It is with great sadness today that I mourn the passing of one of the great men of our community, Mr. Andrew Langston. Mr. Langston was a leader within the City of Rochester and across our area. In his 81 years, Mr. Langston was able to take a radio station created on borrowed money and build it into the oldest and greatest African American owned radio station in the United States. The station he created was not just a source of music, but rather a source of hope for all people; an inspiration that anything is possible despite socio-economic limits. Mr. Langston and WDKX, named in honor of the fallen leaders of the Civil Rights movement, used the music it played and the men and women who made up that radio “family” to show the people in some of Rochester’s most downtrodden neighborhoods that “a change is gonna come.” His legacy now stands with a man he sought to honor, Fredrick Douglass, as a leader of the black community in Rochester. I will continue to seek to serve the people of Rochester much in the manner that my friend Andrew did, with kindness, generosity and hope.
For more information on Mr. Langston, click here [2].
