KMOJ radio hosts and listeners react to Chauvin verdict in Minneapolis
[anvplayer video=”5023646″ station=”998122″]
Many in Minnesota felt relief yesterday after the jury decided Derek Chauvin’s fate.
Twenty-four hours later, KMOJ radio hosted "The People’s Station" in north Minneapolis and spoke to listeners.
Between running the boards and turning out hip-hop and R&B music, KMOJ radio host Glenn Cooper is also fielding many phone calls from listeners.
"All the calls I have been receiving on-air (are talking about) it’s the first step, it took so long to get here, but we are making progress," Cooper said.
Cooper says the hours before the Chauvin verdict came down Tuesday were tense.
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"We tried to keep everyone calm, but the streets were jumping, preparing for a negative reaction, and I praise God it didn’t happen like that," he added.
Host Glam Life Kim says discussion about the verdict took up half of her Minneapolis 360 show air time Wednesday.
She calls it a positive step forward but adds much more needs to be done.
"I am optimistic about our future because I am an optimistic person, and I do feel that our youth have stepped in, these millennials are something different and I feel they are going to make sure there is a change made," she said.
KMOJ General Manager Freddie Bell says the station addresses issues directly impacting listeners, and this issue has been one of the most impactful.
"Today there is a difference. There’s a lightness, there is a collective sign of relief," Bell said.
"It is easier to deal from a premise of hope rather than a platform of despair," he added.