Community Media of the Foothills will host the premiere of its film, “The Godfather of KGEM,” on Sunday, May 7.
The film stars the late KGEM journalist and Monrovia resident Ralph Walker. Before passing away in October 2022, Walker was dedicated to telling local stories for local listeners for more than 30 years on Monrovia’s public access channel.
The film will have two time slots at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas Monrovia on South Myrtle Avenue.
According to KGEM board member Rena Delgado, the film highlights Walker’s activism and journalism while volunteering at KGEM.
She remembered him as an energetic reporter, despite being an unpaid volunteer for the nonprofit, public access organization. She pointed to the efforts Walker put into covering COVID-19 during the onset of the pandemic.
“He was fearless,” Delgado said. “All of us were kind of cowering in the background, but he was out there, because he knew it was important.”
She added that knowing Walker was inspiring and in his memory she continues to serve the community.
Walker hosted and co-produced a local public access broadcast show, “Conversations with Ralph Walker” as well as “Conversations in Monrovia” and “Beyond the Headlines.”
Throughout his career, he was able to speak with an immense scope of leaders, including Rosa Parks, Mohammad Ali and Bill Clinton.
A former Black Panther of 1960s Chicago, Walker is remembered as an impactful reporter who focused on underserved voices.
A resident since 1988, his coverage focused on the history and public affairs of the city of Monrovia and a deep passion for civil liberties in a city that is 57% White and only 6% Black.
“He asked the hard questions about humanity,” Delgado recalled. “So the film itself is talking about the breadth and depth of his shows … when he interviewed people you never really know knew what his personal opinion was. You get an idea if you look at the body of work, yeah, but he was more focused on the person that he was interviewing to find out what their thoughts were, what their beliefs were and then also everything there was always a call to action with him — which is the part about his social activism.”
In 2009, Walker was honored by Monrovia City Council for his outstanding contribution to local journalism. His awards included the1999 Community of the Foothills Producer of the Year, the 2000 Members Choice Award from the viewers, the 2001 Members Choice Award from the viewers, the 2001 W.A.V.E. – Western Access Video Excellence, Meet the Mayor, and the Lara Laramendi Blakely 2009 Monrovia City Council Award for 15 Years of Service to the community through KGEM.
In Walker’s honor, KGEM created a fundraiser to create the Ralph Walker Paid Internship. All proceeds raised from the two movie screenings on Sunday will be put into the internship fundraiser.
“The paid internship will offer juniors and seniors at Monrovia and Duarte schools the opportunity to learn about how a public access studio functions and why it is vital to have a media access center available to amplify noncommercial community voices,” the GoFundMe states.
Chris Loos was mentored by Walker and personally contrinuted toward the fundraiser. He said that the internship is exactly what he believes Walker would want to see of his legacy.
“He pushed me to be better — to really ask ‘why are we doing what we are doing,’” said Loos.
Loo attributes his own passion for civic engagement to his time spent with Walker. Under his encouragement, in 2016 Loos started the iDream Society, a nonprofit with the purpose of teaching, and enabling underserved young people to engage in local government and journalism. One of his proudest moments, he said, was interviewing Walker about his life and legacy.
“Young people, he really believed that they should be involved and have a seat,” Loos said. “We shared that. He was just excited about and our org is really based around the mission of empowering young people … . He just laid out a beautiful blueprint to be followed and that allows plenty of space for young people to add their their sprinkle to it.”
“The Godfather of KGEM” will have a 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. showing on Sunday. Tickets for the premier can be bought on www.eventbrite.com. To contribute to the Walker internship, visit www.gofund.me/6d1743be.
