Threats, Weapons and Violence Under New Management (full)

From: Nia Bediako

Hi everyone,

This is a true account of what happened at WBAI on the evening of Sept. 9, 2009.

o    A meeting of the WBAI Local Station Board was called for Sept. 9, 2009, in the station’s very small conference room. The location was not announced until the morning of the meeting. Shortly after LSB Chair Mitchel Cohen called the meeting to order, board member Bob Lederer made a point of order that the holding of the meeting violated the bylaws and therefore it should end immediately, based on:

o    Lack of proper notice in violation of Article 7, Section 6D, of the bylaws: “The public and all Members shall be notified of each LSB meeting. Four on-air announcements, made during prime time on the radio station on four different days, beginning, whenever feasible, at least .7 days prior to the date of each meeting, shall be considered adequate notice.”

After further debate, there was a vote on my motion, and it was defeated.

o    By this time, LaVarn had left the room. I also left the room to find LaVarn to appeal to her to persuade Mitch to adjourn the meeting on account of the safety issues I had raised regarding the overcrowding. During this conversation, Tony Ryan was standing nearby, still holding the sledgehammer. I said to him in a gentle and respectful voice, “You really shouldn’t have that on the premises. You really need to get rid of that.” He replied, “You need to shut up.” I said, “Excuse me – what did you just say? You’re holding a weapon and you’re telling me in such a threatening way to shut up?” He said, “Yes, I said, ‘You need to shut up.'” I said to LaVarn, “As the IGM, are you going to allow this staff member to speak to me this way, and not only that, but to have a weapon in the station and not ask him to get rid of it?” She said nothing. (Tony later apologized to me for his behavior in the presence of approximately six other people, and shortly afterward acknowledged to LaVarn that he had apologized to me.)
o    After further debate, there was a vote on my motion, and it was defeated.
o    By this time, LaVarn had left the room. I also left the room to find LaVarn to appeal to her to persuade Mitch to adjourn the meeting on account of the safety issues I had raised regarding the overcrowding. During this conversation, Tony Ryan was standing nearby, still holding the sledgehammer. I said to him in a gentle and respectful voice, “You really shouldn’t have that on the premises. You really need to get rid of that.” He replied, “You need to shut up.” I said, “Excuse me – what did you just say? You’re holding a weapon and you’re telling me in such a threatening way to shut up?” He said, “Yes, I said, ‘You need to shut up.'” I said to LaVarn, “As the IGM, are you going to allow this staff member to speak to me this way, and not only that, but to have a weapon in the station and not ask him to get rid of it?” She said nothing. (Tony later apologized to me for his behavior in the presence of approximately six other people, and shortly afterward acknowledged to LaVarn that he had apologized to me.)
o    Members of the public continued to object to the illegality of the meeting. Rev. Michael Vincent Crea, a listener and longtime dedicated volunteer with a hearing impairment, moved his chair closer to where Mitch was standing.
o    At the moment when Michael Vincent was lowering himself onto his chair, board member Dr. Seth Goldberg abruptly and deliberately pulled it out from under him, both causing him to fall very hard on the floor and hitting producer “Pickles” (R. Paul Martin’s wife) on the arm.
o    Kamau Khalfani, a WBAI producer of a popular program who was a witness from directly across the conference table to Dr. Seth Goldberg’s reckless behavior and to Michael Vincent’s fall, rose and denounced Seth’s behavior.

o    I immediately asked Seth, “Did you do that?” He replied, “Yes, I did, and that was pretty stupid of me.” I then said, “You’re a doctor. You should know better.” He replied, “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t have done that.”
o    A recess was called by Mitch Cohen. As Seth was leaving the room, I heard him apologize to his allies for what he had done.
o    The Fire Department and EMS were called, as were the police – the latter at Michael Vincent’s express request. While leaving the room, members of the board majority stepped over Michael Vincent as he lay on the floor complaining of chest pain and lower back pain. While EMS workers were examining and treating him, board member Carolyn Birden repeatedly attempted to interfere, telling the police that he was just a known troublemaker and disrupter who should be ignored.
o    Not long after the police arrived, Tony Ryan, who was still in the conference room, entered into a shouting match with Kamau, challenging him to fight. When Kamau finally shouted back at him, LaVarn began to film him with her cell phone; she did not film Tony Ryan. There was absolutely no physical contact between the two men – they were, in fact, on opposite sides of the conference table. When board members Sara Flounders, Father Lawrence Lucas, and I asked LaVarn why she did not film Tony Ryan shouting at and threatening Kamau, she left the room.
o    Michael Vincent was taken to the hospital, accompanied by Sara Flounders. By this time, the meeting had ended.
o    After meeting with majority members of the board in her office, LaVarn entered Studio 2, where Kamau was talking with several people, and, according to him, told him that he was not to host his program “The Learning Tree” that night – that a station engineer would do the show instead – and that he was not to be on the air again until she and he had discussed what had happened between him and Tony Ryan. When he suggested that they discuss it right then, she turned around and left the room.
o    Subsequently, and because Kamau had not actually planned to host “The Learning Tree” that night – Cerene Roberts, a co-producer and co-host, was to host, and had already lined up a number of guests – Kamau requested that Bob Lederer and I accompany him and Cerene to LaVarn’s office to ensure that Cerene could host the show as previously arranged. Board members Andrea Fishman and Kathy Davis were also present at that meeting, at LaVarn’s invitation. LaVarn refused to allow Cerene to host the program and announced that not just Kamau but the entire program, including everyone else associated with it, would be suspended until “the situation is resolved.”
o    Following this meeting, we all left the premises.

It is unfortunate that the account of events narrated by the iGM/iCFO does not accurately reflect what occurred at the meeting. The failure of management to deal with this situation in an appropriate manner, once again leaves the Foundation unprotected. Certainly this type of mismanagement does not strengthen WBAI as a media outlet.

Truthfully,
Nia