Cathy Hughes – Founder, Urban One Network
A Media Pioneer Who Leads with Love
(originally published in WWIB BALTIMORE | NO.2 | APRIL 2025)
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MONARCH MAGAZINE PHOTOGRAPHER PHELAN MARC
Cathy Hughes is a living legend whose name is synonymous with resilience, vision, and groundbreaking success. From her humble beginnings in Omaha, Nebraska, to her multi-million-dollar media dynasty Urban One, her heroic story makes an epic tale.
Many have chronicled Hughes’ journey from sleeping on the floor of her newly acquired radio station to becoming a media powerhouse. Yet, she does not describe her story as ‘rags to riches.’ To the outside world she may have been poor, but she and her siblings did not know it. In fact, her socioeconomic status afforded her opportunities to study the creative arts at local facilities owned by Marlon Brando’s mother and the famed Fonda family. “Though we lived in public housing, I didn’t realize that I was poor because I was happy,” Hughes said. “Love can overcome poverty, envy, and jealousy because that’s what God is,” she said.
Hughes attended Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart and furthered her studies at the University of Nebraska Omaha and her father’s alma mater Creighton University. She then began her career in advertising sales with the Omaha Star newspaper. Exposed to the arts by her trombonist mother Helen Jones Woods, Hughes spent hours in front of the bathroom mirror speaking into her hairbrush. In 1969, she moved to Washington, DC with her young son Alfred Liggins III, to become the first female sales manager for Howard University’s radio station, WHUR FM. Within six years, she ascended to the top role of general manager and CEO, capturing the attention of Washington Post founder Katherine Graham, who had sold the station to the university for one dollar. Graham would become a staunch advocate and friend.
Hughes credits her success and confidence to her “male angels” — the inner circle of men — including her father, William Alfred Woods and civil rights advocate and comedian Dick Gregory, who provided unconditional love and support. “I was really blessed with a group of highly accomplished Black men who protected, advised, and counseled me…approved of me,” Hughes said. “My biggest regret is that none of those men are here to witness this,” she said. She later channeled that love to create “The Single Dads Club (a mentoring group for Black fathers),” one of her greatest accomplishments to date.
She also praises the late Dorothy Height and C. Delores Tucker for their mentorship and wisdom throughout her career. “The first time Katherine called my name they wondered who in the hell I was, but they adopted me. They sat at my kitchen table and intentionally positioned me for success,” Hughes said.
Her success is due to the support and doubt she received behind the scenes – from those who invested in her business and said her dreams were impossible. Hughes has paid it forward, helping to launch the careers of media personality Steve Harvey and U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks.
She still uses her voice and her social capital to lift others up. Her latest endeavor is a fundraising campaign with Stevie Wonder to preserve generational wealth in Los Angeles’ historically Black Altadena community following the devastating wildfires. She has also authored a new book, entitled, The Men Who Left Me to honor her “angels,” which is due out later this year.
“God has used me. I have been obedient and done everything to the best of my ability,” Hughes said.