NAACP statement on the Passing of Radio Icon and Activist Joe Madison

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson released the following statement on the passing of Joe Madison.

It is with a heavy heart that I reflect on the countless memories of my friend, Joe Madison, and the profound impact he made on this world. Joe devoted his life to the mission of civil rights advocacy, working tirelessly to uplift the stories of marginalized communities. He understood the power of advocacy and made it his life's mission to ensure that the rights of Black Americans were respected and protected.

Joe's life as a leader in the pursuit of social justice began to take shape after graduating from college. It was then that he began his journey as a community focused radio host to further support his career as a civil right activist for the NAACP. From Detroit to Philadelphia, to the streets of Washington, D.C., Joe spread his advocacy across the airwaves to the thousands of listeners who tuned into his show daily.

As his influence grew, he became affectionately known as "The Black Eagle" and would regularly challenge listeners to take action on the stories he'd uplift, asking the famous question; "What are you going to do about it?" There's no question that Joe stood firmly on the cause of action. Whether engaging fearlessly in volunteer work in neglected, predominantly Black communities, or leading fundraising initiatives for the preservation of Black History, Joe was no stranger to doing the work.

At age 24, Joe became the youngest Executive Director of the NAACP's Detroit branch before being appointed the organization's National Political Director from 1974 to 1978 and eventually being elected to the National Board of Directors where he served for 14 years from 1986 to 1999. In 1996, Joe was appointed chairman of the NAACP Image Awards where he promised to restore the prominence of the NAACP Image Awards. The next year, he was awarded the Chairman's Award at the 1997 NAACP Image Awards. The result of his work to preserve the legacy of the NAACP Image Awards has been seen and felt since.

Throughout his time at the NAACP, Joe led numerous voter mobilization efforts. One of the most notable included the "March for Dignity" where hundreds of volunteers partook in a cross-country activation from Los Angeles to Baltimore. These marches garnered substantial success, where thousands of signatures were collected in support of an anti-apartheid bill in Congress.

I had the distinguished honor of meeting with Joe during one of his most memorable advocacy moments. As many know, in 2021, he went on a 73-day hunger strike to encourage the passage of voting rights bills. Despite his fight with prostate cancer during his hunger strike, and knowing the health ramifications of the strike, Joe declared "I am willing to die." His dedication to the cause of voting rights and access to the ballot box for Black voters was unlike any other I've seen. I take this lesson and carry it with me, always.

Several months following his hunger strike, Madison's persistent advocacy on the airwaves played a crucial role in the passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act in the Senate. His impactful work garnered recognition from prominent figures and global leaders, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, President Barack Obama, and former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. As we continue to face attacks on our fundamental right to vote, it is our hope that elected leaders will carry on Joe's legacy, particularly his dedication to the preservation of the Voting Rights Act.

Joe will be missed dearly by all who loved him and were touched by his work. We thank him for his dedicated activism and forging a path to a better world for Black Americans. Our thoughts and prayers are with all in mourning during this time. May he rest in peace.

"The Black Eagle' Joe Madison ends hunger strike

Sirius XM radio host Joe Madison , "The Black Eagle" announced the end of his hunger strike after 74 days of protest in order to bring awareness to voting rights legislation. Listen to the radio legend explain why he striked and why he decided to end the strike below:

Black radio legend Joe Madison goes on hunger strike until Congress passes the voting rights act

Black radio legend, Joe Madison of SiriusXM Urban View’s Joe Madison Show announced on his program that he’s starting a hunger strike in protest of voting rights not getting passed in the Senate.

He will continue his hunger strike until congress passes, and President Biden signs, the Freedom to Vote Act or the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Listen to his announcement below:

Joe Madison "The Black Eagle" inducted into The Radio Hall of Fame

Joe Madison, better known as "The Black Eagle" has been inducted into The Radio Hall of Fame & Museum. The Radio Hall of Fame recognizes and showcases contemporary talent from today’s diverse programming formats. 2019 inductees will be honored Nov. 8, in New York City’s landmark Gotham Hall.

Washington University Arts & Sciences alumnus Joe Madison is a groundbreaking radio personality and human and civil rights activist. He has built a legacy of using his voice for those without one.

His radio program, “The Joe Madison Show,” airs nationally weekday mornings on SiriusXM’s Urban View channel 126. During his four-hour program, Mr. Madison, also known as “The Black Eagle,” talks about political and social issues, brings attention to social injustices around the world, and challenges himself and his listeners daily to “do something about it.”

Named one of Talkers magazine’s 100 Most Important Talk Radio Hosts nine times, often in the top 10, Mr. Madison has interviewed world leaders, including President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, among other notable guests.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Madison was raised by his grandparents. In the mid-1960s, he attended Wisconsin State, where he was captain of his undefeated freshman football team. As a student leader, he became involved in the civil rights movement. His coach, resenting Mr. Madison’s campus activism, removed him from the team.

Eventually, Mr. Madison received a welcoming call from the athletic director at Washington University, who offered him a spot on the Bears football team. A sociology major, he was an all-conference running back on the football team, a baritone soloist in the university choir and a disc jockey at the campus radio station. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1971, the first in his family to do so.

After becoming active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Mr. Madison, at age 24, was named executive director — the youngest — of the NAACP’s 10,000-member Detroit chapter in 1974.

He was promoted in 1986 by the NAACP’s president, Benjamin Hooks, to serve as the organization’s national political director. Among the highlights of his eight-year tenure, he organized a successful boycott of Dearborn, Michigan, businesses over a racist city law, and he led hundreds of volunteers on a series of successful voter registration marches, including a cross-country “march for dignity” from Los Angeles to Baltimore that also garnered thousands of signatures for an anti-apartheid bill in Congress.

In 1986, he was elected to the NAACP s Board of Directors, a position he held for 14 years. In the midst of his civil rights work, he started another career in 1980 as a socially conscious radio talk show personality on Detroit’s WXYZ-AM. He went on to host talk shows in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The popularity of his WOL-AM show led to syndication on the Radio One Talk Network and eventually to SiriusXM.

A tenacious leader in the cause for social justice, he uses his show as a platform for inspiring action on critical issues. He brought international attention to human rights abuses in southern Sudan from his three trips to the country in the middle of its second civil war. Working with the Swiss-based Christian Solidarity International, he helped free 7,000 Sudanese being held as slaves.

In February 2015, he set a Guinness World Record at 52 hours for the longest on-air broadcast. During the record-breaking show, he raised more than $250,000 for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In June 2015, Mr. Madison made history again by broadcasting live from Cuba, becoming the first American radio host to do so in more than 50 years.

He has not forgotten the opportunities he received as a Washington University student and continues to give back to his alma mater. A member of the William Greenleaf Eliot Society, he has generously supported scholarships, athletics and the university’s Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. For the past two decades, he has interviewed potential students for the admissions office. In 2017, he received Arts & Sciences’ Distinguished Alumni Award.

A board member of the American Red Cross, his other awards include the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Journalism Award in 2000, the Washington Association of Black Journalists Community Service Award in 1997 and the NAACP Image Award in 1996.

Mr. Madison and his wife of 42 years, Sharon, live in Washington, D.C. They have four children and five grandchildren

Joe "The Black Eagle" Madison does 52 straight hours of talk radio!

[SOURCE] SIRIUSXM’s JOE MADISON achieved the historic goal of a 52-hour marathon broadcast, which raised more than $150,000 for the construction of the SMITHSONIAN’s NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, the final museum to be built on the NATIONAL MALL in WASHINGTON, D.C.

Airing as part of BLACK HISTORY MONTH, the historic broadcast -- currently under review as a new world record by the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ORGANIZATION -- began on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25th at 6AM (EST) and continued, un-interrupted, until this morning at 10AM (EST).

“I am exhausted but, when you do something for the right reasons and have the support of others, you really can do anything,” said MADISON. “I hope our SIRIUSXM broadcast helps cast a spotlight on the need to raise funds for the much needed NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE."

The special broadcast included guests such as ARETHA FRANKLIN, GENERAL MOTORS VP Global Design EDWARD T. WELBURN, sports journalist STEPHEN A. SMITH, actor/comedian WAYNE BRADY and soul singer BETTYE LAVETTE. Additional guests included REVEREND AL SHARPTON, LOU GOSSETT, TAVIS SMILEY, LUDACRIS, DENISE NICHOLS, MARY WILSON, DICK GREGORY, Congressman CHARLES RANGEL, DARIUS RUCKER, SPENCER HAYWOOD, ROBERT GATEWOOD and AJA BYRD, among others.