McDaniel became the first African-American woman to sing on U.S. radio, performing on Denver's KOA station.
In 1925, Hattie McDaniel reached another broadcasting milestone when she was invited to perform on Denver's KOA radio station, becoming, according to TV Guide and other biographical sources, the first African-American woman to sing on the radio in the United States.
This achievement came during a period when radio broadcasting was rapidly expanding as a dominant form of American mass media, yet remained almost entirely closed off to Black performers, and especially Black women. McDaniel's appearance on KOA represented a significant crack in that barrier, allowing her voice and talent to reach a broad, diverse listening audience at a time when segregation dominated most public entertainment venues.
Her success on radio helped pave the way for greater visibility of Black women in broadcast media throughout the 20th century. It also reflected McDaniel's own resourcefulness and determination to build a performing career across every available medium — vaudeville, minstrel shows, blues recording, radio, and eventually film — despite the compounded barriers of racism and sexism.
This radio appearance in Denver came during a period when McDaniel was working various day jobs, including as a washroom attendant, to support herself between performing opportunities, underscoring the economic precarity Black performers faced even as they broke new ground.