How Radio Becomes Community Care
How can Black, Brown, working-class, immigrant, queer, and other marginalized communities build power and reclaim their narratives in a society and media landscape dominated by powerful corporations that uphold white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, and other forms of oppression?
Community radio plays a crucial role in protecting and advancing a healthy multiracial democracy. Created by the people, for the people, it is often led and owned by communities that have historically been exploited, disempowered, and misrepresented by mainstream media. These stations allow communities to reclaim their power by sharing stories and issues that reflect their lived experiences and needs.
Community radio covers a wide range of topics, including education, advocacy, culture, and local news. Unlike public radio, which often targets broader audiences with set programming formats, such as jazz music or news and information, community radio focuses on the unique needs and interests of hyperlocal listeners, typically broadcasting within a defined local area.
Across the Greater Philadelphia region, community radio stations are serving the needs of communities historically harmed or erased by the media.
G-Town Radio (92.9FM)
One example is G-Town Radio (92.9FM), a community radio station based in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Local news about Germantown often focused on crime and crisis. G-Town Radio engages the Germantown community by telling their stories, sharing music, and offering a platform for community members to share news and discuss issues about their neighborhood and lives.
The video above (click the play button to watch) features how the station regularly features conversations with community members sharing their contributions to Germantown, from expanding access to food to supporting voter registration efforts. Local organizations also use G-Town Radio to share resources and opportunities. In this way, G-Town Radio serves as a hub for community connection and access to critical information.
In addition to the many grassroots movements, nonprofit organizations, and civil liberties groups fighting for our rights, communities under attack need media outlets that are owned and led by them to amplify stories about their liberation.
LISTEN TO G-TOWN RADIO
Radio MILPA (online)
Radio MILPA, the community radio platform of the Movement of Immigrant Leaders in Pennsylvania (MILPA), provides rights-based information and serves as a channel for community organizing. MILPA, a network of families advocating for political, social, and economic change, uses its radio platform to educate immigrant communities across Pennsylvania about their constitutional rights and how to protect them.
Through Radio MILPA, listeners can access music, weekly leadership updates, campaigns such as efforts to expand access to driver’s licenses, member testimonials, and educational content designed to support and inform the community.
LISTEN TO RADIO MILPA
RadioCATA (102.5 FM)
Photo credit: RadioCATA
RadioCATA (102.5 FM), operated by the Farmworkers Support Committee (CATA), broadcasts daily in Spanish from Bridgeton, New Jersey. Since 1979, CATA has supported farmworkers and the Latine immigrant community across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Through RadioCATA, the organization advocates for workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, and food justice while providing essential news, information, and entertainment. The station plays a critical role in educating and empowering the community, particularly those who may not have access to other trusted information sources.
LISTEN TO RADIOCATA
The Afro-American Historical Society of Delaware (WHGE 95.3FM)
Photo Credit: WHGE Radio
WHGE 95.3 FM is Delaware's first Black-owned radio station, serving downtown Wilmington and operated by the Afro-American Historical Society. Founded in 2018, the station features programming created for and by Wilmington’s Black community.
WHGE works to educate listeners about the often-overlooked history and heritage of Wilmington’s Black communities while catalyzing civic engagement and political empowerment. It provides a platform for residents to celebrate their culture, share their stories, and access information that supports community participation.
Community radio stations across the Greater Philadelphia region are working to strengthen a healthy democracy. By sharing vital news, information, and stories, these stations foster community resilience and help propel us toward a more just and liberated future.
LISTEN TO WHGE RADIO
Header photo credit: PhillyCAM
