WEFT is a local nonprofit and volunteer-based Champaign-Urbana radio station that aims to amplify diverse voices in the community and provide a platform for people to connect over music.
Started in 1975 by a group of “radio enthusiasts, artists and community minded individuals,” WEFT has been elevating underrepresented voices in the community for over 50 years.
“They felt like the radio station they were creating put together these different parts of the community,” said Eric Bohlen, WEFT station manager. “They wove them together to be one singular radio station, taking all of these … different sub-communities and put it all together into one.”
According to WEFT’s mission statement, its goal is to serve as an accessible, responsible and responsive alternative to conventional radio, providing a space for the underserved and offering a capacity for expression.
“Going back to the beginning, the goal was helping central Illinois find a voice for themselves, whether it be through politics, feeling underrepresented or feeling that the government wasn’t recognizing them,” Bohlen said.
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One of WEFT’s challenges in recent years has been finding ways to continue supporting the community amid an evolving social atmosphere. WEFT’s goal is to serve the community, and Bohlen believes that how they will do so will change as technology evolves and community resources expand.
To Bohlen, the station will serve as a resource for people who want to reach a certain community but don’t know how.
Some of these communities include the African American, Latin and LBGTQ+ communities, which WEFT has established relationships with, serving as a resource to get their various messages out.
WEFT also uplifts local artists, giving them a platform to share their music with listeners.
“We want to share it with the world; that means a lot to these artists,” Bohlen said. “Establishing these collaborations, whether they be through organization, festivals or individuals, is moving forward in the future.”
The station also focuses on important issues and encourages cultural expression.
“If I’m gay and I’m feeling alone — my family doesn’t recognize me, or if I have had to hide that fact, if I turn on WEFT and there is somebody who is going through the same thing I’m going through, I’m no longer alone,” Bohlen said. “It always helps knowing that there are others out there, that you’re not doing this alone.”
WEFT continues to focus on diverse content and accessibility, positively impacting its relationship with local listeners. Bohlen notes that even if people are just passively tuning in, they can still appreciate and utilize what the station is doing.
Appreciating people’s differences remains important to WEFT’s overall mission, creating a platform for people to learn about each other’s differences while still appreciating the person on a human level.
“We should allow differences of opinions — differences of taste, differences of what I think is great music, you might think is awful,” Bohlen said. “‘Do you like that political candidate? I don’t. You like that pizza? I do.’ That’s where we connect.”
Every Sunday, WEFT hosts “Womyn Making Waves,” one of its longest-running shows, which focuses on amplifying women’s voices by spotlighting women’s news, poetry, music and performances.
“I’ve never been a woman, and I don’t plan to be a woman, but it’s interesting to me, and it’s important for me to understand and know their world,” Bohlen said. “So that’s one little way that I can sort of be exposed to hearing these artists, hearing these hosts and hearing the subjects of the songs that are important to my daughters.”
WEFT also features shows such as “Monday Morning Jazz,” “Gospel,” “Democracy Now!” and “Latin Waves.”
According to Bohlen, knowing that platforms like WEFT exist is crucial to humanizing and understanding each other. He believes there should be more spaces in the world that allow people to disagree but still respect each other.
“The one thing that we all have in common, no matter how differently we think, is we’re all people,” Bohlen said.
You can tune into WEFT on weekdays and weekends on 90.1 FM.
