(Editor’s note: I’m on a quest to catalog all of the places in the Memphis area with historical markers in a weekly feature called “On This Date, Something Happened.)

Since Memphis is a music town, one would expect that we would have a ton of great local radio. We've also got some groundbreaking radio (WDIA, anyone?). And though WDIA was the nation's first station to have an all African-American format, it wasn't the first station in Memphis to have Black ownership.

That distinction goes to WLOK 1340-AM.

The only thing that surprised me about the WLOK marker is the year. Apparently, Memphis didn't have an African-American owned radio station until 1977.

Here's the marker:

"In 1977, WLOK became Memphis' first African-American owned radio station. Established on this site, Gilliam Communications' WLOK is a family-oriented format on which many of the nations' top African-American leaders have appeared. Several of the nation's leading disc jockeys starred here. WLOK's community involvement includes college scholarships and the reknowned WLOK Stone Soul Picnic. The station's call letters, WLOK-AM are "A Family Tradition".

WLOK (which is located downtown, right behind the National Civil Rights Museum) is still on air today. Their format is mostly gospel music and talk shows.