By Spence Finlayson
NASSAU, Bahamas – Radio maven Cathy Hughes was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1947. Beginning her career in radio in 1969, Hughes’ first position was with KOWH, a black radio station in Omaha.
Her successes there prompted the Howard University School of Communications to offer her a position as a lecturer and as Assistant to the Dean of Communications.
In 1973, Hughes was named general sales manager to WHUR-FM in Washington, D.C, and by 1975 was hired as the general manager of the station. Under her guidance, WHUR-FM, which had been struggling along with $300,000 in annual sales revenues, increased its annual revenues to more than $3.5 million.
Hughes and her husband at the time, Dewey Hughes, decided they wanted to buy their own radio station in 1979, and after being rejected by thirty-two banks, they found a lender. With their loan, they purchased WOL, a small Washington, D.C. station and Radio One was born. While Hughes wanted a talk format for the station, the bank was pressing for music.
Cathy Hughes was born to Helen Jones Woods, a trombonist with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm at Piney Woods School, a private boarding school in Mississippi, and William Alfred Woods, who was the first African-American to earn an accounting degree from Creighton University.
The family lived in the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects while Hughes’ father attended college. Hughes was far from an only child, growing up with a household of siblings. She found her love for music at a very young age, while repeatedly each night lying in bed listening to Everly Brothers and the Platters.
Hughes went to the University of Nebraska Omaha and Creighton University taking Business Administration courses, her father’s alma mater, but was not able to complete and receive a degree, which led to her getting a job as a sales manager at the Howard University’s radio station.
Cathy Hughes has titled many awards. Granted an honorary doctorate from Sojourner Douglass College in Baltimore in 1995. That accomplishment drove Hughes back to school 2 years later. In 1988, she was awarded the first woman to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the twelfth annual ceremony.
Following that she was presented the National Action Networks “Keepers of the Dream” award, which is an award that spotlights role models who contribute an honor and contribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s also a part of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame. Jumping to the year 2000.
Hughes was married to Alfred Liggins Jr from 1965 to 1967. Together they had one child, Alfred Liggins III, born January 30, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska. She got pregnant when she was sixteen and her mom threw her out of her house.
She married Dewey Hughes in 1979 and divorced him in 1987. They had no children together. She lost her home in 1986 when her company, Radio One, was in financial ruin. Hughes and her son lived in WOL and slept on the floor.
Cathy has titled many awards. Granted an honorary doctorate from Sojourner Douglass College in Baltimore in 1995. That accomplishment drove Hughes back to school 2 years later. In 1988, she was awarded the first woman to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the twelfth annual ceremony.
Hughes is also a part of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame. Jumping to the year 2000, she awarded the First Annual Black History Hall of Fame Award. Following that she was presented the National Action Networks “Keepers of the Dream” award, which is an award that spotlights role models who contribute an honor and contribute to Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1999, Cathy Hughes became the first African-American woman to chair a publicly held corporation, following the sale of more than seven million shares of common stock to the public.
Along with her son and business partner Alfred Liggins, III, she grew what was then Radio One into a multi-media company that became an urban radio market leader with more than 60 stations across the country comprised of hip hop, R&B, gospel and talk radio formats.
Radio One became the first African-American company in radio history to dominate several major markets simultaneously, and Hughes became the first woman to own a radio station that was ranked number one in a major market.
Radio One also diversified and launched the television network TV One in 2004 and entered the digital space with Interactive One, now iOne Digital, in 2007.
As a result of her success, Hughes has earned hundreds of prestigious awards and recognitions. They include: the naming of Cathy Hughes Boulevard in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska; the 2018 Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award; the naming of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University in 2016; the ADColor Lifetime Achievement Award; the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Chair’s Phoenix Award; the NAACP Chairman’s Award; the Giant of Broadcasting Award; the Uncommon Height of Excellence Award; the Essence Women Shaping the World Award; the Ida B. Wells Living Legacy Award; and induction into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame.
In May 2017, Radio One’s name was changed to Urban One, to reflect the market it serves.
Urban One, Inc. is now the parent corporation of several subsidiaries: TV One, the largest African-American owned, cable television network in the country and current home of the hit shows UnSung and Uncensored; Reach Media, which presents syndicated radio programs like the Rickey Smiley Morning Show and the Tom Joyner Morning Show; iOne Digital, home of several popular websites including Hello Beautiful and Cassius; and One Solution, a marketing firm that allows advertisers to take advantage of all of the assets under the Urban One brand.
Cathy Hughes’ philanthropic work is on par with her success in the business arena as well. Her passion for education is evident in her efforts to continue her family’s work and legacy at The Piney Woods School in Piney Woods, Mississippi.
Cathy is a staunch supporter of the school, which was established by her grandfather in 1909 and is the largest of only four African-American boarding schools in the country.
In addition, she is a champion for the hungry and homeless, a mentor to countless women, and an advocate dedicated to empowering minority communities.
Spence M. Finlayson is the founder & CEO of The Phoenix Institute For Positive Development & Empowerment, a Human Resources Development firm based in Nassau with a global reach. He can be contacted at his email at [email protected] or visit his website, The Phoenix Empowerment
