| Birth Name: | Joseph Edward Madison |
| Birth Date: | 16 June 1949 |
| Birth Place: | Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Occupation: | Talk show host, commentator |
| Education: | Washington University, B.A., 1971 (sociology) |
| Boards: |
|
| Awards: |
|
| Organization: | Member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity |
| Spouse: | Sherry (m. in or before 1978) |
| Children: | Shawna, Jason, Monesha, Michelle |
| Parents: | Nancy Stone and Felix Madison, Herman Haygood (biological) |
| Footnotes: | [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] }} 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 educationMadison 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. 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] CareerRadio careerMadison 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 RadioMadison 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 SiriusMadison 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 activismHe 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. A quarter century later, he announced another hunger strike: this time to press for voting rights legislation.[12] Personal lifeMadison 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 lived in Washington, D.C., with his wife Sharon (Sherry) and was a father and grandfather. He earned his bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis.[15] 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. External links |
