TN, where he continued to experience a family-oriented environment with his father and extended family. At Booker T. Washington High School, Talbert was involved with sports and music, learning to play a variety of instruments. He joined the Air Force after high school, serving in the 1365th Photographic Unit and filming active situations in areas such as Vietnam. His entry into broadcasting came afterward, and he became a general manager for the WRBS station and 18BB TV. Talbert credits a Sunday school teacher for shaping his interest in community-centered journalism. He also stresses the important of allowing students to gain experience in radio stations that allow them to learn skills and develop their on-air personas. In addition, teaching students how to use radio equipment is another way Talbert remains committed to helping the next generation of radio professionals.
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.
