[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1115-E1116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING CATHY HUGHES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 8, 2020

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing Cathy Hughes on her 40 years 
as the leader of Urban One, now America's largest Black broadcast 
network.
  Cathy Hughes, the founder and chairperson of Urban One, has dedicated 
her career to amplifying the voices of Black people and their 
perspectives through the airwaves. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, and known 
to have hosted ``radio shows'' in her bathroom as a child, Hughes had 
her sights on success from day

[[Page E1116]]

one. Throughout her career, her piercing optimism and resilience cut 
through obstacles of discrimination and discouragement, clearing a path 
to where she now stands as one of our country's wealthiest self-made 
African-American women.
  Hughes, who became a mother at the age of 16, has recalled taking her 
son to classes and, later on in her career, having him sleep in a 
sleeping bag in her office when she had to work late. Growing up among 
a family of entrepreneurs, as Hughes did, she was no stranger to hard 
work, business jargon and long hours. Her father was the first African-
American to earn an accounting degree from Creighton University. Her 
mother played trombone.
  In 1971, Hughes came to the District of Columbia to work at Howard 
University's School of Communications, and she went on to become a 
General Sales Manager for the University's radio station, WHUR-FM. On 
her arrival in the District, Hughes wrote to her mother, ``My eyes were 
tired at the end of the day, staring at the greatness of Black people 
doing so many things.''
  In the late 1970s, Hughes started her own radio station, once known 
as Radio One, now Urban One. During her career she endured racism and 
sexism, but these were no match for her electric optimism. After seven 
years, the radio station became profitable and continued to grow. In 
1999, at the recommendation of her son, who had received his MBA at the 
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Cathy Hughes became 
the first African-American woman to chair a publicly held corporation, 
following the sale of more than seven million shares of common stock to 
the public.
  She has received numerous awards, including being selected for the 
National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019, the Woman of 
the Year Award by 100 Black Men of America in 2018, the Ida B. Wells 
Living Legacy Award in 2011 and the Essence Women Shaping the World 
Award in 2008. She was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2010, 
and the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University was 
named for her in 2016.
  I relish this opportunity to recognize and honor the work of Cathy 
Hughes. Her resilience, optimism and determination are true guiding 
lights through these difficult times. She has mentored countless women 
and her entrepreneurial energy has touched many, both in D.C. and 
across the nation.
  I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the 
accomplishments of Cathy Hughes on the occasion of the 40th anniversary 
of Urban One.

                          ____________________