Records, collected literature, and audio and videotapes concerning the unlicensed, low-power radio station of Mbanna Kantako of Springfield, Illinois, and the micro-radio movement in general. The efforts of the FCC to shut down Kantako's radio station attracted international press attention.

This material was largely collected or created by Michael Townsend, an associate professor of Child, Family and Community Services at UIS. Its primary focus is Mbanna Kantako (originally named DeWayne Readus), who began transmitting WTRA at a power of 4 watts from his apartment in a public housing development in Springfield in 1987. WTRA was later renamed Zoom Black Magic Radio, Liberation Radio, Black Liberation Radio, and Human Rights Radio.

The collection includes audiotapes of radio station shows from 1996 to 1998; legal records documenting the defense by Kantako and supporters against efforts by the FCC and other bodies to silence his unlicensed radio station; audio and videotapes of coverage by local and national media showing Kantako at his radio station, speaking about police brutality, injustice, capitalism, race, free speech, and other issues; letters, periodical and newspaper articles, press releases, newsletters, memos, and printouts of web pages related to Kantako and other micro-radio broadcasters, collected from the U.S., Britain, Germany and Italy; correspondence of Townsend requesting legal and financial support for Kantako, involving Noam Chomsky, Edward Hermann, Marable Manning, Ben Bagdikian, Sidney Wilhelm, Peter Franck, and many others.

The boxes in this collection are divided into three categories: 1 - Periodical & web articles, legal materials and correspondence 2 - VHS Recordings 3 - Audiocassette & CD Recordings

Also includes a 2000 video documentary, "free radio," by San Francisco filmmaker Kevin Keyser, featuring Kantako, Stephen Dunifer and others. Added to the collection in 2011 is Sort Stue material: articles, lyrics to song, t-shirt for 25th anniversary of Human Rights Radio, and photos of band in St. Petersburg, Russia [all located in Box 7]. Sort Stue (a musical group from Copenhagen) released an album in April 2011 entitled "Viva Kantako Destroy Sony." Copies of excerpts from Amy Spencer's "DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture."