Michigan Historical Commission approves WGPR TV 62 Historical Marker

By Karen Hudson Samuels/Tell Us Detroit

DETROIT, MI - Detroit’s WGPR-TV Channel 62 made national news when it went on the air on September 29, 1975. Headlines from newspapers around the country heralded the arrival of the first black owned and operated television station in the country. Then President Gerald Ford of Michigan sent the station a congratulatory audiovisual message.

This legacy is being memorialized thanks to the Michigan Historical Commission’s approval of a historical marker for the station’s location, at 3146 East Jefferson Detroit. Mayor Mike Duggan joined members of the WGPR-TV Historical Society and station alumni in making the official announcement within the station’s studio Monday afternoon.

Notable “firsts” credited to WGPR-TV include being the first Detroit television station to broadcast 24 hours a day, beginning in August of 1978 with cult movies running until 6 a.m. It was also the first to air an Auction Movie format where viewers bid on prizes and the first local station to air Arab language programming.


Mayor Mike Duggan chats with WGPR-TV station alumni prior to press conference on the station’s approval to have a historical marker at its location on East Jefferson. Standing to the Mayor’s left is Joe Spencer, RJ Watkins and Karen Hudson Samuels, all members of the WGPR-TV Historical Society. (Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us Detroit)

The WGPR-TV Historical Society, which applied for the historical marker, is a registered non-profit organization organized by former station employees. Their mission is to preserve the history of WGPR-TV62 and its breakthrough advances in television programming, production and launching the careers of reporters, anchors, directors, camera operators and engineers.

The station was founded by William V. Banks, a legendary businessman who started a fraternal order that purchased the TV station. Years earlier in 1964, the International Order of Free and Accepted Modern Masons purchased radio station WGPR 107.5 the first FM station in Michigan owned by African Americans.

Operating a TV and radio station under one roof created a unique media environment where famous recording artists and newsmakers crossed paths on a regular basis. According to the Michigan Historical Commission, no television station in Michigan has been approved for a historical marker. WGPR-TV remained on air until 1994/95 when it was purchase by CBS.