Fatimah Ali, in a portrait from her Facebook page.
Fatimah Ali, a veteran journalist and radio broadcaster, died this morning, according to a statement issued by local radio station 900AM WURD.
"It is with great pain and sadness that we bring you the tragic news that WURD program host, and veteran journalist and broadcaster, Fatimah Ali passed away this morning," the statement said.
Details on Ali's death, however, were unavailable. But the station said it was preparing a tribute. Ali currently hosted The Real Deal with Fatimah Ali show 10 a.m. through noon, Monday to Friday.
"The WURD staff would like to say that Fatimah's life was a tribute in and of itself," the statement said.
WURD is the only African-American owned and operated talk radio station in Pennsylvania.
Ali's sudden death shocked the staff.
"We were notified this morning," said WURD program consultant Barbara Grant. "She did her show yesterday. We were just at a staff meeting together yesterday."
Grant said Ali lived in North Philadelphia, but she did not have her exact age.
Ali was previously an editorial columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News.
Ali's 2008 column entitled, "Race War in America," went viral on the Internet. In that column, Ali pondered what would happen if Barack Obama lost the presidential election.
That column became talk radio fodder.
Her last column, March 3, 2011, was about how gun violence made children, "numb to the imminent possibility of death."
"Every day, we read the news about the shootings and school violence dominating the urban landscape across the country that are leaving educators and our political leaders scrambling for answers," she wrote.
In that last column, Ali said she began her career in radio in 1981. She then went on to work as a reporter, editor, anchor, news director, talk-show host,
"I can't imagine loving any profession more," she said of journalism. "And it's a privilege I don't take for granted."
