|
Sunday, 09 August 2009 20:25 |
|
John Brinkley
Listener Candidate for the WBAI Local Station Board Statement
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
212-591-2111
I am a candidate for the WBAI Local Station Board with the Justice & Unity Campaign (www.justiceunity.org) because I love the station and feel I have something to contribute. I have been listening to WBAI since the 1970s, when a good friend and partner in community activities, Pepsi Charles, had the evening program “Nuances.” I’ve been a member for many years and became actively involved in the successful struggle to overturn the Christmas Coup. WBAI is crucial in this time of spin and corporate-approved public-relations news. I know that there are many qualified progressive African American listeners who could make great contributions, but have too many other demands on their lives. I too could have made that case, but I feel that the stakes at WBAI are so high that I have to make the time to run and to serve. I am running as a part of the Justice & Unity slate because they have shown that they will stand against racism and for fairness in the treatment of key personnel (program director, station manager and key producers) who were removed without required evaluations – and in addition to all this, Justice & Unity has great ideas for moving the station forward.
What have I done that makes me ready to contribute to the LSB?
* A community activist since high school: picketing, debating and challenging racial discrimination in its many forms.
* Served in the Peoples Organization for Progress (POP), Frontiers International (the oldest Black service organization), Latinas en Acción, and the Hon. Marcus Garvey Holistic Center.
* Worked with community-based organizations to develop re-entry programs for the formerly incarcerated.
* As a member of the Tri-State Save "Like It Is" Coalition, challenged the renewal of the four TV networks’ FCC licenses.
* Participated in media forums sponsored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition, St. Johns University, and the Free Press.
* Served two years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Ethiopia as a math teacher, learned the local language and helped several students come to the U.S.
* Earned 2 degrees from Rutgers and taught in settings from private grammar schools to public colleges.
* Worked in college, corporate, local government and nonprofit environments.
* Done a fair amount of traveling to all parts of this country and to countries in East, West and North Africa, the Caribbean, Italy, Brazil, Mexico and Canada.
We have a diverse country in a world of people who have rich cultures with much to offer. WBAI should be a progressive voice reflecting this diversity.
I offer myself as a Pan-Africanist trained as a problem solver.
I ask that all please vote for the complete Justice and Unity slate in the following order:
1 Lynne Stewart
2 Nia Bediako
3 Russell Dale
4 Sister Betty Dopson
5 Wellington Echegaray
6 Nana Camille Yarbrough
7 Myriam Decime
8 John Brinkley
9 Berta Silva
10 Sharonne Salaam
11 Carlos Canales
12 Terrence Podolsky
|
