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When justice had a megaphone: The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s life in full voice

Credit: Eric Guo; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 03:54, 18 May 2010 (UTC), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons URL Media |  Ovetta Wiggins  The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., a civil rights icon, gifted orator, and politician whose presidential campaigns changed the landscape of American politics, died Tuesday, according to NPR. He was 84. Jackson, who was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017, died after a more than 10-year battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative condition that affects body […]

todayFebruary 19, 2026

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I Am Jesse Jackson – Dr. James Peterson

Photo by Eric Draper. Credit: LBJ Library from Austin, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsDr. James Peterson | WURD RadioWhen I was little, my parents told me I would be the first Black president of the United States.Being that young and impressionable, I believed them. What I did not yet understand was the architecture of possibility. I did not grasp the mathematics of improbability, the long odds, the history, the resistance. I did not know what it would require for such […]

todayFebruary 19, 2026

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This Week on WURD: State budgets, missing persons, global representation & systemic justice

Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss his proposed $53.2 billion state budget, promising no tax increases while boosting funding for schools, housing, and transit. He renewed a push to legalize recreational marijuana, with set-asides for small and diverse businesses. Shapiro also backed legal action to restore Philadelphia’s President’s House slavery exhibit.Natalie Wilson, chief operating officer of the Black and Missing Foundation, joined Wake Up With WURD to discuss the kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie’s […]

todayFebruary 13, 2026

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In an era of media suppression, Black history reminds us why we must protect the truth

Sara M. Lomax | The Philadelphia Inquirer This piece was initially published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on February 3, 2026. Black media matters. Right here, right now, and more than ever before. We are the essential workers on the front lines of a growing resistance movement. As the owner and operator of WURD Radio, Philadelphia’s only multiplatform Black talk radio station, my team and I are focused on a singular mission: fighting back against this administration’s attempt to destroy Black […]

todayFebruary 6, 2026

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This Week on WURD: Press freedom, Black history, election threats & emotional healing

Journalist Errin Haines, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss an NABJ town hall on press freedom and journalist safety. Haines addressed the arrests of independent Black journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, warned about a chilling effect on reporting, and urged the public to support credible Black journalism as a core democratic protection.Dr. Yaba Blay, assistant teaching professor and co-director of Africana Studies at Drexel University, joined Dr. […]

todayFebruary 6, 2026

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Don Lemon became the face of the government’s overreach, but 50 federal agents showed up at her door first

By Dr. James Peterson | WURD RadioFifty federal agents don’t show up at your door for nothing.But despite the outsized operation, Nekima Levy Armstrong — an attorney, civil rights organizer, reverend, and a mother — didn’t commit violence.Her alleged crime? She walked into a church in St. Paul, Minn., worshiped with the congregation, and asked a question about why their pastor also served as a local director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.On Monday, January 21, Armstrong gave an interview […]

todayFebruary 5, 2026

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This Week on WURD: Faith, Oscars, monument removal & global shifts

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II joined guest host Candace Johnson on the Midday Break Room to argue that the church belongs in the public square as protests, immigration enforcement, and policy decisions reshape daily life. Drawing on Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, he challenged Christian nationalism, defended protest inside sacred spaces, and called for organizing rooted in love, truth, and public accountability. Attorney Michael Coard joined Evening WURDs after the National Park Service removed the President’s House slavery memorial in Philadelphia. […]

todayJanuary 23, 2026

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Refrigerator King: Our Leader’s Legacy in a Fractured Democracy

By Dr. James Peterson | WURD RadioWhat if the whole universe were inside your refrigerator?My daughter, an educator, tells a story about an after-school arts program where she was asked to help elementary school students reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Rather than beginning with speeches or dates, she invited the children to imagine King visually—to draw him, to shape him, to think about what he looked like and what he stood for.One student raised a hand […]

todayJanuary 16, 2026

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This Week on WURD: Media accountability in politics, the holiday stress on mothers, environmental justice in Chester, and the legacies of Jimmy Jam and Laiya St. Clair

Malcolm Kenyatta, Pennsylvania State Rep. and DNC Vice Chair, joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to break down Donald Trump’s latest speech, calling it a cascade of falsehoods amplified by corporate media incentives. Kenyatta challenged claims about inflation and wages, pointing to rising unemployment as a key economic warning sign. He argued that media consolidation are encouraging networks to prioritize access and ratings over accountability. Future Cain, founder and CEO of Future of SEL, joined Tiffany Bacon on The Midday Break […]

todayDecember 19, 2025

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