Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush
Encyclopedia
Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush is an American
television journalist
, executive producer
and 1960s civil rights
activist. She was born in Greensboro, North Carolina
, and has been a resident of Los Angeles
, California
, since 1993.
of primetime news in 1975. The station for which she anchored, WGPR
-TV, was the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station. The studio was launched in Detroit, Michigan
, on September 29, 1975. Everyone involved in the production of the newscast was of African-American heritage. Bush is also of European and Native American
ancestry. Other members of the inaugural news team included television news anchor Amyre Porter and radio personality
Doug Morison.
"I'm particularly proud that this first black-owned television station in the continental United States will be in my home state of Michigan
," said President Gerald Ford
on July 9, 1975. "This is truly a landmark not only for the broadcasting industry, but for American society." The former President's filmed proclamation and salute are archived at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
On January 22, 2009, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum placed on public display rare images of the WGPR-TV inaugural news anchor team. The historic images, featuring Porter, Morison and Bush in the defunct studio and Bush presenting the weather at a magnetic map, were donated to the museum by Bush to honor the inauguration of President Barack Obama
. The historic images were restored by CBS Corporation
. Simultaneous donations were arranged by Mark E. Kalmansohn
of Century City, California
. The images are also archived by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
in Detroit, Michigan, the North Carolina Museum of History
in Raleigh
, the California African American Museum in Los Angeles
, California, and the Smithsonian Institution
's National Museum of African American History and Culture
in Washington, D.C.
The WGPR
broadcast center became a CBS
affiliate in 1994 at which time its call letters were changed to WWJ-TV
. The Channel 62
analog will end on June 12, 2009, when the nation switches to digital
programming. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WWJ-TV's virtual channel
as 62.
and NBC
network affiliates in North Carolina
and Tennessee
respectively before becoming an Atlanta, Georgia
, correspondent and executive producer for Black Entertainment Television
.
Bush worked as a morning news anchor at an ABC
affiliate in High Point, North Carolina
, then licensed as WGHP-TV; WGHP switched to the Fox Broadcasting Company
in 1995.
. The show marked the first and only time Stevie Ray Vaughan
, B.B. King, Albert King
, Rufus Thomas
and Charlie Rich
appeared together on stage. Bush's contribution to American music history is archived by the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, D.C.
during the inaugural sit-in demonstrations in Greensboro, North Carolina at the age of 9. According to the Greensboro Historical Museum, Bush participated in civil rights protests from 1961 to 1966.
.
at Atlanta.
babies.
, who acted in such feature films as Die Hard
, Licence to Kill
, Colors
, Street Fighter
and Favorite Son.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and 1960s civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist. She was born in Greensboro, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and has been a resident of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, since 1993.
American TV history
Bush became American television's first African-American female weather anchorNews presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
of primetime news in 1975. The station for which she anchored, WGPR
WGPR
WGPR is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan brodacasting a Mainstream Urban format. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons and operated under local marketing agreement by Radio One, the station operates on 107.5 MHz....
-TV, was the world's first black-owned-and-operated television station. The studio was launched in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, on September 29, 1975. Everyone involved in the production of the newscast was of African-American heritage. Bush is also of European and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
ancestry. Other members of the inaugural news team included television news anchor Amyre Porter and radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
Doug Morison.
"I'm particularly proud that this first black-owned television station in the continental United States will be in my home state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
," said President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
on July 9, 1975. "This is truly a landmark not only for the broadcasting industry, but for American society." The former President's filmed proclamation and salute are archived at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
On January 22, 2009, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum placed on public display rare images of the WGPR-TV inaugural news anchor team. The historic images, featuring Porter, Morison and Bush in the defunct studio and Bush presenting the weather at a magnetic map, were donated to the museum by Bush to honor the inauguration of President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. The historic images were restored by CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
. Simultaneous donations were arranged by Mark E. Kalmansohn
Mark E. Kalmansohn
Mark E. Kalmansohn is the former prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice who hunted down and brought to justice Lucian Ludwig Kozminski, a Jewish oberkapo convicted in 1982 of swindling some 3,000 of his fellow Holocaust survivors...
of Century City, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The images are also archived by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is located in the Cultural Center of the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1965, it holds the world's largest permanent exhibit on African American culture. In 1997, it moved into a 120,000 square foot facility on Warren Avenue...
in Detroit, Michigan, the North Carolina Museum of History
North Carolina Museum of History
The North Carolina Museum of History is located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Permanent exhibits focus on the state’s military history, decorative arts, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, and more. Visitors will see a variety of short-term and traveling exhibits...
in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, the California African American Museum in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California, and the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a Smithsonian Institution museum established in 2003. It will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. In 2006, the Smithsonian's Board of Regents selected a site near the grounds of the Washington Monument and the...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The WGPR
WGPR
WGPR is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan brodacasting a Mainstream Urban format. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons and operated under local marketing agreement by Radio One, the station operates on 107.5 MHz....
broadcast center became a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate in 1994 at which time its call letters were changed to WWJ-TV
WWJ-TV
WWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb....
. The Channel 62
Channel 62
Channel 62 refers to several television stations:* "UHF" describes a fictional Channel 62....
analog will end on June 12, 2009, when the nation switches to digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
programming. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WWJ-TV's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 62.
Anchoring TV news
Bush (then Sharon Crews) later anchored news and weather at CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
network affiliates in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
respectively before becoming an Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, correspondent and executive producer for Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
.
Bush worked as a morning news anchor at an ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate in High Point, North Carolina
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina....
, then licensed as WGHP-TV; WGHP switched to the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in 1995.
American music history
Bush was an executive producer of the 1985 National Blues Music Awards, held at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The show marked the first and only time Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, B.B. King, Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, Rufus Thomas
Rufus Thomas
Rufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...
and Charlie Rich
Charlie Rich
Charles Rich was an American country music singer and musician. A Grammy Award winner, his eclectic-style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, playing in the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres.In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname The Silver...
appeared together on stage. Bush's contribution to American music history is archived by the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington, D.C.
Civil rights activist
Bush marched with Rev. Jesse JacksonJesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
during the inaugural sit-in demonstrations in Greensboro, North Carolina at the age of 9. According to the Greensboro Historical Museum, Bush participated in civil rights protests from 1961 to 1966.
Community involvement
Bush is founder of Promise Kept, a national charity aimed at continuing philanthropic and goodwill initiatives begun by her late father, Conrad L. RaifordConrad L. Raiford
Conrad Laurel Raiford was a champion athlete, educator, goodwill ambassador and one of Greensboro, North Carolina's first African-American police officers.-Law enforcement:...
.
Education
Bush studied philosophy at North Carolina A&T State University. She also studied at the University of Detroit, the US Naval Air Technical Training Command and Georgia State UniversityGeorgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
at Atlanta.
Famous leap-day baby
Born on February 29, Bush is listed among the world's most famous leap-dayLeap year
A leap year is a year containing one extra day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year...
babies.
Spouse
Bush is married to Grand L. BushGrand L. Bush
Grand Lee Bush is an American actor of stage, television and major motion pictures.-Personal life:Bush was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Essie and Robert Bush, who was an actor...
, who acted in such feature films as Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
, Colors
Colors (film)
Colors is a 1988 police procedural crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and directed by Dennis Hopper. The story takes place in South Central Los Angeles, and is about Bob Hodges , an experienced LAPD Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums Police Officer III, and his rookie partner,...
, Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
and Favorite Son.