[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 84 (Friday, June 21, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5897-S5898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




JERRY BLOCKER: IN HONOR OF HIS ``LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD'' PRESENTED 
               BY THE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS

 Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, during the turbulent social unrest 
of the 1960s in the U.S. and particularly Detroit, Jerry Blocker--a 
``skinny little kid with the big voice''--often dominated the radio and 
television news business. His rise and success in the industry has been 
attributed to an imagination fueled by a strong sense of drama, and his 
ability to craft a calm, orderly objectivity out of news ripe with 
disorder, rawness, and uncertainty.
  Born on the west side of Detroit on February 14, 1931, Jerry 
Blocker's arrival on Valentine's Day was unheralded during the height 
of the Great Depression. Because of the Depression, Jerry's parents and 
family bestowed upon him the only gifts they could afford: an abundance 
of love and pride. Those generous gifts carried dividends the remainder 
of his life.
  During his early years at Columbian and Sampson elementary schools, 
Jerry Blocker thrived while participating in school plays. Later, while 
attending McMichael Intermediate he became interested in all activities 
associated with radio. By the time he reached Northwestern High School, 
it was recognized that the ``skinny little kid with the big voice'' was 
destined for a future in the media. At Wayne State University in the 
mid-1950s, Jerry honed his broadcast skills but discovered that 
minorities were not to be found working in the broadcast business. His 
dream would have to wait. In the late 1950s Jerry became a teacher, 
first serving at Hampton Institute in Virginia, then with the Detroit 
Board of Education. His flair for the dramatic became evident as he 
staged plays, pageants, and festivals to the delight of hundreds of 
children.
  In 1961, Jerry Blocker finally found employment in the radio industry 
when WCHD entered the general-format radio market as the first of many 
stations. In 1967, Jerry became the first black television news 
anchorman in the state of Michigan, working for WWJ-TV Channel 4, now 
known as WDIV-TV. He was hired by Channel 4 after the 1967 Detroit 
riots and anchored weekend newscasts until 1975. After his departure 
from WWJ, Jerry Blocker was hired as the television news director of 
Channel 62, the first television station to actively recruit from and 
program for Detroit's African-American community. Jerry Blocker won 
several awards for his distinguished and accurate broadcast 
professionalism.
  During his 10-year career in television, Jerry Blocker witnessed and 
reported the events which helped shape Detroit and the nation in the 
years immediately following the advent of U.S. Civil Rights 
legislation: the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the 
challenge of the Detroit NAACP and the Detroit Board of Education, 
which was eventually settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the 
tremendous effect on the tri-county area and on all of Michigan by the 
election of Coleman A. Young, Detroit's first black mayor.
  In 1977, Blocker was named executive director of the Detroit branch 
of the

[[Page S5898]]

NAACP while at the same time hosting a popular music show on radio 
station WQBH. During his spare time, Jerry served as a mentor for 
Blacks in Advertising, Radio, and Television. Blocker was also employed 
as the media spokesperson for the U.S. Census Bureau in Michigan, Ohio, 
and West Virginia.
  In the 1980s, Jerry Blocker founded a political campaign management 
firm, Jerry Blocker Enterprises, the oldest minority-owned political-
consulting and advertising agency in the Detroit metropolitan area. 
Later, that agency folded into Blocker and Associates, Inc., so that 
Jerry could work with and mentor his young daughters, Nicole and 
Shannon. Until the time of Jerry Blocker's death on October 31, 2001, 
he and his beloved daughters worked for public officeholders and 
candidates in their quests for victory at the polls.
  The Detroit Metropolitan Chapter of the Society of Professional 
Journalists, SPJ, is honoring Jerry Blocker by presenting him a 
posthumous Lifetime Achievement award to his family and friends. Said 
SPJ Chapter President Jack Kresnak, ``I wish we had honored Jerry 
before he died. He did a great job at our banquet a couple of years ago 
speaking on behalf of Bob Bennett who was getting a lifetime 
achievement award.''
  I know my Senate colleagues will join me in congratulating Jerry 
Blocker for his tremendous accomplishments and encouraging others to 
follow his distinguished example.

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