Ballerific Woman: Cathy Hughes, From Teen Mom To Urban Media Maven 

In a perfect world, men and women would receive equal pay. African American women would be presented the same opportunities as their white counterparts. Rejection would be based on qualifications rather than race.

Unfortunately, this world is far from perfect, however, there are people, more specifically women, who have dedicated their time, money and education to make a positive change. They’ve used their experiences and their encounters with injustices to fight and/or create more opportunities for their children and their children’s children, in an effort to make the world a better place. They’ve put our pain and problems on their backs and created space for change, new opportunities for our brothers and sisters to excel and succeed in a world that is designed against us. This is #BlackExcellence. These are Ballerific Women.

One of these special women is Cathy Hughes. Best known as the media pioneer, who founded Radio One (now known as Urban One), Hughes has transformed her trials and tribulations into widespread success. It all started at the age of 16.

Years before Hughes’ historic success, she was kicked out of her mother’s house upon learning of her teenage pregnancy. But, after giving birth to her son, Hughes used the newfound love as fuel to make the best of her life.

Hughes career began as a lecturer at the School of Communications at Howard University. After years on the job, Hughes moved to the university’s radio station. From General Sales Manager to the first woman Vice President and General Manager of a station in D.C. During that time, Hughes revolutionized urban radio with the “Quiet Storm,” just five years before branching out and creating her own station, Radio One.

Now, as the Founder and Chairperson of Radio One Inc., the largest African-American owned and operated, broadcast company in the nation, she is also the first African American to chair a publicly held corporation. Radio one is the first African American company in radio history to dominate several major markets at the same time, not to mention, the station is the first woman-owned station to rank number one in any major market. Howard’s School of Communication has been named after her, her company has gained ownership of several subsidiaries, including TV One, Interactive One, and One Solution. If that wasn’t enough, Hughes is using her success to give back to the community through education.