Our Minds Our Voices Awards

9:00am...Woman's Expo - Vendors and exhibitors with fine wears, clothing, jewlery, accessories, consumer products and services and more.

11:30am...Awards Luncheon - The Aura Galleria third annual “Our Minds, Our Voices” event featuring trailblazer Cathy Hughes, an African-American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive.

Ms. Hughes founded the media company Radio One (now known as Urban One), and when the company went public in 1999, she became the first African-American woman to head a publicly traded corporation. In the 1970s, Hughes created the urban radio format called "The Quiet Storm" on Howard University's radio station WHUR with disc jockey and fellow Howard student Melvin Lindsay.

Both Cathy Hughes and her son, Alfred Liggins have been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the company Ernst & Young. She is a notable member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Ms. Hughes life story is featured on the documentary series Profiles of African-American Success.

The Aura Galleria’s Our Mind Our Voices occasion highlights and celebrates the contributions of women in an array of fields such as: education, medicine, social justice, public service, civil service, mental health, entrepreneurship, humanities, technology, and fashion and beauty. This electrifying event is expected to draw hundreds of women and men, including local area high school students, college students, vendors and exhibitors.

March 2019 will mark the 31st anniversary of the passage of a law making March Women’s History Month in the United States. The observation, which was born out of a California school district’s celebration of women’s achievements, now is celebrated across the country, and includes parades, lectures, health screenings, art exhibits and other activities that highlight women’s contributions to society.