Birmingham Black Radio Museum

Birmingham Black Radio Museum

The Birmingham Black Radio Museum (BBRM) project began amassing interviews, pictures and memorabilia in 1992 and received its not-for-profit status on 2004.

Its goal was to organize and preserve that history and make it available to scholars and the public. The collection now spans the 1930s through the 1980s and is archived at the historic Carver Theatre in downtown Birmingham.

Black radio stations were crucial to the success of the civil rights movement in Birmingham.

Announcers such as Paul “Tall Paul” White played important roles on and off the air in support of marches, boycotts and other forms of direct action. He would remind schoolchildren of their “commitment to do their homework” and tell them “you know what you need to do today.”

The communication may not have been a direct call for action, but many people consider it as coded signals.