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We saved the BEST for today. When one thinks of Black radio, when one thinks of Black women in radio, one can’t help but think of and thank Catherine Hughes. If financier Warren Buffett is the Oracle, Cathy Hughes is the Olympian of Omaha. The young woman from Omaha, Nebraska, began her radio career in a hometown station. Ms. Hughes made her way across the country to Washington, D.C., to not only advance her radio career, but to make history. With a fierce determination and a young son to raise, Cathy Hughes set records, created original programming as the woman behind the Quiet Storm and set a standard as the General Sales Manager and General Manager of Howard University’s famed WHUR. This was all before setting out to buy her own. With the purchase of WOL-AM, Radio One was born. Despite the challenges of being a young single mother, homeless with a station to run, and pay for, Ms. Hughes persisted because she knew her destiny was to make a difference.

And what a difference Cathy Hughes has made. Along with her favorite son and partner in business, Alfred Liggins III, she has created a media empire-from Radio One, then TV One to today’s all encompassing, Urban One. Twenty years ago, Ms. Hughes made history as the first African American woman to head a publicly traded media company on the U.S. Stock Exchange. Her work continues as Chairwoman of Urban One and her love of broadcasting permeates through every speaker as a host on TV One and as the voice of Reality Radio on Radio One stations.

She is the face, she is the voice of black radio. Thank you, Ms. Cathy Hughes. Happy Women’s History Month!