WBAI is critically important, and I’m committed to doing my best to move this struggling station toward becoming a dynamic force reflecting and serving its diverse listener community. I have the temperament, training, and world view to make a strong contribution to this effort. Vote the Justice and Unity team.
johnbrinkley@justiceunity.org 212-591-2111
I am a candidate for the WBAI Local Station Board with the Justice and Unity Campaign (www.justiceunity.org) because I love the station and feel I can help strengthen it.
I have been listening to WBAI since the 1970s, when a good friend and partner in New Jersey community activities, Pepsi Charles, hosted an evening program called “Nuances.” I’ve been a member for many years, and became actively involved to help overturn the Christmas Coup. WBAI is crucial in this time of spin and corporate-approved public-relations news. I know there are many other qualified, progressive, African-American listeners who could make great contributions, but have too many other demands on their lives. I could have made that case, but I feel strongly that the stakes at WBAI are so high that I must make the time to run and serve, now.
I am running as a part of the Justice and Unity slate because they’ve shown they’ll stand against racism and other forms of discrimination, and for fairness in the treatment of station personnel (program director, station manager, and producers) who were removed without requisite evaluations and process.
What experiences make me a valuable asset to the station and LSB?
• A community activist since high school: picketing, debating and challenging racial discrimination in its many forms.
• Serve 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 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX 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.
• Traveled to all parts of this country and to countries in East, West, and North Africa, the Caribbean, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada.
We are a diverse region in a potentially great 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, a Pan-Africanist trained as a problem-solver and capable of working effectively with virtually anyone.
Please vote for the complete Justice and Unity slate–endorsed by CEMOTAP, Dr. Joy DeGruy (Leary), Tim Wise, Drs. Rosalind and Leonard Jeffries, and Larry Hamm, among others–in the following order:
1. Bernard White
2. Suzanne Adely
3. John Brinkley
4. Father Lawrence Lucas
5. Ray Laforest
6. Wellington Echegaray
7. Sharonne Salaam
8. Linda Bergnes
9. Myriam Decime
10. Carlos Canales
11. Sarah Klepner
12. Henry Hagins
13. Eugene Hamond
johnbrinkley@justiceunity.org 212-591-2111
1. Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board (LSB)?
I love the station, have followed it from the early 1970s, and feel that I can help at this particular stage of its existence.
2. How do you envision the LSB working with the Pacifica Foundation, WBAI staff and listener members?
I envision an open, cooperative and effective working relationship among the four entities. The Local Station Board should help WBAI fulfill the Pacifica mission by ensuring that the local station (WBAI) has the management and resources to provide the local communities the information and access needed for self-empowerment and enrichment.
3. How can WBAI better serve the community? Please define community.
I define the community as all those in the tri-state listening area. Better service would include less on-air fundraising (although I look forward to the information contained in some of the premiums), more local information throughout the day, and more access for progressive organizations about what they are doing to solve problems.
4. Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities and to increase the diversity of the listening audience.
In-reach into underrepresented communities can be done by bringing the station to the people. More remote broadcasts from organizational activities and events would increase general understanding among listeners of each other’s concerns and interests.
5. What sources of funding, other than listener donations, do you feel WBAI should solicit? Do you have any ideas with respect to improving the current funding mechanisms?
You have to ask to receive. I would aggressively approach a variety of funding sources that would not compromise our values. The station should engage a principled professional to pursue grants and endowments, and organize events that generate interest and income.
6. Please state briefly the skills, experience, educational background, work history, organizational affiliations, areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of the Local Station Board.
I have a Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in Psychology (Math minor) and a Master’s degree, also from Rutgers, in Education. I have worked in a variety of environments including schools, colleges, corporations, nonprofits, and local government. My skill set includes: writing, analytical thinking, marketing, recruiting, and problem solving. I am a New Jersey-based community activist in the areas of: community service, through Frontiers International and Latinas en Acción; political action, through the Peoples Organization for Progress (POP) and the Tri-State Save “Like It Is” Coalition; and health, through the Pan Africanist Marcus Garvey Holistic Center.
7. On which Local Station Board committees are you interested in actively serving? If you are a current Local Station Board member, on which committees do you currently serve?
I’d be interested in serving on the Fundraising or Management Evaluation committees, since I have experience in both of these areas.
8. If you are currently on the Board and wish to be re-elected please describe your 3 year experience on the LSB. What did you accomplish? What were the obstacles you faced? Do you envision any change in the next three years if you are re-elected?
Not applicable, as I am not currently on the board.
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