A Correction On The George Woods Story!

Great site !

Great subject !

To Whom it May Concern:

I was reading your piece on Georgie Woods and see it may be written by an author not affiliated with your site. But there's one mistake which involves a little more history than usual, which I feel for 'the record' is important to correct in deference to the work and memory of WDAS Newsman Joe Rainey.

First, allow me to introduce myself:

Wynne Alexander, writer/ composer/WDAS station Historian, worked there in the newsroom myself for ten years but the connections are a little deeper as well.

In the article Tuesday, July 19, 2005-Craig Moerer

The section that talks about George interviewing Malcolm X is not true. WDAS did have a very warm and special relationship with Malcolm X but it was because of award-winning journalist Joe Rainey.

Joseph H. Rainey, former magistrate, boxing commissioner, Olympic-winner track coach and grandson of the first Black congressman in U-S history, hosted one of, if not the first Black talk show in the country. The Listening Post was on every night and Malcolm X was Joe's guest on several occasions. Joe Rainey was the visionary. In fact their last broadcast together was 3 months before Malcolm was assassinated. The story of that night can be seen on WDASHistory.org in the Photo Gallery just under Malcolm X's picture with Civil Right leader Cecil Moore. George did not do a formally identified talk show format until circa 1978 and Malcolm was killed in 1965. Regarding the Woods Show, WDAS General Manager Bob Klein took a very unusual step and encouraged George to stray from the otherwise iron-clad music-only formats of the day and talk about important Civil Rights events or developments in the mid 60s.

There's more on WDAS Radio and Civil Rights history at

www.WDASHistory.org

Again thanks for the great site, if there were more of them in the world-we'd all be a whole lot better off.

Wynne Alexander

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Georgie Woods....The Guy With The Goods!