For over 75 years, WDIA in Memphis, Tennessee, has been America’s first all-Black radio station, earning fierce listener loyalty. For 42 of those years, host Bev Johnson has been its heart and soul.
“She’s connected to the community,” one listener told CBS News. Another called her “the queen.”
In a recent Eye on America segment, Johnson shared the secret to her enduring success and WDIA’s vital role, aired August 28, 2025.
“People want to be educated, and WDIA has always done that,” said Johnson, a Memphis resident since college. “I’m ‘your girlfriend’—listeners tell me everything.”
Launched in June 1947 at 730 AM, WDIA initially struggled with varied formats like country and classical, owned by two white men, per the National Civil Rights Museum. In 1948, hiring Nat D. Williams, a respected African American teacher and columnist, transformed it into a trailblazing Black radio station, per the Radio Hall of Fame.
Beyond music, iHeartMedia's WDIA became a lifeline for Black Memphis, covering overlooked issues like police brutality, housing inequities, and civil rights, Johnson noted. “We gave them information they couldn’t get elsewhere.”
The station championed Black-owned businesses and led charity drives, like the Goodwill Fund for school supplies, scholarships, and medical care for Black children. It also spearheaded fundraising to preserve the Lorraine Motel—where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968—helping establish the National Civil Rights Museum in 1991.
Today, Johnson hosts alongside experts like attorneys Monika Johnson and Ursula Woods, providing critical resources. “A lot of times, my guests share information our listeners can’t afford otherwise,” she said, noting Memphis’ one-in-five poverty rate, per the University of Memphis.
“Knowledge makes a difference,” said Monika Johnson. Woods added, “Bev truly understands the community—their needs, desires, and what makes them laugh. She makes everyone feel like family.”
After 42 years, Johnson remains committed. “I still have work to do, guiding folks with a little wisdom,” she said.