Thursday, March 28, 2024

WE REMEMBER: Black Enterprise Founder Earl Graves Sr. Dies at 85

*An American business icon is gone. Earl Graves Sr., the founder and publisher of Black Enterprise passed away from Alzheimer’s. He was 85

Graves’ son, Earl “Butch” Graves Jr., confirmed his father’s passing in a post on Twitter, saying he died on April 6 at 9:22pm after a long battle with the disease.

“I loved and admired this giant of a man, and am blessed to be his namesake,” said Graves Jr. in an update on Twitter.

Graves Sr. founded Black Enterprise in 1970 as a resource for business and investing advice for African Americans.

“The time was ripe for a magazine devoted to economic development in the African American community,” said Graves Sr. “The publication was committed to the task of educating, inspiring and uplifting its readers.”

Graves Sr., was a champion for black-owned business and a supporter of equal opportunity. He received the National Award of Excellence for his business achievements. Graves Sr. served on the boards of several Fortune 500 companies, including AMR Corp., which runs American Airlines, and DaimlerChrysler AG.

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Earl Graves Sr.
Earl Graves Sr.

Here’s more about Graves via BlackEnterprise.com:

Graves was widely considered to be the ultimate champion of black business, launching Black Enterprise in 1970 to not only chronicle the rise of African American entrepreneurs, but also provide the tools for African Americans to succeed in the business mainstream and “achieve their measure of the American dream.”

In his award-winning, now classic, business bestseller, How To Succeed In Business Without Being White, Graves stated his life-defining purpose for founding Black Enterprise in simple, direct terms: “The time was ripe for a magazine devoted to economic development in the African American community. The publication was committed to the task of educating, inspiring and uplifting its readers. My goal was to show them how to thrive professionally, economically and as proactive, empowered citizens.”

Driven by that mission, Graves became a trailblazing entrepreneur in his own right, building Black Enterprise from a single-magazine publishing company 50 years ago, to a diversified multimedia business spreading the message of financial empowerment to more than 6 million African Americans through print, digital, broadcast and live-event platforms. As such, Black Enterprise was one of two companies that would appear on the BE 100s—the publication’s annual rankings of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses—each of its 47 years. At one point, Graves would operate two companies on the list, including Pepsi-Cola of Washington, DC, one of the nation’s largest soft-drink distributors owned by African Americans.

For MORE on the life and passing of Earl Graves Sr., go to BlackEnterprise.com.

 

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