CLASS ACTION FCC COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST CHICAGO RADIO STATIONS FOR TARGETING BLACK YOUTH WITH GANG WARFARE, VIOLENCE, DRUG USE, AND PORNOGRAPHY
A class action complaint, consisting of 1,600 citizens, was filed with the Federal Communications Commission against iHeart’s WGCI 107.5 FM and Crawford’s WPWX 92.3 FM for broadcasting and promoting gun violence, gang beef, drug use, and pornography specifically targeted at Black youth.
Today, even with the record number of shootings, murder, and even babies being killed, these radio stations refuse to clean up their broadcasts. Rolling Stone recently reported that iHeart would be dropping the term “urban” from the description of its target market. However, this empty gesture falls short to many of the residents of Chicago while WGCI and WPWX continue to run a violent, drug-induced, minstrel show 24 hours a day.
Kwabena Rasuli, one of the founders of the Clear the Airwaves Project, said, “We ask advertisers would you advertise on a radio station who played songs about killing dogs? Then why would you advertise on a station that constantly plays songs about killing black people?”
This is just a sample of some of the lyrics heard on 107.5 and 92.3:
Shootings:
- This Draco (gun) undefeated, hit your block and then I bleed it, go long, these bullets, he receive it (instruction or description of a drive-by shooting)
- I put your face on the news, I put the p***y on the shirt after I murk, then make ’em go shoot up the hearse (murder victim covered in news stories, their grieving family and friends make t-shirts with their picture)
- What’s your issue, if you got a trigger, squeeze it (bah, squeeze it), A whole block outside, its a street fest (directions on how and why to shoot into a crowd)
Gang Beef:
- Couple blue (Gangster Disciples) hunnids (AK47s) with the stones (Blackstones), it’s bleedin (a shoot-out is in progress)…, ain’t no peace treaty, these stones around my Jesus, they ain’t treated, they got me heated, don’t play with the gang, they know that we undefeated
Drug Use:
- If I got a pint of lean, Ima sip, sip. (lean is a drink made with cough syrup for the codeine and/or promethazine)
- I’m booted up off that molly, I cover my gun (molly is MDMA or ecstasy)
- Got Promethazine (sedative) in my blood and Percocet (highly addictive, prescription pain killer)
Verbal Porn:
- Shawty made that ass clap, she don’t need no applause (a stripper dance usually done naked)
- She a bad b****, eat the p***y like a spinach, she’ll suck d*** on the way to the dentist
- Sucking on d**k no hands with it
- Put my c*m in her p***y, now it’s wet
A petition against these stations began on July 1, 2020. To date, nearly 1,700 people have signed on. Leila Wills, who is assisting in public outreach, wrote an article to help raise awareness. “Many people in Chicago stopped listening to these stations a long time ago and have no idea that they have become instructional to the shootings plaguing our city,” she said.
Clear the Airwaves is demanding the FCC launch an immediate investigation into these and other similarly-formatted radio stations across the country. We are demanding an immediate end to the broadcasting of obscene, vulgar & violent lyrics, advertisers end their financial support of these stations, and that the FCC revokes their licenses for these violations and betraying the public trust.
The complaint filed with the FCC is available here: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:a6fb4611-2743-4d26-a827-3aedd661e140
