TURNING IT BACK

 

The Mayor never came through with the help he had promised. Now the IRS has scheduled a Sheriff sale of all the stations equipment to gather some of the money the stationed owed them. None of us knew what the future would hold. News about the Sheriff sale was in the Atlantic City Press news paper. People on the street, (the street committee) started spreading rumors that WUSS was about to be sold. Low and behold, the day of the sale (Auction) JC showed up just as the auction was to begin and bided about 30 or 40k on the equipment and it was sold to him for the highest bid. Now the debt with the IRS was settled and they got $40,000 for their trouble.

 

Revenue for the station was always up and down up and down, never steady income.  Most of the time we had to resort to the money the Limo’s was making, which wasn’t a whole lot, or do remote broadcast from one of the area’s clubs.  Even those job were taking it's toll on us.  Some nights we would have to literally fight just to hold down the door at these places.  One night Larry Hicks our #1 talk show host was holding the door at a club called The Wonder Garden when he had an altercation with a couple of young bucks who insisted on coming in with tennis shoes or sneakers on when that wasn’t part of the dress code at the time.  Sneakers didn’t cost $200.00 like they do now.  He finally got them to leave.  Then suddenly one of them doubled back and while Hicks had his back turned the young buck snuck him with a left hook that knock him the f*&k out.  When he gained consciousness the young buck was gone.  He didn’t really see which one it was.  There was however a young guy who’s name I think was young Ragsdale who saw the whole thing and said he knew the guys.  Hicks asked if he could take him to this guy.  Young Rags, as he was sometimes called said I’ll bring him to you if you just want to even the score.  Hicks being a product of Kansas City’s west side forgot about the professionalism we were to display in public and told young Rags to go get him. Sure enough the next day while I was closing out my show for the day on the air and Hicks rushed into the studio and said “Sugar come go with me the young buck that cracked me is out here”.  I tapped Mickey on the way down stairs and he and I followed Hicks out into the parking lot where there were four young guys including young Ragsdale approaching the radio station parking lot.  Hicks not knowing which one was the one that hit him, asked which one of you MFs hit me with back turned.  Young Rags pointed out this little stocky dude who was about to say something smart but couldn’t get it out before Hicks cracked him with the same left hook he got hit with.  The other two acted like they wanted to join in but I step forward and said just the two of them.  Mickey was standing by me with his arms crossed looking like he was about to get a flash back from Nam, where he served as a MP. They were swinging pretty hard at one another when an unmarked police car pulled up with this cop who we knew later as Dinky.  Tall slim guy with years on the force.  Got out of the car and shouted ‘what the hell’s going on here” I explained briefly what was happening.  I guess the young buck was hoping to be rescued but Dinky told them to take it on the side of the building.  You should have seen the looked on the young bucks face.  It looked liked something from a Shaft movie.  All and all the two shook hands and called it quits.  New friends were made.

 

Breathing a little better after the Sheriff’s sale we went on doing radio the way it should be done. Among the people with the people, for the people. By now a couple years has gone by and we were house hold names in Atlantic City. We took our microphones around the country to broadcast any event involving the uprising of black people every where. We where regulars at all the Black Mayors Conferences. Every year, no matter where it was being held. We were not just sending sound bites of news conferences we would broadcast the entire conference meetings either live or pre-recorded for broadcast later. We felt we unlock the doors for the black community in our area to hear about things that were taking place around the country and the world. You’d be surprised at how many black people living in and around Atlantic City, N.J. who had never even been to Philadelphia (55mi away) the country’s forth largest city at the time. Even New York City was only a two hour drive away. So many began to depend on WUSS to bring the real news to them. Especially where blacks were involved. Some people didn’t even know about “Stand Your Ground” laws. Laws that were created by white law makers, mainly to work against the young uneducated black person.  At first, these laws where put into place in areas where black population was very low and poverty levels was very high. It was our responsibility to bring the news and information to them. For example when the Missing Child Murders was happening WUSS raised over 30k to send to Atlanta, where these murders of young black kids was taking place. “The Atlanta Child Murders, known locally as the "missing and murdered children case", were a series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from the summer of 1979 until the spring of 1981.” WUSS would do broadcast marathons to raise money using local celebrities like Mayor Usry, and any of the cities councilmen and women, Miss New Jersey during that time was Ms Lisa Sommerour Perry who was a product of the Atlantic City area. National Stars like Lou Rawls and Melba Moore, George Clinton, Stephanie Mills and so many more.