Shelley Stewart—civil rights and broadcast legend—joins Radio Hall of Fame

A Birmingham legend has earned a spot in the highly-coveted Radio Hall of Fame thanks to his lifelong commitment to journalism, local business and civil rights. 

Born in 1934, Shelley Stewart began his radio career in 1953 at WEDR after graduating from Rosedale High School and enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, according to The History Makers. His on-air moniker was “Shelley The Playboy.”

This would just be the beginning of an illustrious career that has spanned over 70 years. 

Another trophy for the shelf

This isn’t Stewart’s first major accolade. In 1999, he was awarded the “Footsteps to Freedom Award from the 16th Street Foundation, and in 2013, the National Association of Black Journalists honored him with the Community Service Award. 

He was also named a Pioneer of Radio Inductee by the Smithsonian Institution in 1996. 

Stewart will join 10 other radio personalities in this year’s induction into the Radio Hall of Fame. The event will take place in Chicago this October.

On the most recent episode of his podcast, Shelley’s Plumbline—which he also calls the “Academy of Common Sense”—Stewart discussed the accolade with humility.

Many people say I have a ‘voice.’ I don’t know whether I have a voice or not, I just talk. Many people think I got there with practice. No, I did not practice being a radio personality. Never in my life had I dreamed of being a radio personality, and I certainly never dreamed of being inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. That never crossed my mind.

Shelley Stewart

An inspiring career despite a difficult start

At just 5 years old, he and his brothers watched their mother be murdered by their father, as told in a book detailing his life story, “Mattie C.’s Boy: The Shelley Stewart Story” by Don Keith. This began a childhood of suffering, homelessness, abuse and racism. 

That didn’t hold him back, though. He would go on to support Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, most notably with the Children’s March in Birmingham. 

Throughout his career, he worked at WEDR in Birmingham; WOKJ in Jackson, Mississippi; and then back to Birmingham at WENN and WATV. He and Erskine Fausch eventually acquired WATV, transforming it into the most popular radio station in the city. 

In an effort to reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates of high school students, he founded the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation in 2007. 

He also founded a prominent marketing company in 1967 called Steiner Marketing, today known as o2ideas. 

Today, his podcast is on its 10th season. On each episode, he discusses social topics “that are as relevant today as they were 40 years ago,” the podcast’s description says. Shelley’s Plumbline has produced over 100 episodes since 2023. 

At 90 years of age, Shelley still sits down before the microphone as he pursues answers to tough topics, challenging us to change the experience of being human and our outlook on humanity. 

Mark Jamroz, Executive Producer of Shelley’s Plumbline

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