What a community radio case could mean for the First Amendment
Eleventh Circuit set to hear appeal in November
A low-power FM station in Florida is fighting for the federal covid-relief funds it was contracted to receive—that is, until the local county commissioners decided they didn’t like the company that Black Power 96 Radio keeps.
A federal appeals court has tentatively scheduled the case for the first week of November. The station’s operator, the nonprofit African People’s Education and Defense Fund, claims the county discriminated against the organization for its political speech and its affiliations.
WBPU-LP has been on the air since 2017, serving the Black community of south Saint Petersburg. In 2022, the station was slated to receive $37,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds. Back then, federal money was being distributed to major cities and counties for capital grants so local governments and communities could recover costs and losses from the pandemic. In Pinellas County, a community foundation reviewed a round of applications for the program and ranked the station’s application 4th out of 55 groups that applied.
A few months later, after the first round of grant contracts were announced, the foundation invited a second round. WBPU applied. Again the foundation ranked the station 4th, this time out of 79 applicants, for $67,000 to purchase a backup generator.
During this time period, two new county commissioners were elected. One of them argued publicly that he opposed the station’s ARPA grants, expressing concerns that the nonprofit was running candidates for office, and was also under a federal criminal investigation. The station and the community protested, but commissioners eventually voted to block the funding.
As the funding case moves ahead, court documents show the county’s argument for its actions continues to shift. The latest claim is that the money awarded to WBPU didn’t actually address covid-related losses. The station argues that the commissioners violated First Amendment protections for free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association. The station also argues that Pinellas County ultimately discriminated against the Black community by disproportionately awarding its ARPA funds to nonprofits serving predominantly white constituents.
The station is located in Uhuru (Freedom) House, which dates from the 1990s. The Uhuru Movement is a broad umbrella of groups and projects dedicated to Black liberation. The movement was founded in St. Petersburg and dates to the 1970s.
In July 2022, the FBI raided the house in St. Petersburg, seeking evidence in its investigation into Russian control of activists. The station was not targeted during the raid. Later, in April 2023, several Uhuru members were charged under the Foreign Agents Registration Act with being unregistered agents of Russia for their alleged pro-Russian stance on certain political issues.
Last year, a federal jury declined to convict them on the primary charge, but did find them guilty of conspiring to be Russian agents, which is also a felony. At a sentencing hearing in December, the Tampa Bay Times reported the judge said he felt no need to punish individuals whose conduct was rooted in political speech. Instead, he sentenced them to three years probation and 300 hours of community service. It’s important to note that none of the individuals who were prosecuted are on the board or staff of the station or its parent nonprofit.
Station manager Eddie Maultsby and its volunteer grant writer, Sandra Forrest, will discuss the implications of the station’s court case at the Grass Roots Radio Conference Sept. 11-14 in Spokane, WA. The presenters said they plan to share their experiences, including their recent successes in fighting back, with the hopes of connecting with other stations that are facing, or soon could face, similar violations of First Amendment rights.
At 6 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, August 7, the station will hold an online forum on The Burning Spear TV YouTube channel. The forum will feature the station’s attorney, Luke Lirot, a First Amendment rights fighter, discussing the legal questions in the case and how it may serve as a case law precedent for other media entities threatened with defunding. In addition, WBAI host Mimi Rosenberg will speak on behalf of the newly formed Ida B. Wells Media Defense Network.
WBPU is a Pacifica affiliate. Project 2025 named the Pacifica network a political target alongside defunding public media.
Communications Act of 1934, Sect. 326.
Nothing in this Act shall be understood or construed to give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of radio communication.