National Federation of Community Broadcasters Programs

Collection Summary

The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) Programs collection contains approximately 600 radio broadcasts, made available in the University of Maryland Digital Collections. The files make up about 20% of the NFCB Program Archive held at UMD’s National Public Broadcasting Archives (NPBA). The NFCB, founded in 1975, helps public media community radio stations get and stay on air, advocates for stations and minority radio producers, and fights for policies that ensure the support and continued existence of community stations. The collection, which includes materials from the 1940s-1980s, contains historic broadcasts from stations and independent producers in the U.S. and Canada, and includes music and performances from around the world, as well as speeches and interviews from influential and historically-significant figures. Included in the collection are series like Feminist Radio Network’s Jazz Women; Carlos Hagen’s Spectrum, dedicated to our relationship with sound; and KBSB’s Song of the Indian, featuring indigenous music and philosophy from various communities; as well as historic programs like Feminist Radio Network’s Mabel Vernon: Suffragist, an interview with a woman who had participated in the suffrage movement; WRFG’s Nikki Giovanni on Education, a speech on black education; and Magyar Radio’s Music from Azerbaijan, a 1970 program featuring traditional music from Azerbaijan. Subjects in this collection include music, folk music, race, world cultures, international music, feminism, activism, poetry, and social issues.