Shelley’s Plumbline
In construction, a plumbline is a weight suspended from a string used as a tool to find the true reference line. A plumbline will always find the vertical axis pointing to the center of gravity, ensuring everything is right, justified, and centered. Pulling from a library of more than 3,000 shows from his storied career in broadcasting, Shelley's Plumbline leads us in a search for the truth, opening the channels of communication and understanding on tough social topics that are as relevant today as they were 40 years ago. Join us as we explore the past, compare it to today, and craft a better future.
Episodes
In this week's podcast, we continue our interview featuring Candis Bonner, a top writer for the major magazine Black Radio Exclusive.
We focus on the history and evolution of the Black radio industry. Bonner explains that Black radio was not homogeneous across the US, and her publication was often ahead of the curve in predicting music trends because it was dedicated to the industry when general trades neglected...
This week's podcast features guest Candis Bonner, who shares a conversation about lifelong friendship and the evolution of Black media.
Friendship Loss and Reunion
We discuss the pain of losing friends and the rarity of true friendship. Shelley recounts the emotional reunion with his lifelong friend, Jimmy, after 10 years of separation following his homelessness at age 7.
Black Radio Indus...
This week's episode of Shelley's Plumbline explores the opposition to Human Rights progress, including the anti-DEI movement and the inaction of the Black bourgeoisie, prompting a call for a desperate resurgence of the movement for freedom.
Shelley and Ricky emphasize the crucial role of education, advocating for widespread reading and critical thinking as a necessary exercise to counter the shallowness of...
This week Shelley's Plumbline covers a debate on the Black Church's role in community unity and institutional strength, questioning if its historical influence on the community and youth still remains strong today.
Shelley shares his concern about whether Black institutions like the church that once helped navigate racial struggles have weakened in that role.
The discussion then addresses the ongoing fight...
The week's discussion centers on the pursuit of power, with Ricky and Shelley questioning the sustainability of the integration model and discussing the need for new political approaches, including "voluntary separation."
We pay tribute to Reverend Jesse Jackson, remembering his dedication to "Education, hope, and the continuous fight for equality and power.
Finally, we offer a critique of "...
In this episode, we dive into the pivotal moments that shaped our world—from the blackouts and segregation of the 1940s and post-war era, to the political earthquakes of Maynard Jackson’s and Coleman Young’s mayoral elections in Atlanta and Detroit. We compare the struggles for equality faced by figures like Reverend Jesse Jackson with the modern-day battles for DEI, ultimately asking: Is the core struggle still sim...
This episode concludes a four-part series on Dr. Carter G. Woodson and centers on the loss of the Black Old Guard, specifically honoring Reverend Jesse Jackson. A key point of discussion was the denial of Reverend Jackson lying in honor at the state capital, which the hosts connected to a broader historical erasure and ongoing attacks on education and historical acknowledgment.
The hosts emphasized that confronting ...
This week's episode continues our Black History Month series on Dr. Carter G. Woodson, whose rejection of the NAACP begs the question: Does the influence of funding to Black movements trigger the need for a "leadership audit" within Black organizations?
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This week's episode continues the focus on the life and ideology of Dr. Carter G. Woodson as part of a four-part Black History Month series. We open by marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Negro History Week and re-ask Woodson’s provocative question from the 1940s: "Do we deserve to celebrate right now?" Woodson opined that celebration was unwarranted if Black people had not studied their ...
In this special Black History Month episode of Shelley's Plumbline, executive producer Mark Jamroz and host Dr. Ricky Jones—son of the Radio Hall of Famer Shelley Stewart—share a conversation on Carter G. Woodson and the origins of Black History Month.
The core of the conversation focuses on the legacy of Carter G. Woodson and the founding of Negro History Week, with Jones detailing Woodson's academic jour...
We join the nation in mourning the loss of civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin, who passed away on January 13, 2026, at the age of 86. In her honor, we are rebroadcasting this interview with her sister, Gloria Laster, originally broadcast on December 2, 2025.
The discussion centers on the overlooked role of Colvin, the 15-year-old arrested nine months before Rosa Parks for the same act of defiance.
Laster recounts ...
Join Shelley's Plumbline for this powerful year-end recap, reflecting on the most impactful conversations of 2025, a year marked by the addition of co-host Dr. Ricky Jones.
Jones’s arrival brought a new voice of depth and truth that resonated profoundly with listeners. The year’s second most downloaded episode, "Finding My Father," featured the emotional and deeply personal story that revealed Dr. She...
Hello, Plumbliners!
Shelley, Mark and Ricky are going to take a break going into the holiday season. So today, we (re)present the most downloaded Plumbline episode of 2025, titled "Racism Today."
In this episode, Shelley, Mark and Ricky Jones launch into a powerful discussion on the enduring struggle against racism, arguing that while overt segregation is gone, it has transformed, with terms like DEI serving...
Today, Shelley and Ricky focus their discussion on the ongoing disregard for both Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks after the bus boycott, noting Parks' financial struggles and the general minimization of women's contributions by male movement leaders.
Shelley and Ricky share a broader contemporary critique, lamenting the societal decline in critical thinking and sacrifice, and analyzing how modern oppressiv...
This episode of Shelley's Plumline, explores the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott with special guest Gloria Laster, the older sister of Claudette Colvin. The discussion centers on the overlooked role of Colvin, the 15-year-old arrested nine months before Rosa Parks for the same act of defiance.
Laster recounts how Colvin was a plaintiff in the successful Browder v. Gale Supreme Court case that des...
In this episode, Shelley and Ricky discuss the key role that Shelley played in the Children's March. The scene is Birmingham, Alabama, April and May of 1963.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s advisors had deliberately chosen the city to confront the notoriously violent Police Commissioner, Bull Connor. Shelley recounts advising King to leave the pulpit and engage directly with the people on the street, which helped build...
In this episode, Shelley recounts his conflicts with the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham in the 1950s, intensified by his refusal to adhere to segregated customs in local stores. Shelley reveals that many Klan members were police officers and local business owners. His activism escalated on his WEDR radio show, where he publicly discussed the segregated city, education, and incidents of violence and bombing that major wh...
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