Earl G. Graves, Sr.

Earl Gilbert Graves, Sr. (born January 9, 1935) is an author, publisher, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the founder of "Black Enterprise" magazine.

Background

Graves was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of New York City. He is a 1958 alumnus of Morgan State University, having received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

From 1965 to 1968, Graves served as an administrative assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. When Rev Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in Memphis, Graves was assigned by Senator Kennedy to oversee the arrangements for Rev King's body to be brought home.

He is the father of Earl G. Graves, Jr.

Business ventures

In 1968, Graves started Earl G. Graves, Ltd. Under that holding company, he began the Earl G. Graves Associates management consulting firm. In 1970, the company's Earl G. Graves Publishing Company division began publishing "Black Enterprise" magazine. "Black Enterprise" states as its goal to provide inspiration to African Americans in the business sector. The magazine has 500,000 paid subscribers and over 3 million readers. It has also grossed $53 million in sales.

Black Enterprise Events is another division of Earl G. Graves, Ltd., which coordinates gatherings for the readers of "Black Enterprise". The Black Entrepreneurs Conference, Black Enterprise Golf and Tennis Challenge, and Women of Power Summit are a few of the events sponsored by Black Enterprise Events.

Earl Graves, Ltd., also co-owns a private equity fund with Travelers Group called the Black Enterprise/Greenwich Street Corporate Growth Fund. The purpose of the fund is to invest in minority controlled businesses.

From 1990 to 1998, Graves owned the Pepsi Cola bottling franchise in Washington D.C.

Other accomplishments

Graves is a director of Aetna, AMR Corporation, Daimler AG, Federated Department Stores and Rohm and Haas, and is a volunteer on the boards of TransAfrica Inc. and the American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium in New York City. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Howard University. Graves received the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 1988, and served as the national commissioner from 1990 to 1995. He received the NAACP's Spingarn Medal in 1999. Graves donated $1 million to Morgan State’s school of business and management. His alma mater honored him by changing the name of the school of business to the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. In 2002, Graves was named as one of the 50 most powerful and influential African Americans in corporate America by "Fortune" magazine. He serves on the George W. Bush administration's Presidential Commission for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.On April 26, 2007 Earl G. Graves Sr. was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame.

External links

* [http://www.blackenterprise.com/AboutUsOpen.asp?Source=AboutBE/gravesbio.htm Profile at blackenterprise.com]
* [http://www.cnn.com/specials/2002/black.history/stories/09.graves/ Profile at CNN.com - Black History Month 2002]
* [http://www.howard.edu/convocation/2003/convocationbio2.htm Howard University Opening Convocation 2002 - Biography]