NYC: RACISTS TAKE OVER RADICAL RADIO STATION

PLEASE REPOST WIDELY

New York, NY USA

A liberal racist* faction known as "ACE" has taken control of New York's only radical radio station. For years WBAI 99.5FM www.wbai.org has been led by African Americans who have close ties to the black community. But a mostly white faction on the Local Station Board has joined forces with a new acting head of the Pacifica Foundation and taken control. Pacifica runs WBAI and four other sister stations across the U.S. Pacifica does not accept corporate funding. The network was almost taken over by liberal corporate forces in 2000, but they were defeated in the courts and by a listener movement. Now the Local Station Boards are elected by listeners who pay an annual $25 membership fee.

*NOTE: a "liberal racist" is a person who says he/she opposes racism but whose actions support "institutional" or "structural" racism. A liberal racist usually opposes "self-determination" of communities of color and Indigenous peoples. A liberal racist often believes the presence of faces of color in leadership positions and the presence of elections proves the absence of racism. Radical leftists are often liberal racists.

ALERT: MITCHELL COHEN, the Chair of WBAI's Local Station Board, is a member of the ACE faction. He been traveling in France and Germany claiming to represent WBAI. In fact he represents the takeover of the station by Pacifica management. Cohen says he is a "revolutionary" or a "socialist". New York's progressive circles consider Cohen to be an opportunist. Although Cohen publicly opposes racism he is a member of the racist "ACE" faction on the WBAI board. The ACE faction is suing WBAI, challenging the ballots of poor people who cannot afford to pay the $25 membership fee. Cohen also publicly supports CYNTHIA McKINNEY, who ran for President of the U.S. on the Green Party ticket. But in private Cohen is opposed to McKinney getting the job as Pacifica's next Executive Director. Lastly, Cohen is attacking the union of unpaid producers at WBAI because the union has spoken out against violations of fair labor practices by Pacifica and the suppression of free speech. The vast majority of Pacifica producers are unpaid volunteers.

"ACE" stands for Alliance for Community Elections. ACE is a fake front organization created and funded by a white multi-millionaire named STEVE BROWN. (See www.whoisstevebrown.info ) Brown is a mail-order marketer who has been under investigation for shady business practices.

For years Brown has spread overtly racist rumors about WBAI's Program Director Bernard White over the internet. According to the rumors, White controlled the station by threatening to break people's kneecaps with a baseball bat. The station was said to be like "the South Bronx", where one had to "dodge bullets." Another African American was compared to an ape. Brown also spread rumors that White stole money and ripped up donations to the station. These were outrageous lies. Brown is a member of the Local Station Board, and he has appeared on air claiming that WBAI's programming is "anti-white" and "anti-Semitic." The ACE faction claims that Bernard White's programming is the cause for the station's financial problems. All of Pacifica, just like the rest of the world, is having financial problems. Because WBAI is located in NYC, the rents are seven times higher than the other stations.

In early April the Interim Executive Director of Pacifica, GRACE AARON, ordered the locks on WBAI's transmitter to be changed - in the middle of the night. Aaron also did not notify WBAI General Manager ANTHONY RIDDLE. The lock change would allow WBAI programming to be controlled from Pacifica headquarters in Berkeley. In May Aaron fired Riddle and the Program Director BERNARD WHITE. Aaron is white and the two men are black. Bernard White and another African American, a woman who produced a show on people in prison, were banned from the station and forbidden to talk on the air. A "gag rule" is in force at the station and anyone who speaks against the take over is removed from the air. The ACE faction and Pacifica management deny there is a gag rule.

A COALITION TO TAKE BACK WBAI has formed in response to the coup. Many of New York's leading activists including human rights attorney LYNN STEWART and radical Councilman CHARLES BARRON and grassroots community groups like the radical black December 12th Movement have joined forces .... (see list below)

Grace Aaron, a supporter of Hillary Clinton, is backed by segments of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY. At KPFK, WBAI's sister station in Los Angeles, Aaron engineered the 2007 downfall of EVA GEORGIA, the General Manager. Georgia is a radical black South African lesbian. Aaron was a member of the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY for thirty years. She and her husband rose pretty high in its ranks until the Church shunned them. Aaron claimed the Church was not strictly following the "scriptures" of founder L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard considered homosexuality to be a perversion and also supported the racist regime in South Africa. (See
 http://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/owen_apartheid.html "Scientology's fight for apartheid". Also, see this article on Scientology and Racism
 http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/intro.htm

For more background information, see the blog titled "CIA INFILTRATION OF PACIFICA"
 http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2009/02/cia-infiltration-of-
pacifica-radio.html

A quote from the above blog posting:
"These Democratic Party oriented political folks in So CA (Southern California) all essentially have their 'progressive' credentials in order, they are all very nice people, and many have been involved with a lot of worthy causes. However, when it comes to US foreign policy and effective resistance to sophisticated US intelligence spawned propaganda operations and psyops, KPFK's ADA (Americans for Democratic Action) favored programmers that are backing Grace Aaron's takeover of this network's direction have very little to offer in resistance to what real progressives are facing."

The only thing this blogger leaves out is racism within Pacifica. The first producers to be fired and banned are usually producers of color and Indigenous producers who speak on behalf of their communities (and not just themselves). Pacifica management is always able to point to a few people of color who benefit from the purges. The presence of these individuals is supposed to prove that there is no racism. This is like saying that because Obama is President there is no racism in the US.

In addition to the firings at WBAI, recently four other black men and two Latino staff members have been fired at KPFK. Political purges at not new to Pacifica. A previous liberal racist purge led to the removal of 300 producers. First to go are the radical producers of color.

At a recent meeting of the Coalition to Take Back WBAI attorney Lynn Stewart urged listeners to be prepared for a lengthy struggle. WBAI has a 50,000 watt transmitter in the Empire State building and the station is heard in three states. It has a potential audience of over 20 million people and it is worth well over 200 million dollars. Some members of Pacifica's National Board want to sell WBAI to solve Pacifica's financial problems. WBAI's diverse listeners fiercely oppose the sale of the station.

Supporters of the take over of WBAI claim that the listenership has dropped, donations are down, and that the station faced eviction from its Wall Street offices. But former General Manager Anthony Riddle said the eviction notices were a rumor and that listenership is up. Bernard White explained that poor people in communities of color are often left out of ratings prepared by the company Arbiitron. The ACE faction purposely exaggerated the financial problems of WBAI. Grace Aaron also fired Pacifica's Chief Financial Officer LONNIE HICKS, who is African American, because he was sympathetic to WBAI's black management. Hicks is currently suing Pacifica.

DON DEBAR, a reporter for WBAI morning news is also suing members of the ACE faction on WBAI's Local Station Board for attempting to censor him for reporting on the take over of WBAI. In particular the ACE faction objected to the mention of a website, www.wbixradio.org The censorship of news about Pacifica's internal struggles is forbidden by Pacifica's bylaws.

Not surprisingly, the ACE faction has been unable to gather any support from New York's progressive communities. WBAI's hosts often refer to WBAI as "Free Speech radio" and "the voice of the voiceless." The motion to censor DeBar was booed by WBAI listeners at the May meeting of the board. The cramped meeting room overflowed with people of all colors who came out to demand the rehiring of Riddle and White and an end to the gag rule.

INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT THE COALITION TO TAKE BACK WBAI: (partial list)

Pam Africa
Stanley Aronowitz
Father Luis Barrios
City Councilmember Charles Barron
Sandy Bernabei
Tony Gronowicz
Fred Ho
Akinlabi E. A. Mackall
Esperanza Martell
Dr. James McIntosh
Ken Nash
Ralph Poynter
Lea Rizack
Nayo Joy Simmons & Brenda Walker
of Operation P.O.W.E.R. (People Organizing
& Working for Empowerment & Respect)
Lynne Stewart
Valerie Van Isler
Tim Wise

ACT UP/NY (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power/New York)
Alberto Lovero Bolivarian Circle of NY
Anti-Racist Alliance
Asia Pacific Action
CEMOTAP (Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People)
December 12th Movement
FIST - Fight Imperialism Stand Together
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition
International Action Center
International Support Haiti Network
Marvelous Light Crusade World Outreach Ministries
Masjid Al-Taqwah
National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO)
New York Coalition for Neighborhood School Control
Pakistan USA Freedom Forum
Peace Health Center
People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
ProLibertad (Freedom Campaign for Puerto Rican Political Prisoners)
Queers for Peace and Justice
Resistance in Brooklyn
Rockland County Immigration Coalition
Roots Revisited
S.E.E.D.S., Inc.
Sisa Pakari Labor Center - Queens
Working People's Voice Publication


For information on the Coalition to Take Back WBAI, see:
www.takebackwbai.org
For interviews with listeners and with producers who are banned from WBAI radio, see:
www.wbixradio.org