Wildcat 91.9 student takes on a creative edge with musical pieces paying tribute to defining moments in Black History
Feb. 7, 2023
Once again, Wildcat 91.9 (KSDB - FM) has raised the bar on creating innovative content, this time with a production to honor Black History Month. With a goal of defying predictable Black History Month TV and radio programming, Wildcat 91.9 encouraged its students to create powerful and meaningful moments to educate and inspire. This year features music curated by Wildcat 91.9 and Kansas State University student Negil McPherson III.
McPherson, a senior, said he started making music during his senior year of high school, mostly rap and alternative tracks.
“It had always been something I wanted to do, but I didn’t have any practical experience outside of my own personal work and passion projects.” After learning about Wildcat 91.9’s initiative, McPherson was able to create one of those passion projects in just under a week.
“The Black History Month idea came around because faculty advisor Ian Punnett and I discussed Black History Month programming for the station," McPherson said. "He thought it would be cool to utilize powerful Black speeches in some capacity and sent me 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' by Gil Scott-Heron as inspiration.”
From that, McPherson discovered the famous “David and Goliath” speech by Jesse Jackson. “I loved his metaphor referring to the young, impressionable minds of people of color as ‘rocks just lying around’ and that we have the potential to do something incredible.”
So far, McPherson’s “speech-to-music” project has aired on Wildcat 91.9 and, as of next week, also on Manhattan’s Power Hits 97.5, QCountry 103.5 and Country Rewind 92.7.
“I really hope the listeners will listen and appreciate the incredible and powerful Black speakers throughout history,” McPherson said. “I plan to make this a series throughout the month and score soundbites for listeners to enjoy and be educated. I want to highlight some of the most incredible and inspiring speeches I've heard…and want people to appreciate important Black figures and educate themselves on more than just the typical people you would read about in class.”
The first installment of this projected four-part series is live now on Wildcat 91.9-FM, social media and Wildcat91.9.com. Three more songs will be produced and out for listening throughout the rest of February.
About Wildcat 91.9-FM
Wildcat 91.9-FM is a non-profit, student run radio station service Kansas State University and the city of Manhattan. Wildcat 91.9-FM provides original and diverse programming that aims to educate and entertain its listeners. Students are provided the unique opportunity to learn professional broadcasting skills in an engaging, hands-on environment. Wildcat 91.9 will work to foster the unique perspective and skills of all involved students. They will use these skills to positively affect the student body at Kansas State, the Manhattan community, and beyond.