Dee, Mary [Pseudonym for Mary Dudley].

[Business Card for Mary Dee and “The Mary Dee Show”].

Homestead, Pennsylvania: [circa 1950]. Business card measuring 2” x 3½”; signed on the front and inscribed on the back. Very good: lightly toned with old tape remnants.

This is a business card for Mary Dee, signed by her on its front and inscribed and signed on the back. It advertises “The Mary Dee Show—The Only 2 Hour Negro Broadcast in the Tri-State area.”

Dee is widely considered the first African American female disc jockey in the United States. She grew up in Homestead, Pennsylvania, attended Howard for two years, and then attended the Si Mann School of Radio in Pittsburgh. She first went on the air on station WHOD on August 1, 1948 to announce a calendar of events for Black women in the area. She was soon given a 15 minute slot, and her show progressed to four hours long by her fourth year. In 1955 WHOD was sold and she ultimately ended up in Philadelphia where she aired a gospel music show.

Dee is considered a pioneer in her development of a radio format that combined discussion of community affairs, news, and music. She was also one of the first two Black women admitted to the Association of American Women in Radio and Television and was successful in getting the organization to forgo meetings in segregated facilities.

A wonderful artifact from the career of the first Black female disc jockey. Very good. Item #2898

Price: $500.00