The HistoryMakers

Alfred Charles Liggins III was born on January 30, 1965 in Omaha, Nebraska. He spent his early childhood in Omaha and at the age of seven moved to Washington, D.C. when his mother, radio mogul Cathy Hughes, took a job at Howard University. When he was sixteen, Liggins' mother and stepfather purchased AM radio station WOL. Liggins hosted a teen talk show on WOL, however he was more interested in the record industry than the radio business. In 1983, he earned his high school diploma from Wilson High School in Washington.

After graduation, Liggins drove cross-country to California and worked in direct mail advertising until he landed a job in the record industry. From 1983 until 1984, he worked in sales and management for Light Records and as a production coordinator for singer Patrick Anderson. After a job with Motown Records fell through, Liggins decided to move back to Washington, D.C. in 1985 and help his mother, who was then divorced and running the fledging radio station alone. He attended night school at the University of the District of Columbia, and worked at the radio station during the day. From 1986 until 1994, Liggins worked in the sales department at WOL, quickly climbing from representative to sales manager and helping the station rise in ratings and into the black. At his urging and insistence the business began to grow with the purchase of FM stations in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, thus the beginning of the Radio One empire.

In 1994, Liggins took over day-to-day operations of the family business when he became the president and chief executive officer of Radio One, with his mother retaining ownership. In 1995, Liggins earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. In 1999, under his leadership, Radio One went public and made history as the first female African American owned company on the stock exchange. In 2000, Radio One purchased twenty-one radio stations from Clear Channel and more than doubled the company's revenue. Today, Radio One is the country's largest radio company targeting African American and urban listeners with fifty-one stations in more than twenty cities.

In 2004, Liggins expanded Radio One's media sphere when he launched TV One, a new cable network for African American adults. Liggins has been the recipient of numerous awards including Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year.

Liggins was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on October 20, 2004.