- Collection:
- New Georgia Encyclopedia
- Title:
- WAOK
- Creator:
- Miller, Matthew L.
- Date of Original:
- 2005-01-28
- Subject:
- African American radio stations--Georgia--Atlanta
Civil rights workers--Georgia--Atlanta
WAOK (Radio station : Atlanta, Ga.) - People:
- Sears, Zenas, 1914-1988
- Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- articles
- Type:
- Text
- Description:
- Encyclopedia article about WAOK, an Atlanta AM radio station owned by Zenas Sears, one of the first in the nation to feature as its primary format such as African American musical forms as blues, rhythm and blues (R&B), and soul. Sears started the radio station in 1956 and instituted an all-R&B format, the first of its kind. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he became involved with the civil rights movement under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., and his social views were reflected in WAOK's programing. In 1968 WAOK altered its format from R&B to soul and in 1980 became a gospel station. In 2001 it changed to "urban talk."
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata. - Metadata URL:
- https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/waok/
- Rights Holder:
- If you wish to use content from the NGE site for commercial use, publication, or any purpose other than fair use as defined by law, you must request and receive written permission from the NGE. Such requests may be directed to: Permissions/NGE, University of Georgia Press, 330 Research Drive, Athens, GA 30602.
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: "WAOK," New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved [date]: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org.
- Original Collection:
- Forms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
- Contributing Institution:
- New Georgia Encyclopedia (Project)
- Rights:
-
