WMPR (90.1 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

format. WMPR is a community station which specializes in

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

but also features other forms of music as well as several community-oriented talk shows. Licensed to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, United States, the station serves the Jackson area. The station is currently owned by J.C. Maxwell Broadcasting Group, Inc. Its studios are located in Jackson, west of downtown, and the transmitter site is in

Florence, Mississippi Florence is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 4,141. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a to ...

History

For more than a decade, Mississippi had just one public radio station: WNJC-FM in

Senatobia, Mississippi Senatobia is a city in, and the county seat of, Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is the 16th largest municipality in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 8,165 at the 2010 census. Senatobia is the home of Northwest Mis ...

. Seeking to change this, the J.C. Maxwell Broadcasting Group—named for

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...

, discoverer of electromagnetic radiation—was formed in early 1981 to pursue the construction of a new noncommercial educational station in Jackson. Maxwell proposed a new full-service outlet with a focus on news and information, as well as an affiliation with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. The

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) granted the construction permit on January 28, 1982. By that time, Maxwell had already lined up grant monies from the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

, the

National Telecommunications and Information Administration The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' ec ...

, and the Communications Improvement Trust, which held money from the interim operator of

WLBT WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed MyN ...

, Communications Improvement, Inc. Studios were constructed on the campus of

Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Yor ...

, while the station set a musical format focusing on jazz and blues. WMPR began broadcasting in October 1983, but it failed to attract the hoped-for support from listeners. The first general manager resigned after just six months, and by 1986, the station warned that it might not have sufficient funds to remain a member of NPR. A steadying hand would soon come to the station in the form of James Charles Evers, former mayor of Fayette and disc jockey in

Philadelphia, Mississippi Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 census. History Philadelphia is incorporated as a municipality; it was given its current name in 1903, two year ...

, and the brother of

Medgar Evers Medgar Wiley Evers (; July 2, 1925June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi, who was murdered by Byron De La Beckwith. Evers, a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran who had served i ...

, who became the general manager of WMPR by January 1990 and served in the post for more than 30 years. Prior to becoming a station employee, he had debated segregationist Richard Barrett on its air in 1988. Under Evers's management, per a historical marker erected on the

Mississippi Blues Trail The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout (and in some cases beyond) t ...

in 2009, WMPR became a "primary outlet" for blues in the area; Evers also hosted the weekly ''Let's Talk'' talk show. The station was the subject of an attack in 2017 in which unknown vandals went to Evers's home and sprayed "KKK" on a station van. Evers died in 2020; after his death, the street on which WMPR's studios are located, Pecan Park Circle, was renamed in his honor. Majority ownership remained in the Evers family with his wife Wanda, who absorbed some of Charles's stake.

References

External links

wmpr901fm.com
* {{Jackson MS Radio MPR 1983 establishments in Mississippi Radio stations established in 1983