Kyle Anderson- Keeping It Real
Ralph “Petey� Greene’s success and fame all stems from the creed by which he led his life-keeping it real and telling it like it is, even if the truth sometimes stings. Petey always remained true to himself as he rose to fame, embracing his ex-con status while not assimilating to white culture. The straight-laced Dewey, however, kept his hair short, frequently wore business suits, and refrained from using slang, and was chastised often for this by Petey. The reason Dewey and the black radio audience admired Petey was that he didn’t hide the fact that he was an ex-con with a history of drug abuse, chain-smoking, and womanizing, but rather that he embraced these aspects of his life by just being himself. Petey was an influential and vital voice for the under-represented black audience, as he and other radio DJ’s garnered the attention of national advertisers by making them realize that they were ignoring a largely untapped market. As Kathy Newman writes in “The Forgotten Fifteen Million: Black Radio, the ‘Negro Market’, and the Civil Rights Movement�, “By 1957, ...there were more than six hundred radio stations targeting 30-100 percent of their programming to African Americans in cities all over the country and national advertisers were beginning to take black consumers more seriously- at least the ones they could reach via the airwaves.� (115-116) Radio was so vitally important to the black community for both news and entertainment because many families at the time could not afford a television set. Lizabeth Cohen is quoted in Newman’s article as saying “participation in mainstream commercial life made blacks feel more independent and influential as a race.� (116) The Civil Rights Movement was a time of tremendous progress for the black community, and pioneers like Petey Greene made sure that their voice was heard. One thing we can all learn from Petey is that if you want to make a difference, the first step is staying true to yourself.