Podcast appearances and mentions of Sonja D Williams

Critics believe independent writers, reporters, producers and content creators with large digital followers will paint the future of journalism. But with (mis)information so readily available via the internet, will media consumers trust those fresh voices? I SEE U host Eddie Robinson questions whether traditional journalism runs the risk of falling prey to an overwhelming arena of YouTubers, vloggers and podcasters hoping for a digital, multimedia transformation. Peabody Award-winning Professor of Media, Journalism and Film at Howard University's Cathy Hughes School of Communications, Sonja D. Williams, provides her insight; along with Emmy award-winning reporter, Justin Carter, who left his TV job to work for the independent media company, “The Shade Room,” a celebrity news and trending gossip platform.

  Sonja D. Williams is a professor in the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism, and Film in Washington, DC.    Williams has written and produced numerous features and documentaries for National Public Radio (NPR), Public Radio International (PRI), the Smithsonian Institution, and local radio stations nationwide.  Including  the prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards for Significant and Meritorious Achievement for Smithsonian Productions and Public Radio International’s  Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was NPR’s Making the Music NPR and Radio Smithsonian’s Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions.  I speak with her about her book Word Warrior The Life of Richard Dunham creator of the original Destination Freedom.

In the first episode of season two, Jenni Werner is joined by co-host Esther Winter, creative producer for Geva's Recognition Radio Festival - an audio play festival celebrating Black stories - to talk about the festival and Esther's many roles in the Rochester-area arts community. And then guest Professor Sonja D. Williams, author of Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio and Freedom to talk about the pioneering writer and producer of radio's first Black radio dramas. Join us for a conversation about radio history, Durham's script writing (the good and the bad), innovative artistic choices, missed deadlines and incredible impact.

Golden voice narrator Robin Miles narrates a biography of Richard Durham, an African-American radio broadcaster who was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Durham rose as an intellectual during a period when African-American writing was getting increased attention after WWII, and his story is good listening for history buffs. Robin Miles narrates with smooth transitions, and even sings out some of the spirituals featured in the story. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter on our website. On today’s episode are Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine reviewer Jonathan Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!  1. Genny Lim, San Francisco Jazz Poet Laureate (rebroadcast), speaks about Don't Shoot: A Requiem in Black 2. Sonja D. Williams, author, Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio and Freedom. She will be at the African American Museum and Library, Sat., March 11, 2-4 p.m.

Feb. 3, 2016. Award-winning radio producer Sonja D. Williams illuminates Durham's extraordinary career in her book "Word Warrior", which draws on archives and hard-to-access family records, as well as interviews with family and such colleagues as Studs Terkel and Toni Morrison. She discussed and signed her book. Speaker Biography: Sonja Williams is a professor in the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism and Film in Washington. She has worked as a broadcast journalist and media trainer in the Caribbean, Africa and the U.S. and has received numerous awards, including three Peabody awards for significant and meritorious achievement. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7193

Word Warrior documents the writing, life and times of a pioneering, yet overlooked, African American artist. Throughout Richard Durham's lifetime (1917-1984), this prolific Mississippi-born, Chicago-based writer used his eloquent literary voice and fierce determination to fight for freedom, equality and justice for all.Durham first authored engaging poetry and radio dramas during the 1930s and '40s. He may be best known for his award-winning "Destination Freedom" series featured on Chicago's NBC affiliate, WMAQ, from 1948-1950. The series took listeners on a weekly, half-hour journey through the lives and accomplishments of African American history makers and heroes -- a truly unique series on a medium that barely recognized and usually negatively stereotyped black citizens in a highly discriminatory America.Richard Durham also earned honors as an investigative reporter for the black-owned Chicago Defender. During the 1960s, he edited the Nation of Islam's Muhammad Speaks newspaper and served as lead writer for "Bird of the Iron Feather," a pioneering public television series about black life. Durham wrote Muhammad Ali's 1975 autobiography, The Greatest, and later served as a strategist and speechwriter for Chicago's first black mayor, Harold Washington.Sonja D. Williams is a professor in the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism, and Film. She has worked as a broadcast journalist and media trainer in the Caribbean, Africa and throughout the United States, receiving numerous awards, including three George Foster Peabody Awards for Significant and Meritorious Achievement.The Brown Lecture Series is supported by a generous grant from the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Foundation.

Word Warrior documents the writing, life and times of a pioneering, yet overlooked, African American artist. Throughout Richard Durham's lifetime (1917-1984), this prolific Mississippi-born, Chicago-based writer used his eloquent literary voice and fierce determination to fight for freedom, equality and justice for all.Durham first authored engaging poetry and radio dramas during the 1930s and '40s. He may be best known for his award-winning "Destination Freedom" series featured on Chicago's NBC affiliate, WMAQ, from 1948-1950. The series took listeners on a weekly, half-hour journey through the lives and accomplishments of African American history makers and heroes -- a truly unique series on a medium that barely recognized and usually negatively stereotyped black citizens in a highly discriminatory America.Richard Durham also earned honors as an investigative reporter for the black-owned Chicago Defender. During the 1960s, he edited the Nation of Islam's Muhammad Speaks newspaper and served as lead writer for "Bird of the Iron Feather," a pioneering public television series about black life. Durham wrote Muhammad Ali's 1975 autobiography, The Greatest, and later served as a strategist and speechwriter for Chicago's first black mayor, Harold Washington.Sonja D. Williams is a professor in the Howard University Department of Media, Journalism, and Film. She has worked as a broadcast journalist and media trainer in the Caribbean, Africa and throughout the United States, receiving numerous awards, including three George Foster Peabody Awards for Significant and Meritorious Achievement.The Brown Lecture Series is supported by a generous grant from the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Foundation.Recorded On: Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Sonja D. Williams‘ book Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom (University of Illinois Press, 2015) connects its subject to some of the most important events and social movements of his time, including what we now call the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration. Durham’s life path, like that of many other African Americans born in the early part of the 20th century, goes from the Jim Crow South, to Chicago, where his family builds a solid middle-class existence founded on educational attainment and hard work. Durham’s writing career included poetry, newspapers, radio, television, and a celebrated biography of Muhammad Ali. Durham also played a significant role in the election of the first black mayor of Chicago, his high school friend, Harold Washington. In this engaging interview, Sonja Williams sheds important light on an unassuming man who was most comfortable quietly but forcefully serving the causes he believed in from behind the scenes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonja D. Williams‘ book Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom (University of Illinois Press, 2015) connects its subject to some of the most important events and social movements of his time, including what we now call the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration. Durham’s life path, like that of many other African Americans born in the early part of the 20th century, goes from the Jim Crow South, to Chicago, where his family builds a solid middle-class existence founded on educational attainment and hard work. Durham’s writing career included poetry, newspapers, radio, television, and a celebrated biography of Muhammad Ali. Durham also played a significant role in the election of the first black mayor of Chicago, his high school friend, Harold Washington. In this engaging interview, Sonja Williams sheds important light on an unassuming man who was most comfortable quietly but forcefully serving the causes he believed in from behind the scenes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonja D. Williams‘ book Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom (University of Illinois Press, 2015) connects its subject to some of the most important events and social movements of his time, including what we now call the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration. Durham’s life path, like that of many other African Americans born in the early part of the 20th century, goes from the Jim Crow South, to Chicago, where his family builds a solid middle-class existence founded on educational attainment and hard work. Durham’s writing career included poetry, newspapers, radio, television, and a celebrated biography of Muhammad Ali. Durham also played a significant role in the election of the first black mayor of Chicago, his high school friend, Harold Washington. In this engaging interview, Sonja Williams sheds important light on an unassuming man who was most comfortable quietly but forcefully serving the causes he believed in from behind the scenes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonja D. Williams‘ book Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom (University of Illinois Press, 2015) connects its subject to some of the most important events and social movements of his time, including what we now call the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration. Durham's life path, like that of many other African Americans born in the early part of the 20th century, goes from the Jim Crow South, to Chicago, where his family builds a solid middle-class existence founded on educational attainment and hard work. Durham's writing career included poetry, newspapers, radio, television, and a celebrated biography of Muhammad Ali. Durham also played a significant role in the election of the first black mayor of Chicago, his high school friend, Harold Washington. In this engaging interview, Sonja Williams sheds important light on an unassuming man who was most comfortable quietly but forcefully serving the causes he believed in from behind the scenes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies