WDKX radio station has been independently owned and operated since it first went on the air 40 years ago. In keeping with its Urban Contemporary format, founder Andrew A. Langston chose call letters that honored African-American heroes — “D” for Frederick Douglass, “K” for Martin Luther King Jr., and “X” for Malcolm X. WDKX has a long history of community service and has remained locally owned, even as many commercial stations around the country have been absorbed into larger conglomerates. WDKX’s wide-ranging playlists feature classic soul and R&B and hip hop. Its popularity unwavering, the station currently ranks among the top rated-stations in the region, both urban and suburban, and ranks second overall in the Rochester market in recent ratings surveys.