About KPOO 89.5 fm
KPOO is an independent, listener-sponsored noncommercial station. KPOO is an African-American owned and operated noncommercial radio station. KPOO broadcasts 24 hours a day on 160 watts, with a radiated power of 270 watts, covering San Francisco, Oakland, and the Bay Area.
KPOO gives voice to the concerns of low income communities in San Francisco. Founded by Poor People's Radio, Inc., KPOO's ongoing mission has been to open the airwaves to the disenfranchised and underserved. Our station broadcasts news, public meetings, election, live events, interviews, public service announcements and music not heard on any other radio stations. As such, KPOO has continued to have a very loyal listening audience.
KPOO specializes in jazz, reggae, salsa, blues, gospel, and hip hop music. KPOO serves the Bay Area's Latin community with several bilingual programs a week, and also produces programs concerning Irish Americans, Arab Americans, women issues and Native American concerns. KPOO broadcasts live the weekly meeting of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and non-stop election night coverage. KPOO also uses the airways to educate the community about important issues such as AIDS prevention, health concerns, use of the new technologies, prison affairs, and consumer protection.
KPOO Radio has always operated with a volunteer staff. Volunteers range from community people, students, musicians, community activists, actors, doctors, attorneys, young people, seniors, blind and disabled, record collectors, and (of course) broadcasters and engineers.
Joe Rudolph (1938–2001)
Joe Rudolph was born in 1938 in Tyler, Alabama. He served in the US military from 1961-1963. Joe helped organize the 1968 student strike at San Francisco State University, which led to the creation of the first Black Studies program.
In 1969, after leaving San Francisco State, Joe started Fillmore Media, a community-based media center that taught people how to use the then-emerging video technology to benefit their communities. He also took Fillmore Media into college classes at Lone Mountain College as an instructor.
In 1971, with the help of broadcasters Lorenzo Milam and Jeremy Lansman, several community organizations with no prior radio experience applied for an FCC license to begin broadcasting community issues on the premise that any community group with something to say should be able start a low-powered radio station to serve that community. The result of that act was KPOO, the first Black-owned, noncommercial radio station west of the Mississippi River. Wade Woods remembers, “None of us knew anything about radio, but we had created the Fillmore Media Center, including video and audio.” Two years later, Joe Rudolph took over as Station Manager.
In the early days the station was housed at Pier 1 in San Francisco. In 1973 the station was asked to leave and moved to a garage on 532 Natoma Street, located in the South of Market neighborhood. KPOO broadcasted from the Natoma location (pictured right) until 1982 when once again it was necessary to find new housing. It moved first into a condemned building at 1325 Divisadero, then an old victorian structure up the street, before finally purchasing its permanent home at 1329 Divisadero in 1985, ending the six-year struggle with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency to find a feasible development plan.
While other stations strictly adhered to a “top 20” format, KPOO broke new ground, allowing programmers to choose which music to play, thus giving exposure to new genres of music such as hip hop and reggae. This freedom gave rise to the first all-gospel, reggae, salsa, rap, blues, and doo-wop programs in the country.
Joe played a key role in First Amendment battles concerning the right to play controversial material on the air, such as speeches of Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, and Mumia Abu-Jamal. His uncompromising commitment to covering important issues facing communities not served by commercial radio in the Bay Area has been the driving force behind KPOO's unique identity.
Joe Rudolph joined his ancestors March 12, 2001.
Read More About Joe Rudolph
- Remembering Joe Rudolph, Harrison Chastang, San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 28, 2001.
- Remembering KPOO's Joe Rudolph, Marvin X, Davey D's Hip Hop Daily News, March 13, 2001.
- West Coast radio pioneer dies, Harrison Chastang, Dave D's Hip Hop Daily News, March 13, 2001.
A History of “Firsts”
Same of KPOO's first programs were Red Voices (a Native American program still on the air today), Black Community Report, Asian Community Report, Latin Community Report, Renter's Rights, Campaign Countdown (non-stop election coverage), Poetry For the People, and Music from Polynesia. KPOO has always broadcast local community events around San Francisco and the Bay Area.
KPOO was the first Bay Area station to play rap, salsa, and reggae music. In 1983 KPOO was the first station on the west coast to broadcast an “all rap” show. KPOO was also first to air Irish, Palestinian, Filipino, gay, veterans, women's and prisoner rights programming.
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