Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this
Speaker 1: is Womanica. Each day we bring you the story of
Speaker 1: a woman from history who you may or may not
Speaker 1: know but definitely should. Today, in honor of International Women's Day,
Speaker 1: I'm thrilled to say that we on the Womanica team
Speaker 1: are doing something special in partnership with Iheart's International Women's
Speaker 1: Day initiative. Women take the Mic. So before we get
Speaker 1: to our regular episode, I'm going to take a couple
Speaker 1: of minutes to talk with a woman who inspires me daily.
Speaker 1: She literally and figuratively shaped me and Womanica co creator
Speaker 1: Liz Caplan. The woman of the hour is the one
Speaker 1: and only Kathy Manning. Our mom. Kathy Manning has many,
Speaker 1: many impressive accomplishments to her name. Currently, she serves North
Speaker 1: Carolina as sixth District in the US House of Representatives.
Speaker 1: In that role, she's one of one hundred and fifty
Speaker 1: one women in Congress. In other words, women make up
Speaker 1: just twenty eight point two percent of the House and Senate.
Speaker 1: Given her role, I wanted to ask her a couple
Speaker 1: of questions about representation and sharing women's stories. Hi Mom,
Speaker 1: Hi Jenny, thank you so much for doing this my pleasure.
Speaker 1: We are recording for International Women's Day, and I'm curious,
Speaker 1: why do you think it's important to address gender inequality.
Speaker 1: Can you tell a quick story about how your experience
Speaker 1: as a woman has helped you serve your constituents better
Speaker 1: At the Capitol, One of.
Speaker 2: The issues that we spend a lot of time talking
Speaker 2: about is the repeal of Roe versus Wade, all of
Speaker 2: the different abortion bands that have taken place in different states.
Speaker 2: Because I have had three children, because I have used
Speaker 2: a variety of contraceptive methods, because I've had genetic testing,
Speaker 2: and one test that I had with my first pregnancy
Speaker 2: that came back with a potentially disastrous result where I
Speaker 2: didn't get the good result back until the twenty fifth
Speaker 2: week in my pregnancy, I am able to look at
Speaker 2: the abortion issue with the experience of somebody who's actually
Speaker 2: had children, who's actually had to think through the potential
Speaker 2: of what I would do if I had a test
Speaker 2: result that came back in the twenty fifth week showing
Speaker 2: that the thetis I was caring had a genetic abnormality
Speaker 2: that was incompatible with life. And I understand these issues
Speaker 2: because I've lived through them. So many of the men
Speaker 2: who opine on this issue have very little understanding of
Speaker 2: how pregnancy works, or how women's bodies work, or the
Speaker 2: kinds of challenges that a woman conface during a pregnancy
Speaker 2: that can put for life at risk, for health at risk,
Speaker 2: or the life of a fetus at ringsk.
Speaker 1: As you well know, on Womanica, we highlight the stories
Speaker 1: of women and who've done all kinds of different things
Speaker 1: throughout history. Why do you think it's important to share
Speaker 1: women's stories?
Speaker 2: Often when you study history, at least when I was
Speaker 2: growing up, the heroes that you hear about, the leaders
Speaker 2: that you learn about are all men. You might think
Speaker 2: that it's only been in recent history that women have
Speaker 2: done noteworthy things. But when you take the time to
Speaker 2: actually study the impact women have had on history in
Speaker 2: every facet of our lives, from science and medicine to
Speaker 2: the arts and culture and healthcare, women have had a
Speaker 2: critical impact of all facets of life from all around
Speaker 2: the world for literally thousands of years.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like one of the things I find
Speaker 1: most interesting is, and even a smaller scale, when I
Speaker 1: was a little kid, thinking about what all the possibilities
Speaker 1: were as career options growing up. You know, you think
Speaker 1: of what your parents do or what people you know
Speaker 1: in your community what they do. But when you listen
Speaker 1: to something like Willmanica, you realize there are infinite ways
Speaker 1: to be successful and make a difference depending on what
Speaker 1: your interests and skills and you know, ideas are. So
Speaker 1: I think there's a benefit to both understanding better what's
Speaker 1: happened in the past and history and the impact women
Speaker 1: have had forever, and also the impact that women can
Speaker 1: have moving forward, because there are so many more opportunities
Speaker 1: to make change or make a difference in ways that
Speaker 1: may not be considered the norm.
Speaker 2: So often girls say that they can only envision themselves
Speaker 2: in a certain career path if they see someone who
Speaker 2: looks like them in that job. And by portray the
Speaker 2: incredible things that women have done throughout history with your podcast,
Speaker 2: you allow girls to see themselves in a whole variety
Speaker 2: of jobs or careers, life choices that they might not
Speaker 2: otherwise see.
Speaker 1: And with that, onto the regular show.
Speaker 2: Thank You Mom, Thank you Jenny.
Speaker 1: This month we're talking about women of sound. These women
Speaker 1: dominated the airwaves, innovating, documenting, and creating the audio landscape
Speaker 1: we live in today. What is in the news this
Speaker 1: week tryal of the old Bolsheviks in Russia. You can
Speaker 1: have vegetables, lots of them on your table next winter.
Speaker 1: Every day listeners in the greater Pittsburgh area could switch
Speaker 1: on their radios to hear from today's wimanniquin. She was
Speaker 1: a compass on current events, a north star on musical stylings,
Speaker 1: and above all, an architect at the early daily show format.
Speaker 1: Tune in, We're talking about Mary d. Dudley. Mary was
Speaker 1: born around nineteen twelve in Homestead, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: She was one of six children born to William and
Speaker 1: Mary Hunter Goode. The kids would become bastions of Pittsburgh's
Speaker 1: black community. James was one of the first black men
Speaker 1: to operate a real estate firm in the city. William
Speaker 1: ran the only black owned twenty four hour drug store
Speaker 1: in the country. Ruth managed the same pharmacy. Mal was
Speaker 1: the first black network television correspondent. Alan worked at an
Speaker 1: esteemed news agency, and Mary would become the first African
Speaker 1: American female disc jockey in the US. When Mary was
Speaker 1: growing up, you could find black performers on the radio.
Speaker 1: The singing quartet known as the Southern Airs Eddie Rochester
Speaker 1: Anderson and his comedy routines the phone, the phone, or
Speaker 1: why didn't chance for This is My Day on? Or
Speaker 1: Hattie McDaniels on The Bulah Show.
Speaker 2: Everybody says, I'm a girl that knows all answers. The
Speaker 2: only probably don't want ever ask me the question.
Speaker 1: But there weren't black owned radio stations or black DJs
Speaker 1: to tune into. That didn't dissuade Mary. After attending Howard University,
Speaker 1: she enrolled in a school to study radio, where she
Speaker 1: graduated with high honors. In nineteen forty eight, Mary got
Speaker 1: her chance. A local AM radio station, WHOD opened up
Speaker 1: right in Homestead. Mary's original application to join the station's
Speaker 1: staff was turned down, but she didn't take no for
Speaker 1: an answer. She finally convinced the station manager to give
Speaker 1: her a shock. Mary could have a fifteen minute slot
Speaker 1: if she could get a sponsor. In some stories, that
Speaker 1: sponsor was a local floorist, and others it was Rufus
Speaker 1: Sunnyman Jackson, co owner of the black baseball team, the
Speaker 1: Homestead Grays. Either way, Mary got that sponsor, and on
Speaker 1: August first, nineteen forty eight, she debuted her fifteen minute
Speaker 1: show moving around with Mary D. With it, she made
Speaker 1: radio history. Mary's show was so successful that within three
Speaker 1: days it was extended to half an hour. In less
Speaker 1: than a year, whod gave her another half hour. By
Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, less than two years after joining the station,
Speaker 1: Mary's show ran for two hours daily. Moving around pioneered
Speaker 1: a new radio format, a mixture of all sorts of audio.
Speaker 1: With the fabulous Mary D conducting, she played new music
Speaker 1: by black artists, brought on new local talent, and interviewed
Speaker 1: national celebrities like Nat King, Cole, Eartha Kit, Sarah Vaughan,
Speaker 1: and Tony Bennett. It was a family affair too. Her
Speaker 1: brother Mal ran a new segment reporting stories from the
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Courier, a national black newspaper. He covered topics like
Speaker 1: police brutality, Jim Crow, laws and housing. Then one of
Speaker 1: Mary's daughters, known on air as Little D, helmed the
Speaker 1: Teenage Express for younger listeners. Mary was a leader off
Speaker 1: air too. She gave away an average of two hundred
Speaker 1: music records a month to hospitals and community centers. She
Speaker 1: made regular appearances at local clubs and teen centers, and
Speaker 1: mced talent shows to foster new talent. By nineteen fifty one,
Speaker 1: Mary d was a staple of Pittsburgh society. She moved
Speaker 1: the show to the corner of Heron and Center Avenues. There,
Speaker 1: she broadcasted from behind a wall of windows in a
Speaker 1: studio she called Studio D. Passers by would be able
Speaker 1: to watch the show and put in requests in real time.
Speaker 1: Mary eventually reserved the last fifteen minutes of the show
Speaker 1: for the Gospel Train, an all request and gospel playlist
Speaker 1: I'm a In nineteen fifty two, the Pittsburgh Courier named
Speaker 1: Mary's show the most popular daytime show in the country.
Speaker 1: It had garnered at least five fan clubs in the
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh area. By nineteen fifty five, Mary was receiving two
Speaker 1: hundred fan letters a day. Then suddenly, WHOD was sold
Speaker 1: to new owners. It turned into a country in Western
Speaker 1: music station overnight. But Mary was never one to get
Speaker 1: stuck in a dead end. She packed up her family
Speaker 1: and moved to Baltimore, where she hosted another radio show.
Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty eight, she took over a show at
Speaker 1: Philadelphia's WHAT Radio station. Her program Songs of Faith, became
Speaker 1: one of the station's most popular. Though Mary's name isn't
Speaker 1: very well known today. She was a powerhouse in radio
Speaker 1: her own lifetime. She received countless awards for her work,
Speaker 1: not only for media associations, but also from cultural institutions.
Speaker 1: She was one of the first black members of the
Speaker 1: organization American Women in Radio and TV. She was also
Speaker 1: part of the Greater Philadelphia Press Women and an active
Speaker 1: member of the NAACP's Philadelphia branch. In February of nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty four, Mary was a runner up for a Woman
Speaker 1: of the Year award. She appeared in person to accept
Speaker 1: the award despite being an ailing health. She died on
Speaker 1: March seventeenth, nineteen sixty four after a long illness. All
Speaker 1: month for talking about women of sound. For more information,
Speaker 1: find us on Facebook and Instagram at Womanica podcast special
Speaker 1: thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator.
Speaker 1: We mentioned it at the start of the show, but
Speaker 1: the teen hero Omanica is celebrating International Women's Day this week.
Speaker 1: For more programming honoring the incredible women at the network
Speaker 1: and worldwide, head over to iHeart Podcasts International Women's Day
Speaker 1: Feed by searching Women Take the Mic wherever you look
Speaker 1: for podcasts. We are featured alongside reasonably Shady, very special
Speaker 1: episodes with Dana Schwartz and others. That's Women Take the
Speaker 1: Mic on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: As always, will be taking a break for the weekend.
Speaker 1: Talk to you on Monday.