Central State University’s WCSU is located in Wilberforce, Ohio. It holds a distinguished place in broadcasting history as the first FCC-licensed radio station at an HBCU in the U.S. (1962). To date, the project has digitized over 24 hours of programming across 80 items gathered during 2 visits to the campus. Narrators have recorded 12 oral histories, which can be listened to below.
Originally signing on as WSJC in October 1962 from the university bookstore, the station survived the devastating 1974 Xenia Tornado and later relocated to the university’s Cook Building. Supported by Corporation for Public Broadcasting Community Service Grants, WCSU expanded its programming and outreach. Today, the station, is an educational training facility for students and a cultural resource dedicated to broadcasting the best in jazz, soul and R&B music, while informing and engaging its listener community daily.
Interviews archived at Jackson State University’s Margaret Walker Center
May 13, 2026 | WYSO Studios and Hallie Q. Brown Memorial Library
Recorded live with the Central State community to honor WCSU
A collage of radio sounds and memories preserved at WCSU