It can be said that Black Americans have long been at the forefront of popular culture. From clothing and slang to music and style, Black Americans have long set the trends that White Americans and thus the rest of the world, will eventually adopt for their own. White America has long co-opted the cultural contributions of Black America and has a history of doing so blatantly, without crediting the source of their “inspiration”. Blacks in America have consistently struggled for recognition and, only relatively recently, have those efforts been rewarded. It is the purpose of this paper to look specifically at the industry of Black radio in Cleveland and its contributions to the greater musical world.
