Honoring Our Co-Founder Denise Oliver-Velez

Greetings to our beloved WPFW family and the community that keeps this frequency free. It is with heavy hearts but revolutionary spirits that we share some news about one of our own. On July 15, 2026, our dear sister, teacher, and founding mother, Denise Oliver-Velez, transitioned to join the ancestors at the age of 78. She passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by the love of her husband, godchildren, and friends.

Denise was a powerhouse who spent her entire life in the struggle for liberation. Whether she was blocking bulldozers as a teenager to demand jobs for Black workers or serving as the highest-ranking woman in the Young Lords Party, she never bit her tongue when it came to injustice. She was a pioneer who famously challenged "revolutionary machismo," reminding us all that there is nothing revolutionary about oppression within our own movements. She carried that same fire into the Black Panther Party and eventually into the very foundations of this station.

As a co-founder and program director of WPFW, Denise helped build this home for jazz, justice, and the voices most ignored by the world. She believed deeply that the airwaves belong to the people. She worked to make sure that Black music, progressive thought, and independent journalism were never pushed to the margins but kept front and center. Denise didn't just talk about community; she lived it, teaching us that no matter how much technology we have, nothing replaces the power of organizing face-to-face.

To honor her incredible legacy, we are dedicating our upcoming August pledge drive, running from August 2 to August 15, to her memory. This is our time to "amplify the groove" and "broadcast the struggle" just as she did. We also ask you to look out for her family as she always looked out for ours. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover her final costs and support her husband, Nadhiyr, during this difficult transition.

Denise always said she stood on the shoulders of those who came before her; today, we stand on hers. Let’s keep her spirit alive by continuing the fight for a world where every frequency is free.

Rest in power and peace, Sister Denise. The struggle continues.

All power to the people,

The WPFW 89.3 Team