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This February 90.7 KFSR celebrates Black History Month with a series of special programs, interviews and documentaries. This year, we're showcasing local programs as well as one nationally broadcast documentary.
 “Jump for Joy” - A documentary by David Brent Johnson
Friday February 8th - 2:00pm
Sunday February 10th - 10:00am
In the summer of 1941, as Americans warily regarded a world war that seemed to be edging ever closer to their shores, Duke Ellington staged what he would later call “the first ‘social significance’ show,” Jump for Joy. Jump for Joy was an all-black musical revue that Ellington said “would take Uncle Tom out of the theater,” and say things that would make the audience think.” It featured the Ellington orchestra in its so-called “Blanton-Webster” years, playing at the peak of its powers, and up-and-coming African-American performers such as the actress Dorothy Dandridge, the blues singer Big Joe Turner, and the comedian Wonderful Smith. The poet Langston Hughes contributed a sketch entitled “Mad Scene From Woolworth’s,” and Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn took a significant hand in scoring the show. It helped pave the way for Black, Brown and Beige, Ellington’s ambitious 1943 orchestral recreation of African-American history. It also served as an early salvo in the cultural struggle for equality.
Produced and hosted by WFIU’s David Brent Johnson, this hour long program features nearly all of the music that Ellington’s 1941 Blanton-Webster band recorded for the show, including the classic hits “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good),” “Rocks In My Bed,” and “Chocolate Shake.” Other highlights include a portion of comedian Wonderful Smith’s monologue, a radio medley spot, and Ellington himself discussing the musical and its impact, more than 20 years after its debut. Guests include Ellington assistant and Jump for Joy scholar Patricia Willard, Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra conductor David Baker, Ellington biographer John Edward Hasse, and cultural historian Michael McGerr.
90.7 KFSR Profile: Les Kimber
Saturday February 16th - 1:30pm
Sunday February 17th - 11:30am
90.7 KFSR host Woody Miller interviews local politician and publisher Les Kimber for a special edition of 90.7 KFSR’s weekly public affairs program “San Joaquin Spotlight.” Kimber was the first African American elected to the Fresno City Council, and is also known for his work as owner and publisher of the The California Advocate, Fresno’s African American Community Newspaper.
“An Hour with Woody Miller”
Friday February 22nd - 12:00pm
Sunday February 25th - 10:00am
 Host Joe Moore spends one hour in conversation with 90.7 KFSR’s Woody Miller in this broadcast special. A pioneer in local broadcasting, Woody was one of Central California’s first African-American broadcasters in the 1950’s and 1960’s. From his days with KILP radio in Fowler, to time spent at KFSN TV, Woody is a beloved figure to many in our local community. In this special, we’ll hear about his stories from the broadcasting business, his love of jazz, his encounters with racism, his time in politics, and much more. Join as as we honor one of 90.7 KFSR’s own, and a true African-American pioneer of the Valley, Woody Miller.
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