Divine Women Of Our Time: Cathy Hughes

Cathy Hughes, born Catherine Elizabeth Woods in Omaha, Nebraska on April 22, 1947, is an American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive. After obtaining her degree from Creighton University She began her career in radio with KOWH and later went on to become the General Sales Manager of WHUR-FM, the Howard University-owned, urban-contemporary radio station.

Cathy Hughes made presentations to 32 different male loan officers to get the funding to buy her first radio station: "And the fact I was an African American female in her early thirties and a single mom, I was not the most desirable of candidates to them. And they all told me no. The 33rd presentation was to a woman banker at Chemical bank, her first week on the job. She was Puerto Rican. And she said to me, 'I thought my first loan would be to a Puerto Rican entrepreneur, but I guess an African-American female is close enough, I'll do the deal. And her name was Lydia Colón and she loaned me the money to buy the station'."

In 1979, Hughes founded Radio One, and with then-husband Dewey Hughes bought AM radio station WOL 1450 in Washington, D.C. After the previous employees had destroyed the facility, she faced financial difficulties and subsequently lost her home and moved with her young son to live at the station. Her fortunes began to change when she revamped the R&B station to a 24-hour talk radio format. Since 1980, Ms. Hughes has worked in various capacities for Radio One including President, General Manager, General Sales Manager and talk show host. Ms. Hughes has been Chairperson of the Board and Secretary of Radio One since 1980, and was Chief Executive Officer of Radio One from 1980 to 1997.

Hughes and Radio One went on to own 70 radio stations in nine major markets in the U.S. As of 2007, Hughes's son, Alfred Liggins, III, serves as CEO and president of Radio One, and Hughes as chairperson. Hughes is also a minority owner of BET industries.

In January 2004, Radio One launched TV One, a national cable and satellite television network which bills itself as the "lifestyle and entertainment network for African-American adults." Hughes interviews prominent personalities, usually in the entertainment industry, for the network's talk program TV One on One.

Cathy Hughes believes in creating opportunities for her employees: "Maybe 10 years ago now I had a goal of having 1000 women and people of color on my payroll. Well, I now have 2200 employees and so I have upped my goal to 5000 women and people of color. Because someone opened the door for me, and it is now my responsibility to open it for others, and I think that that's my true mission."

Both Cathy Hughes and her son, Alfred Liggins have been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the company Ernst & Young. She is also a notable member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Source:Wikipedia.com radcliffe.edu
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.