“The Forgotten 15 million”. What happened when the radio industry realized it could make money out of African Americans and their music (1950s-1970s)

Abstract

The article aims to revisit the history of « black radio » in the United States. After World War II, African Americans gradually emerged as meaningful consumers in the eyes of white entrepreneurs looking for new market opportunities. The entire subfield of black-oriented radios was then created to attract black customers with what was identified as their music (blues, rhythm’n’blues, gospel, etc.). However, these economic strategies fueled an opportunity for African American disc-jockeys who used their position as a gateway to the market to redirect the purpose of black-appeal radios from money-making to community-organizing.

Keywords

• labor
• music
• politics
• race
• radio