By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter
North News
Walter “Q Bear” Banks has worked in almost every position for over 40 years at KMOJ-89.9 FM. He started at the mic at 16, making public service announcements on the intercom as a student at North High School.
He hosted several of the station’s Jazz, Blues, and Hip-Hop shows and was the community engagement coordinator. His sifting through records and “Queueing” up songs to play inspired the Q Bear name.
This April, Banks was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
“It is an amazing feeling because I wasn’t expecting it,” he said. “But to look and see that someone has recognized my accomplishments and a lifetime of being on the radio is a humbling experience.”
KMOJ, also known as “The People’s Station,” first hit the airwaves in 1976 to provide broadcast communications to the Black community. The station was and is a source of local resources, culture and entertainment, and social awareness. Its namesake comes from the Swahili word Umoja, meaning ‘Unity’.
The station has been the “heart and soul” of the Twin Cities, and Banks keeps it beating. When the station began, it had only a tiny listenership.
“If you took a rock and you threw it, you would imagine that spot is how far the signal went,” he laughed.
He witnessed the station go from 10 megawatts, which only reached the immediate area of Glenwood-Lyndale Community Center, to reaching listeners across the cities from its current location on West Broadway Avenue.
Banks takes pride in being a constant voice for the community. To Banks, community and radio are two that cannot go without the other.
“In my position, it’s not about me. It’s about all of us,” Banks said. “Radio is a position of power. You click open that mic, and you can speak life into somebody,” Banks said. “And you never know who’s on the other side that you’re speaking to.”
Throughout the years, he became familiar with the musicians who shaped the Minneapolis sound and became part of that sound himself. He says the real stars are a little less known than Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Prince, or Mint Condition. They are members of the NFL.
“Northside For Life,” he laughed.
“I really believe in the Northside
of Minneapolis. I believe in
what it stood for from way back
when to where it is today.”
— WALTER “Q BEAR” BANKS
Not to be mistaken for the National Football League, Banks says the people he values most are those who tune in to the station.
“Negative news wants you to believe that there are no good people in North Minneapolis, Banks said. “I refuse to believe that because I grew up with people from North Minneapolis.”
He credits community trailblazers like Spike Moss and his parents, who inspired him to work hard to give the narrative of North Minneapolis a fighting chance against the one-sided portrayals of this community.
Former KMOJ host Derrick “Delite” Stevens worked with Banks for nearly 10 years, during which time he witnessed Banks’ unwavering commitment to radio.
“It’s about time,” laughed Stevens. “Q bear is one of our gems in the community. His on-air presence sounds and feels like you’re listening to a big brother or an uncle. I’ll be able to take my grandkids to see his photo and tell them about how amazing it is that this guy started at this 10-watt community radio station. It shows you the impact that someone can have with consistency and longevity.”
Turning towards the future, Banks said he would remain that voice, reminding listeners that North Minneapolis has more greatness to offer.
“When it comes to the radio itself, and seeing it down the road, it’s like I look at the community at large. Somebody has to remind us that it is okay to be us. And so that’s where my voice elevates to it. I’m okay with me being me out there.”
He also notes he won’t be here forever and wants to encourage youth to give radio a chance.
Banks will be officially inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Rochester on Oct. 1. Listeners can catch Q Bear weekdays on KMOJ from 2-6 p.m.