Our Story

WMPR first went on the air in October 1983 and later joined by civil rights activist, businessman, radio personality, and politician James Charles Evers as its general manager in 1990. Evers, the older brother of civil rights martyr Medgar Evers, began his career as a disc jockey in Philadelphia, Mississippi after serving in World War II.

 

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​​​​​​​​Prior to becoming a station employee, he debated segregationist Richard Barrett on the airwaves of WMPR in 1988. Under Evers's management, WMPR became an official outlet for blues in the area after a historical marker recognized that station on the Mississippi Blues Trail in 2009.

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After Evers's death in 2020, the street on which WMPR's studios are located, Pecan Park Circle, was renamed to James Charles Evers Circle in his honor. Majority ownership remains in the Evers family with his daughter Wanda.

 

Today, WMPR 90.1 is still blazing the trail in music, entertainment and politics, specializing in gospel and blues and also featuring many musical genres as well as several community-oriented talk shows.