Voice Over

With panache, Barlow showcases the evolution of black radio from the early days when white disc jockeys negatively portrayed blacks to the contemporary scene, in which disc jockeys operate in corporate environments and blackface is a distant phenomenon. Barlow, an insider of black radio, having been the voice on WPFW in Washington, D.C., for many years, shares his perceptions of the ups and downs of the industry. And he covers black history in the medium from blackface to black-owned. Barlow makes the point that black music and black disc jockeys have played, and continue to play, a crucial role in the black community, even when the stations are not black owned. Black radio has traditionally been a community asset by advocating political and community empowerment as well as providing black musicians with a medium to showcase their talents. Barlow has taken a serious look at a facet of black life that is all too often taken for granted. This work is definitely a needed addition to historical African American collections. Lillian Lewis