Cathy L. Hughes

2001 Honoree

Radio listeners around the country can thank Cathy Hughes for creating the "Quiet Storm," the most listened to nighttime radio format in the country and currently heard in more than 50 markets across the nation.

Like this popular format, Ms. Hughes has taken the radio industry by storm. She is the founder and chairperson of Radio One, Inc., the largest African-American owned and operated broadcast company in the United States.

The Radio One properties consist of 20 FM stations and seven AM stations in nine of the top 20 African-American radio markets, including Richmond. With its stations reaching over two million black listeners on a daily basis, Radio One is often recognized as the "voice of black America."

The Omaha, Nebraska, native began her radio career in 1973 as general sales manager at Howard University’s station, where she created the "Quiet Storm" format. Seven years later, Ms. Hughes purchased her first radio station.

Active community involvement is a trademark of Radio One and Ms. Hughes herself. Her major community service projects include her sponsorship of the Piney Woods Summer Camp, which allows inner city youth to spend the summer at a highly-successful African-American boarding school in Mississippi. In addition, she sponsors "Dream Feast," where celebrity servers feed and fellowship with the homeless.

Ms. Hughes has been recognized by the Capitol Press Club, the Washington, D.C. Chamber of Commerce, and Impact and Billboard magazines. Essence magazine recognized her as one of 100 who have "changed the world," and she has been profiled in Emerge, Broadcast & Cable and Forbes magazines.

In May 1999, Ms. Hughes and her son, Alfred Liggins, took Radio One public and joined the ranks of only a few black-owned companies on the stock market. This venture made Ms. Hughes the first African-American woman with a company on the stock exchange and boosted Radio One’s reported value to more than $1 billion.

The radio extraordinaire shares her heart-felt advice: "Always put God first in all things, and then you can embrace the God Spirit that is in all of us. With God as your partner, there are no limits on what you can achieve and receive."