Lynne Stewart

I’m proudly running for the board with the WBAI Justice & Unity Campaign. After my arrest by the US government in 2002, the first reporter at the courthouse door was Errol Maitland of WBAI. The next morning having been wooed by all the major networks, we decided only Amy Goodman would give the honest coverage and depth we needed to expose the motives behind my prosecution. Before and during the trial and sentencing, I believe I appeared on almost every show on WBAI. When the Judge refused to give me thirty years, Sally O’Brien of WBAI was the first reporter to break the news. Jose Santiago reported on the argument on Appeal. At every step of my struggle, WBAI stood with me and it truly mattered. So many New Yorkers have told me, “I heard you on WBAI.”

On the day last April that Errol urgently reported on Wake Up Call about California-based Pacifica interfering with WBAI local autonomy by locking local management out of the Empire State transmitter, I knew WBAI needed me. I began to discern a pattern. The abrupt removal of Anthony Riddle as manager, the firing and banning of Bernard White and of producer Ayo Harrington, all indicated that moves were being made to cure the station of being “TOO BLACK.”

After the 8 o’clock hour of Wake Up Call was cancelled over the public objections of Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, the issues were sharpened. Juan and Amy also wrote, “Given Bernard’s decades of devotion and dedication to WBAI, the way he was treated lacked basic human consideration.” These acts occurred because the group that perpetrated them had majority power on the Local Station Board and the Pacifica National Board. WE MUST CHANGE THIS!

The current board majorities prize that programming which raises the most dollars. We prize providing access to the voiceless and protecting uncensored news. I believe we must broaden the listenership and take the station to underserved communities. Meanwhile, why can’t we negotiate or buy our way out of our obscene rent on Wall Street? Why can’t we buy an abandoned factory or school in Brooklyn or the Bronx? Surely our WBAI community has people smart and dedicated enough. Justice & Unity is committed to these projects.

In closing, WBAI, with its favorable dial location and strong signal, is a natural target for the forces of corporatization. I stand against the empire, whatever its face, and its reach to control all media. If WBAI goes the way of NPR, we have lost a key component in our struggle to change the world. This shall not happen … I pledge that to you. So do my colleagues in Justice & Unity. Please vote for us in the following rank 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