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89.5 WNIJ observes Black History Month with the following Free-Range Radio specials (Sunday evenings at 6) during the month of February:

William's Leap For Freedom

Historical Society of Missouri

Sunday February 24th at 6pm

This original play is based on the life of freed slave William Wells Brown. The performance was recorded live in June 2010 and stars Mirron E. Willis as Wells Brown and features Barbara Rosenblat along with a multi-voice cast.
William's Leap for Freedom is a two part drama; a play within a play. This performance was adapted for audio from the stage play, William Wells Brown's Leap for Freedom, written for the stage by Dr. Cheryl Black of the University of Missouri Department of Theatre.

Beginning with a fictionalized conversation between William Wells Brown and Mr. Polite, this audio dramatization then introduces part two of the play which features selected portions of The Escape or Leap for Freedom, as it relates to the tale of three slaves, Cato, Glen and Melinda. Brown often stated that this play specifically was autobiographical. The couple, Glen and Melinda, did exist, while Cato is Brown himself.

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