WASHINGTON — Legendary D.C. radio host and civil rights activist Joe Madison has died. Madison passed away Thursday, surrounded by family, after a years-long battle with prostate cancer. He was 74.
Throughout his career on the airwaves, Madison broke ground and broke records. He has appeared on Talkers Magazine's 100 Most Important Talk Radio Hosts consistently for over a decade, often in the Top 10. In 2019, Madison was honored with an induction into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Following news of his death, President Joe Biden called Madison "the voice of a generation."
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Madison's radio career began in 1980 at WXYZ in Detroit. He continued his broadcast journey to WWDB in Philadelphia, WWRC and WOL in D.C. The popularity of his WOL program led to syndication on the Radio One Talk Network and its XM satellite channel, which merged with Sirius to become SiriusXM in 2008.
On Friday, WUSA9 sat down with another D.C. legend, Donnie Simpson, to talk about his 50-year friendship with Madison.
“His moniker, the black eagle, is so strong," Simpson said. "It was perfect for Joe, soaring so high with such strength and fearlessness," said Simpson. "We should all be lucky enough to have a friend like Joe, someone who was so important yet still so down to earth."
In 2015, Madison set the Guinness World Record for the longest on-air broadcast, at 52 hours. During the record-breaking show, he raised more than $250,000 for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Five months later, Madison made history again by broadcasting live from Cuba and becoming the first American radio host to do so in more than 50 years.
Madison used his platform to inspire action on critical issues, famously asking listeners, "What are you going to do about it?" Beyond inspiring action, he often took action himself.
"Joe dedicated his life to fighting for all those who are undervalued, underestimated, and marginalized," Simpson said.
At age 24, he became the youngest executive director of the NAACP's Detroit branch before being appointed the organization's National Political Director and eventually being elected to the National Board of Directors where he served for 14 years.
“Joe was leading the local chapter of the NAACP in Detroit he was 23," Simpson said. "[He was] always soactive, and I was 19 and he’s trying to convince me to become the mayor of Detroit. It was significant to me back then and still is to this day, because it spoke volumes about what he saw in me.”
During his tenure at the NAACP, Madison led hundreds of volunteers on a series of successful voter registration marches, including a cross-country “March for Dignity” from Los Angeles to Baltimore. The marches garnered thousands of signatures for an anti-apartheid bill in Congress.
He traveled to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, assisted relief workers in the Gulf States after Hurricane Katrina and led 90 straight days of demonstrations and peaceful arrests in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of genocide in Sudan.
In 2021, Madison went on a 73-day hunger strike to encourage passage of voting rights bills.
“I think we can all aspire to be like Joe," Simpson said. "To be as committed as Joe Madison, to be selfless, to know that there are always things that are bigger than you. 'Us is always bigger than me.”
Madison leaves behind a wife, four children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.
"Although he is no longer with us, we hope you will join us in answering that call by continuing to be proactive in the fight against injustice," the Madison family said in a statement on Madison's website. "The outpouring of prayers and support over the last few months lifted Joe’s spirits and strengthened us as a family. We continue to ask for privacy as we gather together to support each other through this difficult time."
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