LIVE on the air with Chief Jimmy Brown!

Chief Jimmy Brown of Hot 105FM and I
On the air on April 20th with Chief Jimmy Brown on his show, HOT TALK on Hot 105FM

I talk for a living but there is something about a microphone in a radio studio that is a little intimidating. Especially when it’s live. I’ve conducted interviews for the radio and television in the past but I’ve enjoyed it the most when I had the comfort of knowing my sound bites would be edited into something smooth and coherent, even if I wasn’t.

I didn’t have to worry because I was in the company of a veteran of the airwaves. Chief Jimmy Brown of HOT TALK on Hot 105 was a gracious host when I came to be a part of his live broadcast on April 20th. With 25 years of experience on the air, he created a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. I was able to talk about Junebug and the Gumbo Garden and my motivation for writing the story, as well as to promote my appearance at the Annual Children’s Reading Festival in Fort Lauderdale. One luck caller received a free copy of my book!

 

It turns out that Chief Brown and I had a lot in common. During his years as a Baptist minister, he has spent a great deal of time in North Florida and immediately knew where my hometown, Live Oak, was located without me having to launch into my usual slate of geographical references that I use to help people identify a place I love but that they have never heard of (“Suwannee County. Central North Florida. About 40 minutes from the Georgia state line and midway between Tallahassee and Jacksonville on Interstate 10.” A mouthful). That hardly ever happens! During our off-the-air conversation he also mentioned other towns in the region–Quincy and Marianna. My association to those places is due to my research on lynching violence in the 1940s. He was so intrigued that he asked me to talk about some of my professional work on air. Of course, I was glad to oblige. Chief Brown is a bit of a history buff, and even has a dedicated segment on his show that tests the historical IQ of his listening audience.

 

The most interesting part of the night were the calls from Chief Brown’s listeners. No topic was off limits; people talked about the value of Christianity, the superiority of Islam, government conspiracies, and racial politics. The host handled them all with a deft hand. It was almost comedic, the way he patiently listened, gently coaxed, and sometimes shut his callers down. Not an occupation for the faint of heart!

 

It was my first time meeting Chief Jimmy Brown in person and it was my honor. He is truly a treasure to the South Florida community, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to share Junebug with his listeners.