Ambrose Lane, anti-poverty activist and radio personality, dies

Ambrose I. Lane Sr., an anti-poverty activist who became a political and religious commentator as host of the talk show "We Ourselves" on Pacifica Radio's Washington station, WPFW-FM, died Sept. 14 of complications from congestive heart failure at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. He was 75.

Mr. Lane, who had been a mainstay at left-wing WPFW since 1978, used his platform as the host of "We Ourselves" to champion social justice and highlight issues related to poverty and race. He served as a member of the Pacifica National Board, which oversees a network of public radio stations around the country. He also served as Pacifica's interim executive director in 2005 and 2006.

The name of Mr. Lane's radio show came from a program that he had proposed at the 1966 White House Conference on Civil Rights to address social and economic problems among blacks.

At the time, Mr. Lane was head of the anti-poverty Community Action Organization in Buffalo. His "We Ourselves" proposal, read into the Congressional Record by Rep. Thaddeus J. Dulski (D-N.Y.), outlined a program of "sacrifice and self-help" by which urban blacks would form nonprofit corporations to perform many social-work and government functions.

As a radio host, Mr. Lane was a critic of the political right and of corporate-owned mainstream media. He co-anchored Pacifica Radio's national coverage of the Persian Gulf War and serving as the host of gavel-to-gavel coverage of Senate confirmation hearings on the nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court of David Souter, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

He did not shy from provocation to draw attention to the plight of low-income and minority Americans. In 1982, he wrote an essay titled "Where Are Your Responsible White Leaders?" that appeared on the front of The Washington Post's Outlook section.

Lane was born Feb. 12, 1935, in Knoxville, Tenn. He spent several years at Knoxville College, where he met his future wife, Joan King, before graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He received a master's degree in social work, also from the University of Pittsburgh.

Besides his wife of 54 years, survivors include four children, Ingrid Smith of Atlanta, Ambrose Lane Jr. of Columbia, Md., Alycee Lane of Oakland, Calif., and Spencer Lane of Chicago; a brother; a sister; and five grandchildren.