William H. Dilday Jr., a notable television executive from Boston, made history in 1972 when he became the first Black person to lead a commercial television station in the United States. Sadly, he passed away on July 27, 2022, at the age of 85 in Newton, Massachusetts. The cause of his death was complications from a fall, according to his daughter Kenya Dilday.
At the time of the offer to manage WLBT, Mississippi’s largest station, Dilday was only 34 years old and had just three years of experience in the TV industry. The request came after a prolonged legal battle, spanning eight years, led by the United Church of Christ and a group of Black citizens against the station’s previous owners, who had provided inadequate coverage of the civil rights movement and the concerns of Black Mississippians. Eventually, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and the station’s license was transferred to a non-profit organization called Communications Improvement Inc., which included members of the church. After a brief period with an interim manager, they approached Dilday for the role.
Initially hesitant about relocating, as a Boston native with limited exposure to the South, Dilday eventually accepted the challenge. In May 1972, he packed up his car and headed south to Jackson, Mississippi.
Dilday wasted no time implementing changes. He hired Dorothy Gibbs, a Black woman, to develop an integrated children’s show called “Our Playmates.” Within his first year, he successfully increased Black employment at the station from 15 percent to 35 percent, hiring Black anchors, camera operators, and news editors.
In addition to diversifying the staff, Dilday made bold programming decisions. Despite criticism from civil rights groups, he dispatched a reporter to cover a rally by the white supremacist National States’ Rights Party, believing that the public needed to hear their hateful rhetoric firsthand. He received backlash for this coverage but remained steadfast in his commitment to delivering objective news.
In 1980, Dilday refused to air the nationally broadcast mini-series “Beulah Land,” a period drama featuring romanticized portrayals of slave owners and contented enslaved Black individuals reminiscent of “Gone With the Wind.” Despite receiving angry letters, Dilday stood firm in his decision.
Remarkably, Dilday accomplished all of these transformative changes while generating profits for the station. In 1977, WLBT earned a hefty $500,000 profit from $3.7 million in revenue, an impressive return despite the high rental fees for the studio and equipment imposed by the previous owners.
However, Dilday faced significant opposition and tension. The station received violent and threatening phone calls upon announcing his hiring. Every time he appeared on air to express his views on issues like political corruption and budget cuts, the station experienced similar hostile reactions primarily due to his identity as a Black man.
Even within the station’s staff, there was resistance. When Dilday promoted a Black man, Tom Alexander, to assistant production manager, members of the production department threatened to resign en masse. Surprisingly, two individuals who tendered their resignations did not even work the same shift as Alexander.
Born on September 14, 1937, in Boston, Dilday was the son of a Pullman porter and a homemaker. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in business administration and subsequently worked in the personnel department at IBM after two years in the Army. In 1969, he became the director of personnel at WHDH in Boston.
Dilday married Maxine Wiggins in 1966, and he is survived by his wife, two daughters (Kenya and Erika), his son Scott Sparrow, and four grandchildren. While serving as the station manager at WLBT, Dilday joined a group of mostly Black investors in 1973 to purchase a TV station in St. Croix, establishing the first Black-owned commercial station in the country. He was also a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists, established in 1975, and served as the president of the Jackson Urban League, a civil rights and service organization, from 1978 to 1979.
In 1985, Dilday transitioned to Jackson’s CBS affiliate, WJTV, where he continued to serve as the station manager until his retirement in 2000. Following retirement, he became a trusted advisor to various politicians in the Jackson area, including Representative Bennie Thompson, who currently chairs the House Jan. 6 committee. Thompson expressed his gratitude for Dilday’s tireless work, which made a significant impact on the media landscape.
William Dilday was an inspirational leader in the media industry and a prominent figure in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the broader news media community. His contributions will leave a lasting legacy.
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