Alley Pat was a pioneer in radio and the Civil Rights Movement
Atlanta radio legend James “Alley Pat” Patrick died on Thursday, June 25 at the age of 95. Born on December 21, 1919 in Montezuma, Georgia, Alley Pat moved to Atlanta with his parents in 1931.
According to his bio, he was a member of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Alley Pat graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in Science and pre-med.
Alley Pat began his broadcasting career as a disc jockey on WERD, the first black-owned radio station in America, and later hosted a television show, “Alley Pat’s Place,” on WVEU-TV.
In 1954, he joined the staff of WAOK, co-hosting a show with Zenas Sears (a white DJ). Sears founded WAOK in an effort to bring black music to a mainstream audience, and in doing so, created the country’s first 24-hour radio station with an African-American format.
In the Sixties, Pat left radio to become Atlanta’s first black bail bondsman, coming to the aid of southern Civil Rights activists. He also owned several businesses, and worked briefly as a sales rep for a major record company.
By the mid-Seventies, Alley Pat was doing a morning drive slot at WXAP-AM, later moving to afternoons on WYZE-AM. By the early nineties he could still be heard doing a midnight to 3 a.m. slot on WQXI-AM, which was later bought by Disney Radio. Since then, it appears that Pat could not be heard on a regular basis.
Alley Pat expanded to television in the early 1980’s with WVEU Channel 69’s “Alley Pat’s Place”, where the same local movers and shakers who were repeatedly made fun of on his radio show were grilled by a now (relatively) congenial host.
He was the first Black man to run for Fulton County Sheriff. He also worked on the late Rev. Hosea Williams 1990 campaign and attempted a dark horse mayoral bid in 1998.
In the 1990’s Pat’s TV show moved to Atlanta’s Public Access channel.
In November, 2000 Pat spoke at the memorial service for Rev. Hosea Williams, a renowned civil rights leader, and sometime verbal sparring partner for Pat. His hilarious eulogy had the mourners laughing uncontrollably for over 20 minutes and was televised live over most of Atlanta’s television stations. Many viewers had no idea who this incredible speaker was, and soon Pat was being interviewed on Atlanta radio and TV stations.
On Wednesday, July 1, 2015, there will be a viewing and wake from 6 to 8 p.m. at Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home (Historic West End Chapel) located at 1003 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd in Atlanta. Alley Pat’s homegoing service will be held on Thursday, July 2, 2015 at First Congregational Church located at 105 Courtland Street. NE, Atlanta, 30303 at 11 a.m.
