Black History Month Fact -- Honoring Our Own at Radio One

Tributes by Radio One

As the celebration of Black History Month comes to a close, we thought it appropriate to use this day to acknowledge, celebrate and honor members of our Radio One Family who have passed away in the past year. We lost seven beloved members of our family; all of them taken from us too soon and with little warning. Please take a moment to remember those below who were accomplished, passionate about what they did, committed to our company, and helped to write the next chapters of black history:
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E. Steven Collins passed away on September 9, 2013 at the age of 58. E. Steven was known as the “Unofficial Mayor of Philadelphia”, with a rolodex that was the envy of both politicians and journalists. He was the Director of Urban Marketing and External Relations of Radio One Philadelphia and hosted a weekly show, Philly Speaks, on Old School 100.3. He served on the boards of the Urban League, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (as well as its Multicultural Affairs Congress), the Ivy Legacy Foundation and the Marion Anderson Awards Association. He was a graduate of Temple University and posthumously received the Lew Klein Alumni in the Media Award from the University this past October. E. Stevens had been with Radio One for 10 years.

Shelia Leigh Stewart passed away on October 24, 2013 at the age of 44. Sheila was an award winning media journalist whose career spanned over 20 years in radio, TV and print. She was the Director of News Programming for the Radio One DC Stations and the Russ Parr Morning Show. Sheila was also an accomplished author having published her first book “Faith and The 3 P’s Overcoming Obstacles With Prayer, Persistence and Positive Thinking”. Sheila had been with Radio One for seven years.

James D. Mitchell, aka “Mitch Malone”, passed away on November 25, 2013 at the age of 57. He hosted the highly rated Quiet Storm radio show weeknights from 7 p.m. to midnight at Radio One-KISS FM in Richmond. Mitch was a native of Petersburg, Virginia and graduated from Virginia State University and later served as music and sports director for the university radio station. The day before he passed, after hearing a sermon about Thanksgiving at church, Mitch posted on his Facebook page his own set of thanks to his listeners, to his family and gave thanks for a long career with wonderful colleagues. Mitch had been with Radio One for eight years.

Bryan Keith Robinson passed away on January 18, 2014 at the age of 44. He was the Account Manager, Western Region for Reach Media. Bryan strongly believed in supporting his family and community and was involved in many civic organizations and a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Bryan had been with Reach Media for seven years.

Preston Edward Lowe passed away on January 21, 2014 at the age of 45. Preston was well known for his musical skills and he, along with his brothers Paul, Pat and Perry, performed often as the Lowe Brothers. In the 1990’s, he helped launch 1370 AM in Austin, Texas, which then played urban adult contemporary music. He moved to Dallas in 2005 and became the Music Director at 97.9, The Beat in 2012. Preston had been with Radio One for two years.

Angelo Henderson passed away on February 15, 2014 at the age of 51. Angelo had a show titled Your Voice on WCHB(AM) in Detroit. He previously worked for The Detroit News and The Wall Street Journal, where he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1999 in the feature writing category for a portrait of a druggist driven to violence by encounters with armed robbers. Angelo was a founding member of the Detroit 300, a group focused on helping communities organize and eradicate crime. The organization he helped lead consisted of residents, civic groups, and businesses. They patrolled neighborhoods and prompted the public to help police with investigations. Angelo had been with Radio One for 10 years.

Samuel Michael Anderson, aka “Mike Roberts”, passed away on February 17, 2014 at the age of 54. Mike launched his radio career at WCBM and also held jobs at WFBR, WEBB and WGHT, which later became WWIN, Magic 95.9. He later worked in Washington, doing new age programming for SiriusXM satellite radio and World Space satellite radio. After a brief departure from radio to work for Comcast, Mike returned to terrestrial radio in 2001 joining the Radio One Baltimore family once again. He had been with Radio One for 13 years.