In memoriam: “The unofficial mayor,” E. Steven Collins
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
If African-American radio had an all-star — a community-oriented personality who spent time at several different Philadelphia stations — it’s E. Steven Collins. Collins, who died Sept. 9 at age 58, was a key figure at WDAS AM/FM during that station’s golden age of news, views and communal embrace in the late ’70s. He wasn’t just a voice. Collins was the voice of concern, strength and reason where black issues were concerned. His activist nature led to him chairing the Mayor’s Commission on Literacy and becoming a board member of the Urban League and Philly’s Martin Luther King Jr. Association for Nonviolence. Through his advocacy, his time at WDAS and his “Philly Speaks” hosting gig on Old School 100.3, he earned the nickname “Unofficial Mayor of Philadelphia.”
