Powerpoint Radio
An Archival Project of the University of Maryland
PowerPoint was the first national program on public radio to address issues affecting the African-American community, the nation, and the world. The program, created and produced by Straight Street Media’s founder and executive producer, Reggie Hicks, aired between 1997 and 2004. PowerPoint could be heard in 50 media markets and on National Public Radio’s (NPR) SiriusXM channel. Some of the program highlights over the seven years included, the last U.S. interview of jazz legend Nina Simone, a live tag up from space with astronaut Mike Anderson aboard the Space Shuttle; numerous programs on the issue of Race in America, and programs covering international topics from African to the Caribbean.
The program was so culturally significant in the late 70s and early 2000s that the University of Maryland has added PowerPoint episodes to its Libraries Digital Collection. PowerPoint, with many of its topics still relevant today, gives a glimpse of the issues affecting people of color as the country and the world enter a new millennium. PowerPoint now has a permanent home and is available to researchers, students, media outlets, and the public.