Shaw University is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It owned and operated one of the first FCC-licensed HBCU radio stations from 1968 to 2018. The project has conducted 7 oral histories, totaling over 10 hours, with former WSHA managers, student workers, volunteers, and community supporters. The project has also digitized and returned 316 hours of original audio materials drawn from 164 items gathered at Shaw University LIbrary. Since returned to the campus archives, this historic audio is now accessible through the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
Black student demands for a greater voice on campus helped birth WSHA. Appointed faculty pioneered the “learning lab” model for HBCU students interested in mass communications careers. Several Shaw Bears who worked at WSHA later served in leadership roles at other HBCU stations. Over the course of its history, WSHA’s broadcasting power increased from 10 to 50,000 watts. Announcers delivered a mix of music, news, and public affairs programming to a listening audience spread across the Raleigh-Durham market and neighboring regions. Despite selling the station’s FCC license in 2018—a move that drew community and alumni protest—Shaw students still broadcast today on an internet radio station that streams gospel, hip hop, R&B, jazz, and sports talk under the WSHA brand.
Interviews archived at Jackson State University’s Margaret Walker Center
October 1, 2025 | James E. Shepard Memorial Library, North Carolina Central University
