Today we’d like to introduce you to Felesha Love.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Felesha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 1995, Hip Hop was under intense scrutiny. Rap music was exploding and so were the headlines. Radio One, currently Urban One, boldly brought the Urban Hip Hop music format to Atlanta and made me the first Black female morning show cohost in the market, debuting as the “Art Terrell and Felesha Love Morning Party,” and a few years later, the “Ryan Cameron Morning Show.”
When I signed off the air in the summer of 2000 for the last time, I had no idea that I was a part of history. As it turns out, my experiences and challenges became the catalyst for launching a successful movement called Black Women in Radio (BWIR) twenty years later.
For the next decade, I found it difficult to re-enter the radio market in a position of significance. I remember carrying sleeping bags and snacks for my small children so that I could work occasional part-time 7 PM to Midnight and weekend on-air shifts.
I was offered a faculty position at Spelman College, which lasted seven years. During that time, as the solution to getting back to broadcasting, I developed a wellness pedagogy and established MySpiritFitness© Management Group, LLC (MSF) to produce positive content for broadcast and digital media including my Two-Minute Manager Shows, the ”Felesha Love Show” podcast, and published a self-help book, Brave Leap to Freedom: Integrating Mind, Body and Spirit to Cultivate Healthy Relationships.
It was not until I interviewed a guest on my podcast (the “Felesha Love Show”) that I realized how my experiences in radio fit into the history of Black radio culture. While I was being introduced to the phenomenal work of St. Louis legend, Bernie Hayes, and the organization he founded, for the first time, my career challenges made sense. Hayes created the National Black Radio Hall of Fame (NBRHOF) to recognize the contributions of people who would never be acknowledged for their tenacity, hard work, heart-breaking challenges, or dedication.
In 2017, I launched a #BlackWomenInRadio campaign and it took off! The NBRHOF appointed me Director of Development and I immediately launched marketing campaigns and helped to expand the organization’s national base by opening new chapters in New York, Chicago, and Dallas. When the NBRHOF later appointed me vice president of the Atlanta Chapter, I assisted with the strategic planning and research for both regional and national agendas.
Has it been a smooth road?
Research tells us that women largely find it difficult to be taken seriously; find career longevity challenging; fair treatment and pay are largely disproportionate to their male counterparts; likely to be overlooked for job promotions, and less likely to be groomed for executive positions.
In addition to other significant disparities, Black women are the most underrepresented, un-protected, and misunderstood people in America.
For the first time in history, Black women have an actively supportive network designed by us and specifically for us.
We help members to identify transferable skills, rework their career-path, find additional streams of income, rebranding, strengthen mentorship, networking, marketing, and promotions, and create opportunities for others to pay it forward.
Please tell us about BWIR.
BWIR is thriving as the first and only network of its kind to change the narrative of how women are perceived in media. We are successfully promoting thousands of minority women from multi-generations to celebrate their contributions to Black radio culture and beyond without obligation.
This summer, BWIR added international broadcasters and provided a platform for women with internet and digital-based shows called Black Women Internet Radio.
BWIR has significantly contributed to the elevation of women through recent events and activities. We hosted the first BWIR Author Summit for broadcasters who double as published authors. This has never been done for our peers.
Pricing:
- Membership $99
- Student Membership $25
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blackwomeninradio.com
- Phone: 404-820-6839
- Email: blackwomeninradio@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackwomeninradio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackWomenInRadio/
- Twitter: @BlkWomenInRadio
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
