Black Enterprise magazine bills itself as "Your ultimate guide to financial empowerment," but it could just as easily lay claim as a manual for racial empowerment. When it was founded in 1970 by Earl G. Graves Sr., successful African American entrepreneurs were few and far between, owing to the financial effects of racial prejudice and a lack of capital and managerial and technical training. For Graves, the goal was to change all that. "Filling a Need"

With a $175,000 bank loan, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, Graves, then 35, started Black Enterprise as a vehicle to inspire African Americans to enter business and teach them how to thrive. With the white press having long ignored African American business people, his magazine quickly fed a hunger in the minority community for business stories with a black perspective. The magazine was the first of its kind to document the challenges and triumphs of the black business community. Among the magazine's first cover stories was "How I Started a Business With $1,000."

Offering such nuts-and-bolts strategies to build individual wealth was the predominant theme of the magazine's early years. Increasingly, however, the magazine bolstered readership by spotlighting the growing number of influential African Americans in the country-something that the white press had largely disregarded. Black America was eager to read the success stories of the men and women who had made it big on Wall Street, in sports, and in other high-profile fields. These icons of success not only helped to sell the magazine in increasing numbers, they also served as inspiration for others to pursue their dreams.

For his efforts, Earl G. Graves is now considered one of the most influential black men of his generation. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, he received a B.A. in economics from Morgan State University. He served two years in the Army, followed by a three-year stint as Senator Robert F. Kennedy's administrative assistant. Shortly after Kennedy's assassination, Graves entered the business arena, founding Earl G. Graves Ltd. in 1968 and publishing the first issue of Black Enterprise two years later.

In recognition of his influence and achievements since that time, Graves has earned numerous honors. He has been named one of the ten most outstanding minority businessmen in the country by the president of the United States, and received the National Award of Excellence in recognition of his achievements in minority business enterprise. He has also served as chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola of Washington, D.C., the largest minority-controlled Pepsi-Cola franchise in the country. In 1999, he received the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the highest achievement award for African Americans. He has also been named one of the Top 100 Business News Luminaries of the Century. In addition, his alma mater, Morgan State University, renamed its business school after him.

In January 2006, Graves Sr. named Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. as the company's new Chief Executive Officer and President. Graves Sr. remains as Chairman and Publisher. Like his father, Butch Graves also has a distinguished career. He received his B.A. in economics from Yale University in 1984, where as a four-year starter and captain of the Yale basketball team, he became the school's all-time leading scorer, and finished his college career as the second-leading scorer in Ivy League history. He was drafted in the third round by the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers in 1984 and enjoyed a brief professional basketball career. After earning his M.B.A. from Harvard University, he joined Black Enterprise Ltd. as vice president of advertising and marketing. In 1991, he was promoted to senior vice president of advertising and marketing; and in 1995, he was named executive vice president and chief operating officer. He was promoted to president of the company in 1998.

Written March 12, 2006 exclusively for MagsDirect.com. All right reserved.

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