Babette Thomas

This dissertation argues that Black American women and girls living in the era of Jim Crow segregation through the Civil Rights, African Independence and Black Power movements, used sound to develop liberatory ideas about themselves in opposition to systems of oppression and domination; and in turn, they used sound technology—primarily the radio—to amplify these messages in service of other Black subjects. Considering radio’s role as one of the most ubiquitous ways Black Americans engaged with sound throughout the twentieth century, this project analyzes archival recordings of Black women radio performers as another site of Black American women’s organizing during moments of political upheaval. These women utilize their aural performances to reach out and touch their audiences, as well as to exhibit their multiplicity as thinkers, singers, performers and ultimately, as media theorists. Drawing upon the principal investigator’s experiences as a radio producer, “Can You Hear Me Now” will feature a live sonic accompaniment in which re-mixed recordings center sound as an experiential research method.