Hank Williams has been involved in independent media for several years, first as a print journalist as an undergraduate student and in public relations and then in public radio (WBAI-FM) and blogging.

Speaking and Media Interview Topics

Areas of expertise include Black politics and culture of the 1960s-70s and the Black Arts/Black Power Movements, Political and Cultural Organizing in Black Communities, Black-Puerto Rican Community Connections, The Last Poets, The Legacy of Amiri Baraka, Cultural Criticism and Black Popular Culture, Success/Motivation Strategies for Black Students, Kwanzaa.

Talks can be structured as interviews, part of larger roundtables, or keynote talks. Please get in touch via email to make arrangements and be sure to specify if you’re on deadline.

Broadcast Media

He has been involved in radio broadcasting for several years with New York’s Pacifica affiliate WBAI Radio (99.5 FM), first as part of the collective of the CUNY: A Mission Deferred radio show, was an associate producer for Suga in My Bowl, a weekly show that presents mini documentaries on people involved in the jazz world. He had a weekly segment on local appearances of former show guests and assisted in the research and structure of the shows in addition to building and running the show’s website and blog.

He has co-interviewed several jazz and poetry greats on the radio for Suga’ in My Bowl, including Amiri Baraka, Abiodun Oyewole, Sonia Sanchez, Pharaoh Sanders, Pat Metheny, Jesus Papoleto Melendez, James Mtume, Archie Shepp, and J.T. Lewis. Full audio of the interviews can be streamed here.

Additionally, he has appeared as a guest on WHCR Radio’s Harlem 411, Ancestor House (Manhattan Neighborhood Network), Wake Up Call (WBAI Radio), and the Queens Grapevine (now the International Grapevine).

Print

His work has appeared in Left Turn magazine and he has been quoted in The Final Call newspaper.

Digital Media

In the digital realm, he created and maintains the website for Suga in My Bowl Radio and its associated Behind the Mic blog and has been a guest blogger for Polite On Society. His thoughts can also be seen on the blog page here.

Selected Television Interviews

February 2024: on the origins and current status of Black History Month.

January 2022 first look at Eric Adams as the second Black mayor of New York City. Adams’s election is placed in context and there’s an initial examination of the task ahead of him governing the vast city.

December 2020 interview with Wallingford Lee of The International Grapevine reflecting on the legacy of New York City’s first Black mayor David N. Dinkins on the occasion of Dinkins’s death.

February 2021 interview of Last Poets members Abiodun Oyewole, Umar bin Hassan, Felipe Luciano and director/ producer Woodie King Jr to talk about their experience in the group, their self-titled first album, and Woodie King-produced soundtrack of The Original Last Poets. The discussion centers on the group’s origins and connections to the Black Arts Movement.

September 2020 interview with Wallingford Lee of The International Grapevine on the return to schools, education, and the impact from COVID-19.

June 2020 interview with Wallingford Lee of The International Grapevine on the protests around George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others and the urban uprisings that have resulted.

Interview with Wallingford Lee of The Queens Grapevine on the late Amiri Baraka. Part 1 of 2. This one is a brief biographical overview.

 

Interview with Wallingford Lee of The Queens Grapevine on James Brown, the film Soul Power, and the 1974 Pan African music festival in Zaire.

Interview with Wallingford Lee of The Queens Grapevine on the Great Migration. This is a joint interview with Mary Phillips, Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies at Lehman College.

 

Interview with Wallingford Lee of The Queens Grapevine on the status of Black-owned and oriented radio stations and programming.