Ken Loronzo Hamblin II (born October 22, 1940), the self-titled ''Black Avenger'', was host of the ''Ken Hamblin Show'', which was
syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks. His show peaked in the 1990s, but he left the air, without warning, in July 2003 due to a contractual dispute with his syndicator, the American Views Radio Network. Hamblin, based in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, is the author of the books ''Pick a Better Country: An Unassuming Colored Guy Speaks His Mind about America'' and ''Plain Talk and Common Sense from the Black Avenger''.
Early career
The child of immigrant parents from
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, Hamblin is a policeman's son. He served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
's
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
before becoming a photographer for the ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
''. In the late 1960s Hamblin was a producer and film cameraman with the public television channel in Detroit, WTVS, Channel 56. An event Hamblin captured exclusively was the release of poet
John Sinclair from prison after serving time for marijuana possession. Hamblin began his radio career in the 1970s.
Hamblin has said he was once sympathetic to the radical
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
, including the
Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...
, and gave them favorable coverage. He eventually came to the opinion the left had failed to bring about the type of America it spoke of, and he began to move to the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
side of the
spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
. Hamblin is a licensed fixed-wing pilot and a motorcycle owner. He is a father and grandfather.
''The Ken Hamblin Show''
Hamblin had a long-running local talk program on powerful
KOA radio in Denver, a
clear-channel station
A clear-channel station is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The syste ...
heard across the western and central United States. Hamblin hosted the early evening shift, which he worked the evening of June 18, 1984, when
Alan Berg
Alan Harrison Berg (January 18, 1934 – June 18, 1984) was an American talk radio show host in Denver, Colorado. Born to a Jewish family, he had outspoken atheistic and liberal views and a confrontational interview style. Berg was murdered by ...
, one of the station's biggest and most controversial hosts, was gunned down. He gained national attention when his show, then carried on another Denver radio station, was broadcast on
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
during the early 1990s. He was heard on
KNUS
KNUS (710 AM) is a News/Talk radio station licensed in the city of Denver, Colorado. The station serves the Denver/Boulder Metropolitan area. 710 KNUS is owned and operated by Salem Media Group under licensee Salem Media of Colorado, Inc. and fe ...
and
KXKL
KXKL-FM (105.1 MHz, "KOOL 105") is a classic hits station serving the Denver metropolitan area. This station is licensed to Denver, Colorado and broadcasts with an ERP of 100 kW and is under ownership of Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures. I ...
radio in Denver, as well as across the nation. After his show was syndicated, he was heard across the United States on about 200 radio stations.
In 1999, Hamblin was named one of Colorado's Top 100 most influential media personalities.
Hamblin's show had several unique features: playing various versions of the "
Star Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...
" at the beginning of the show; playing "
Taps" for fallen law enforcement officers; announcing the execution of convicts on
death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...
, often with a clip from the movie ''
Unforgiven
''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...
'', saying "It's a hell of a thing killin' a man; you take away all he's got, and all he's ever gonna have." The execution segment was notable for having "
Another One Bites the Dust
"Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album '' The Game'' (1980). It was a worldwide hit, charting number one on the US ''Billb ...
", sung by
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. Hamblin frequently referred to
liberals as "Egg-sucking dogs", and sometimes challenged listeners to call in to, "Name one major American city that improved morally, socially, and economically after the city elected a liberal
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
mayor ('You can't do it')". He has also been an outspoken critic of
Louis Farrakan and the
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.
A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
, challenging those unhappy with the United States to "pick a better country" and go live there.
Life after leaving public life
As of 2010, Hamblin was reported to be living in
Douglas County,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
and now spends much of his time traveling with his wife Sue.
See also
*
Black conservatism in the United States
Black conservatism in the United States is a political and social movement rooted in communities of African descent that aligns largely with the American conservative movement, including the Christian right. Black conservatism emphasizes socia ...
References
External links
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamblin, Ken
American talk radio hosts
Writers from Denver
1940 births
Living people
African-American radio personalities
African-American writers
American writers
American conservative talk radio hosts
Radio personalities from New York City
Radio personalities from Detroit
Writers from New York City
Writers from Detroit
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people