Local grassroots supporters are speaking out against the banning of WHCR radio host Leroy Baylor, who was taken off their airwaves back in July amid allegations of anti-Semitism. They are striving to have his voice be heard once again and are questioning whether his constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press were violated.
“[WHCR General Manager and Program Director Angela Harden] asked me to come in the next day, July 31, and said, ‘I don’t want to do it because I know the value that you bring to the people, but [WHCR executives] told me to take your show off the air,’” Baylor recalled.
The lifelong activist then explained how he has hosted the talk shows “The Communicators” and “Respect for Life” on WHCR for more than 25 years, covering a variety of topics relevant to the Black community. In 2006, while interviewing a Caucasian activist named John Kamisky, “a whole half hour had [gone by without mentioning] Israel and the Jews. We’re wrapping up the show and he changed course,” Baylor reflected. “It was a setup. He went into this large diatribe against Israel and Jews in the last 20 to 30 seconds … and based on that, the show was classified as anti-Semitic. They had been tracking the show before that.”
Baylor was suspended for two weeks after that fiasco, but soon regained his on-air post subsequent to the penalty period. He continued to disseminate info over the airwaves while interviewing such uncompromising figures as Professor Griff, Ralph Shoman and Minister Louis Farrakhan.
At the beginning of this July, Harden notified him of alleged anti-Semitic content in the Final Call, which he supported on air, and gave him transcripts from his show that were deemed to be sensitive.
Said Baylor, “I mentioned Black media … read the Amsterdam News, Final Call, Daily Challenge, the Awaken … because Black people are ill-informed. So it wasn’t about me pushing the Final Call.” He contends that CCNY’s concern was that his program promoted the Nation of Islam.
“I am a Black Muslim. I am a follower of the honorable Elijah Muhammad and a member of the Nation of Islam, and have never hid that,” he proudly declared. “I have never disparaged Christianity or any other religion. I am a Black culturalist pushing Black information.”
However, Harden stated, “The show was canceled because some of the programming, and interviews, was not fair and balanced.”
Loyal listener Tarik Haskins commented, “Progressives are tearing down the old Negro mental house and they are building up a new Black African mental house, and Brother Leroy’s radio program is an essential component in this process, and this is why we need him back.”
Attempts to reach CCNY’s president and chancellor were unsuccessful.
“I don’t do any show looking over my shoulder thinking about what anyone is going to like,” Baylor said. “My thing is to bring the truth to the people, period! That’s my goal, that’s what I do!”
