Press & broadcasting / Religion / Civil rights & activism
Martha Jean Steinberg
1930–2000 · radio broadcaster, station owner, minister
"The Queen" of Detroit soul radio on WCHB and WJLB, who pleaded for calm on air during the 1967 uprising and later bought her own gospel station, WQBH.
- Born
Memphis, Tennessee- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 69- Birth name
- Martha Jean Jones
- Also known as
- Martha Jean "The Queen"
- Detroit years
- 1963–2000
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
A pioneering woman disc jockey at Memphis's WDIA from 1954, where she earned the nickname "The Queen", Martha Jean Steinberg moved to Detroit in 1963 and became one of the city's most influential Black broadcasters, first on WCHB and then through the late 1960s and 1970s on WJLB, where her shows mixed R&B hits with commentary. On July 23, 1967, as the Detroit uprising spread, she persuaded WJLB to drop its regular evening programming and stayed on the air urging listeners to calm down; many believe it kept the violence from growing worse. At WJLB she also led the on-air staff in protest over the station's lack of African American management. Ordained in the 1970s, she signed off with "God loves you and I love you". In 1982 she bought the former WJLB AM frequency, renamed it WQBH and ran a gospel-oriented format there until her death in 2000. She is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
Highlights
- Moved to Detroit in 1963; WCHB and WJLB personality
- Stayed on air calling for calm during the July 1967 uprising
- Bought WJLB AM in 1982 and renamed it WQBH
- Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (1998); Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (2017)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Buried here · 2000
Elmwood Cemetery
Her grave.