National Radio Day: The Cathy Hughes Legacy

There’s a celebration at the headquarters of Urban One. Ms. Cathy Hughes, Founder and Chairperson of the largest Black-owned multimedia conglomerate in the nation, was awarded the key to the city on July 15 — a long overdue recognition in Washington, D.C., where she has spoken truth to power for over 55 years and counting.

“I am always thinking in terms of what’s next,” she says inside Radio One offices. “What’s the next thing to be done? I never think in those terms — that we won this. I just try to keep on moving forward,” she says about her latest honor.

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It’s that thinking that has landed Hughes ahead of the curve for decades. She has been a forward thinker and visionary, revolutionizing FM radio by creating and developing the Quiet Storm format — among many other firsts, including, but not limited to: the first woman vice president and general manager of a radio station in Washington, D.C.; the first woman to own a radio station that was ranked No. 1 in a major market; the first Black woman to head a publicly traded company; founder of the largest Black-owned broadcast company in the country; creator of the first 24-hour gospel radio show.

It’s no surprise that she is both thrilled to be granted the key to Washington, D.C., and still brewing up her next task.

Hughes cut her teeth in D.C. as an admin for Tony Brown at Howard University, where he was well known for his eponymous public affairs program, Tony Brown’s Journal — one of the most influential Black public affairs programs in the U.S.

Brown died two days after Hughes was awarded the key to the city. He witnessed her work ethic at Howard at WHUR, promoting her from…