Joseph Madison (June 16, 1949 – January 31, 2024), alternatively known as "The Black Eagle" or "Madison", was an American radio talk-show host and activist heard daily on SiriusXM Urban View.[6]
Early life and education
Madison was a native of Dayton, Ohio and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1967. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971 with a degree in sociology, and also played football for their team. His alma mater also awarded him a WashU Arts & Sciences' Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017 and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2019.[6] After his death, his hometown of Dayton gave an honorary designation of "Joe Madison Way" to Cowart Avenue, the street he grew up on.[7]
Career
Radio career
Madison began his broadcasting career in 1980 at Detroit's WXYZ-AM radio station.
Joining an otherwise white lineup at WWRC-AM in the early 1990s, he developed a crossover appeal handling issues that included race but were aimed at the station's multiracial audience. He left in 1998, after the station fired its talent and changed format, to start an online chat show.[8]
WOL and XM Satellite Radio
Madison also worked at WOL-AM, and was placed in syndication on the Radio One Talk Network and its XM satellite channel. He left WOL in 2013.[9]
Urban View on Sirius
Madison was heard Mondays through Fridays from 6 am to 10 am on Urban View channel 126, SiriusXM.
On Feb. 25–27, 2015, Joe Madison hosted a record-breaking marathon whereby he talked for 52 hours on his SIRIUS XM talk show.[10] The broadcast is officially registered with the Guinness World Record Organization.[11]
Political activism
Madison at a protest against police brutality in 1999
He publicized claims of CIA complicity in moving cocaine into the United States, sought evidence, and promoted legislation to declassify possibly related documents. On October 15, 1996, Madison, Dick Gregory, and John Newman launched a hunger strike to promote this legislation.[1]
A quarter century later, he announced another hunger strike: this time to press for voting rights legislation.[12]
Personal life
Madison took a DNA test indicating he has ancestry in Sierra Leone and Mozambique.[13] Research done for Finding Your Roots revealed that his great-grandfather was a white man from South Carolina who fought for the Confederates during the American Civil War; and his biological grandfather was included in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.[14]
Madison died of prostate cancer at his home in Washington, D.C. on January 31, 2024, at the age of 74.[16][17] He was originally diagnosed with cancer in 2009.
^"Joseph E(dward) Madison". Almanac of Famous People(fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). Gale. 2011. Gale Document Number: GALE|K1601048087. Retrieved August 31, 2013. Biography In Context. (subscription required)
^"Joseph Edward Madison, Mr.". Who's Who Among African Americans(fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). Detroit: Gale. June 1, 2003. Gale Document Number: GALE|K1645513758. Retrieved August 31, 2013. Biography In Context. (subscription required)
^Hilpert, Mark (March 30, 1998). "NMP receives cash infusion from Columbia Capital". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved September 2, 2013. TALK SHOW HOST CHANGES MEDIA. Former WRC-AM talk show host Joe Madison, who was fired along with other WRC on-air personalities last month when the station switched formats and dial positions, is reaching out to a different audience -- Internet junkies. Madison's new show, "OnLineTalk.com with Madison," is scheduled to debut April 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. at http://www.oncon.com. That's the address for Online Connections Inc., a District-based ISP. The weekly show, which will run on Monday evenings, operates much like the radio version: Madison will interview guests, and Web users will be able to read the interview and submit their questions and comments. The program will cover a broad range of subjects, including politics, current events and entertainment.
