Father Lawrence Lucas (member, WBAI General Manager Search Subcomm; author, lecturer, Black liberation theologian, chaplain on Rikers Island, longtime Harlem activist)

Click here for candidate statement.

Father Lawrence Lucas

WBAI Candidate Questionnaire

1. Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board?

I have over 40 years of activism and dedication to advancing the causes I believe in, and have extensive ties with the community and well-known involvement with progressive issues. I want to continue to advance the Justice and Unity program of community outreach and organizing, affirmative action and anti-racism, workers’ rights, sound finances, new forms of fundraising, and exciting new initiatives to broaden WBAI’s effectiveness, reach, and influence.

2. How do you envision the local Board working with Pacifica Foundation, WBAI, and the community?

The LSB can serve as an essential link and provide cohesion between the community, WBAI, and Pacifica, while mediating the inevitable conflicts that arise in our collective struggle. As one example, Justice and Unity will continue working with many staff and listeners demanding that WBAI’s autonomy be maintained at those times like the present when Pacifica’s national bureaucracy oversteps its authority with top-down dictates.

3. How could the station better serve its listeners?

The station can better serve its listeners:

a) By making a concerted effort to improve equipment so listeners get better sound quality

b) By acquiring its own facility via a capital campaign saving thousands in rent each month

c) Developing a multi-channel expansion of WBAI’s programming

d) Being involved with Pacifica in a grassroots campaign to reverse FCC rules allowing media consolidation.

4. Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities and to increase the diversity of the listening audience.

Redoubling our efforts to form alliances with a wide range of grassroots groups throughout our listening area, with a particular focus on oppressed and working-class communities, including promoting the station in print publications and on various radio, TV, and Internet outlets that serve a wide range of communities and movements.

5. What sources of funding, other than listener donations, do you feel WBAI should solicit?

We need a coordinated development campaign that includes everything from funding from larger progressive institutions and wealthy individuals (as long as they come with no corporate or government strings attached) to benefit concerts and shows, to such modest efforts as raffles and other contests. In addition, as mentioned in #3 above, the LSB and the manager should jointly launch an aggressive capital campaign for WBAI to purchase its own facility, which would save hundreds of thousands of dollars on rent in the long term.

6. Please state briefly the skills, experience, educational background, work history, organizational affiliations, areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of the Local Station Board.

I have a degree in TV broadcasting and have produced a TV program, plus six years in further studies beyond my B.A. I’ve been involved in activism with various organizations such as the December 12th Movement, the Correction Guardians Association, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the Correctional Association, and others. Such experiences can help the LSB form meaningful connections with the communities that support the station.

7. Do you anticipate missing any Local Station Board meetings due to family or job related problems or inadequate transportation?

No.

8. On which Local Station Board committees are you interested in actively serving? If you are a current Local Station Board member, on which committees do you currently serve?

I serve on the General Manager Search Committee, and hope to continue until we have concluded the process of recommending candidates for the position.

Contact: fatherlucas@justiceunity.org.