“Lacking Capital, managerial and technical knowledge, and crippled by prejudice, the minority businessman has been effectively kept out of the American marketplace. We want to help change this.”
With that charge, BLACK ENTERPRISE hit the newsstands in August 1970.
That monthly publication evolved into a multimedia conglomerate that fueled the aspirations of generations of African American men and women.
For the 50th Anniversary of BLACK ENTERPRISE, our editors fittingly celebrated the golden anniversary with a special salute to “The Visionary” — our late founder and publisher, Earl G. Graves, Sr.
In the issue, we wrote the following:
“He was a tireless change agent driven by a mission to make African Americans full participants in the economic mainstream as successful captains of industry, executives of immeasurable influence and multigenerational wealth builders. At the same time, he was the connector who served as the link between Black America and corporate America; he was our advocate who kept institutional leaders — whether they were the CEO of a major corporation or president of the United States — accountable for furthering access in any and all arenas of American society.”
His platform: BLACK ENTERPRISE. Throughout five decades, it served as a tool to record and guide every milestone tied to Black empowerment in this nation, while making history of its own with an array of franchises that drove Black advancement and the progression of the company.
- In 1973, BE unveiled the Top 100 — an annual listing of the nation’s largest Black-owned companies — the annual barometer for Black business development, in its June issue
- In 1986, the company established the Professional Networking Forums series, which served as its entree into the events space
- in 1997, BE went digital with BlackEnterprise.com (originally called BE Online) as a destination on the World Wide Web for Black business news and resources
- In 2000, BE launched the Black Wealth initiative to spur financial empowerment, home ownership, and stock market participation among African Americans
- in 2003, the company made its first foray into television with the Black Business Report, which spawned a series of broadcast properties to provide other vehicles for business and financial information
These offerings and the evolution of others continued to meet the needs of different segments of the BE audience on the platforms of their choice.
On the pages of our special anniversary issue, the last regular print magazine, as well as the commemorative digital edition, we gave a full measure of the icon and the vehicle that inspired and uplifted millions of Blacks across the globe.
It was a deeply personal issue, sharing Earl Graves, Sr.’s amazing journey and his impact on business, corporate America, politics, and wealth creation through his own words; commentaries and remembrances of the nation’s most powerful business leaders; and a touching “Letter To My Dad” written by his son and the current CEO of BLACK ENTERPRISE, Earl “Butch” Graves, Jr., who offered reflections on his father’s leadership as well as his most important roles as a husband of 52 years to his best friend, closest confidant, and the love of his life, Barbara Graves; a demanding and supportive father to his three sons, Butch, Johnny, and Michael; and a loving grandfather to eight grandchildren. Butch Graves wrote the following about his father: “You met directly with more than eight presidents in your lifetime, yet were equally engaged with your interactions of everyday people. You were as excited to share our family Christmas card with the skycaps at American Airlines as you were with its CEO.”
In reading this special issue, readers discovered the story of a determined man prepared to win against the odds — and his drive to show legions of African Americans how to chart their own path to wealth, power, and success.
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