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{{Short description|American businessman (1935–2020)}}
'''Earl Gilbert Graves, Sr.''' (born [[January 9]], [[1935]]) is an author, publisher, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the founder of ''[[Black Enterprise]]'' magazine.
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Earl Gilbert Graves Sr.
| image = Earl_Graves_sr._2004.jpg
| alt = Earl G. Graves, Sr. in 2004
| caption = Graves in 2004
| birth_name = Earl Gilbert Graves
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1935|01|09}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2020|04|06|1935|01|09}}
| death_place = [[White Plains, New York]], U.S.
| occupation = {{Hlist | Entrepreneur | publisher | businessman | philanthropist | advocate}}
| alma_mater = [[Morgan State University]]
| years_active =
| works =
| spouse = Barbara
| children = 3 including [[Earl G. Graves Jr.]]
}}

'''Earl Gilbert Graves Sr.''' (January 9, 1935 – April 6, 2020) was an American [[entrepreneur]], [[publisher]], businessman, [[philanthropist]], and advocate of [[African-American businesses]]. A graduate of [[Morgan State University]], he was the founder of ''[[Black Enterprise]]'' magazine and chairman of the media company Earl G. Graves, Ltd. He was the director for [[Aetna]] and [[National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America|Executive Board]] member of the [[Boy Scouts of America]].<ref name="blackenterprise.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/earl-graves-jr-barbara-graves-women-power-my-mothers-legacy/|title=Women of Power: My Mother's Legacy|author=Earl "Butch" Graves Jr.|work=Black Enterprise|date=March 10, 2015|publisher=}}</ref> He was the father of [[Earl G. Graves Jr.]]


==Background==
==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|Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.]]
Born in [[Brooklyn, New York]], to Earl Graves, an immigrant from Barbados, and Winifred (Sealy) Graves, who was from Trinidad. Graves grew up in the [[Bedford-Stuyvesant]] section of [[New York City]]. A member of [[Omega Psi Phi]] fraternity, he received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in economics in 1958 from [[Morgan State University]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/earl-g-graves-sr-40| title = Earl Gilbert Graves Sr.| work = History Makers}}</ref> He was an [[ROTC]] graduate and attended [[Airborne School|Airborne]] and [[Ranger School|Ranger]] Schools.<ref name="blackenterprise.com"/>


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.
Having written a letter to the [[Democratic National Committee]], he became a volunteer for the 1964 presidential campaign of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. His work with the party gave Graves the opportunity to serve as administrative assistant to newly elected Senator [[Robert F. Kennedy]] in 1965. Following the assassination of the senator, Graves would land a seat on the advisory board of the [[Small Business Administration]] (SBA) in 1968.

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


==Business ventures==
==Business ventures==
He undertook his first job at the age of seven selling boxed Christmas cards for his uncle. His territory was severely limited due to his father's rule that he could only sell to people living on their side of the block.
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.


While at Morgan State University, Graves made a name for himself as an entrepreneur. Realizing that there was a big market for flowers during Homecoming Week, he went to two competing local florists and cut deals with both to sell flowers on campus. For a percentage of the profits, the florists provided the flowers while Graves covered the campus.
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.


His time serving on the SBA's advisory board and his direct work with the agency would lead Graves to his belief in the need for advice to businesses in economic development and urban affairs, which convinced him to create an annual newsletter that would chronicle issues relevant to black business people, and raise awareness of the importance of black consumer power. At the suggestion of then SBA Director [[Howard J. Samuels]], Graves would expand the concept of a newsletter into a full-fledged magazine.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dXw6gR2GgkC&q=Howard+samuels+robert+kennedy&pg=PA349|title=African American Lives|first1=Henry Louis Jr.|last1=Gates|first2=Evelyn Brooks|last2=Higginbotham|date=April 29, 2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780199882861}}</ref>
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.


Graves started Earl G. Graves, Ltd, and under that holding company he began the Earl G. Graves Associates management consulting firm. In August 1970, the first issue of ''[[Black Enterprise]]'' magazine would hit newsstands. Earl G. Graves, Ltd would grow to include a number of divisions including publishing, marketing, radio, television and event coordinating arms. The firm is the co-owner of the private equity fund Black Enterprise Greenwich Street Corporate Growth Fund, an equity partnership formed with Travelers Group, Inc. The fund aims to invest and promote minority operated businesses.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.earl_g_graves_ltd.bbe8a44397a6b272.html | title= Earl G. Graves LTD | work = Hoovers}}</ref>
From 1990 to 1998, Graves owned the [[Pepsi Cola]] bottling franchise in [[Washington D.C]].


In 1990, Graves and [[Magic Johnson]] purchased the [[Pepsi Cola]] bottling franchise in [[Washington D.C.]], and Graves served as CEO until 1998, when he sold his ownership to Pepsi.<ref name=BlackEnter>{{cite web|url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/45-great-moments-in-black-business-no-30-earl-graves-sr-and-magic-johnson-close-60-million-deal-to-create-largest-black-pepsi-franchise/|title=45 GREAT MOMENTS IN BLACK BUSINESS – NO. 30: EARL GRAVES SR. AND MAGIC JOHNSON CLOSE $60 MILLION DEAL TO CREATE LARGEST BLACK PEPSI FRANCHISE|author=Derek T. Dingle|date=August 31, 2017|access-date=May 4, 2021|publisher=Black Enterprise}}</ref><ref name="eu.usatoday">[https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/07/earl-graves-sr-founder-black-enterprise-magazine-dies-85/2959923001/ Black Enterprise founder Earl Graves Sr. dies at 85] eu.usatoday.com, Brett Molina, 7 April 2020</ref> He held board and director memberships with a number of other corporations, including [[AMR Corporation]], [[Daimler AG]], [[Federated Department Stores]] and [[Rohm and Haas]], as well as board member of the [[American Museum of Natural History]] and [[Hayden Planetarium]] in New York City. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of [[Howard University]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://people.forbes.com/profile/earl-g-graves/1962|title= Earl G. Graves Associates | work = Forbes|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100317232120/https://people.forbes.com/profile/earl-g-graves/1962 |archive-date= March 17, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.forbes.com/2007/09/04/mazzuca-ceos-leaders-lead-citizen-cx_mk_0904scouts_slide.html |title= Scouts In The Big Office | work = Forbes | date = September 4, 2007 }}</ref>
⚫
==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.
⚫
==Awards and other accomplishments==
Graves received the [[Silver Buffalo Award]] from the [[Boy Scouts of America]] in 1988, and served as the [[Commissioner Service|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)|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.
Graves received the [[Silver Buffalo Award]] from the [[Boy Scouts of America]] in 1988, and served as the [[National Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America|National Commissioner]] from 1985 to 1994. He received the [[NAACP]]'s [[Spingarn Medal]] in 1999. In 2002, Graves was named as one of the 50 most powerful and influential African Americans in corporate America by ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine.

Graves was appointed by the administration of [[George W. Bush]] to serve on the 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. In 2009, he became the recipient of the 2009 [[NCAA]] Silver Anniversary Award.

In his honor, [[Morgan State University]]'s business school was named Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. It was opened in 2015.

A "special thanks" to Mr. Graves is included in [[Bayer Mack]]'s documentary ''[[No Lye: An American Beauty Story]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11177444/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr4 | title= Earl G. Graves Sr. | work = IMDb}}</ref>

==Death==
Graves died in [[White Plains, New York]], on April 6, 2020, from complications of [[Alzheimer's disease]] at the age of 85.<ref>{{cite web|last=Slotnik|first=Daniel E.|date=April 10, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/business/media/earl-g-graves-sr-dead.html|title=Earl G. Graves Sr., a Voice for Black Entrepreneurs, Dies at 85|newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=April 10, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Earl Graves Sr., Founder of Black Enterprise And Ultimate Champion of Black Business, Passes Away At 85 |url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/earl-graves-sr-founder-of-black-enterprise-and-ultimate-champion-of-black-business-passes-away-at-85/ |accessdate=April 7, 2020 |publisher=BlackEnterprise.com |date=April 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/us/earl-graves-black-enterprise-death-trnd/index.html|title=Earl G. Graves Sr., founder of Black Enterprise, dies|first=Leah |last=Asmelash|website=CNN|date=April 7, 2020 |access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.blackenterprise.com/AboutUsOpen.asp?Source=AboutBE/gravesbio.htm Profile at blackenterprise.com]</sup>
* {{cite web|url= http://www.blackenterprise.com/bios/earl-graves |title= Profile | work = blackenterprise.com| date = March 10, 2015}}
*[http://www.cnn.com/specials/2002/black.history/stories/09.graves/ Profile at CNN.com - Black History Month 2002]</sup>
* {{cite web|url= http://www.cnn.com/specials/2002/black.history/stories/09.graves |title= Black History MonthProfile | work = CNN.com| date = 2002 }}
*[http://www.howard.edu/convocation/2003/convocationbio2.htm Howard University Opening Convocation 2002 - Biography]</sup> he Died on January 4th 2007
* {{cite web|url= http://www.howard.edu/convocation/2003/convocationbio2.htm |title= Opening Convocation | work = Howard University | date = 2002 }}
* {{C-SPAN|18054}}

{{Spingarn Medal}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Living people|Graves, Earl G.]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Earl G. Sr.}}
[[Category:American businesspeople|Graves, Earl G.]]
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Erasmus Hall High School alumni|Graves]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American businesspeople]]
[[Category:African-American company founders]]
[[Category:American Airlines people]]
[[Category:American company founders]]
[[Category:American people of Barbadian descent]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Erasmus Hall High School alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Morgan State University alumni]]
[[Category:Morgan State University alumni]]
[[Category:People associated with the Boy Scouts of America|Graves, Earl G.]]
[[Category:National commissioners of the Boy Scouts of America]]
[[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Scarsdale, New York]]
[[Category:Politicians from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American businesspeople]]
[[Category:African-American history of Westchester County, New York]]

Latest revision as of 23:06, 12 September 2024

Earl Gilbert Graves Sr.
Earl G. Graves, Sr. in 2004
Graves in 2004
Born
Earl Gilbert Graves

(1935-01-09)January 9, 1935
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
DiedApril 6, 2020(2020-04-06) (aged 85)
White Plains, New York, U.S.
Alma materMorgan State University
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • publisher
  • businessman
  • philanthropist
  • advocate
SpouseBarbara
Children3 including Earl G. Graves Jr.

Earl Gilbert Graves Sr. (January 9, 1935 – April 6, 2020) was an American entrepreneur, publisher, businessman, philanthropist, and advocate of African-American businesses. A graduate of Morgan State University, he was the founder of Black Enterprise magazine and chairman of the media company Earl G. Graves, Ltd. He was the director for Aetna and Executive Board member of the Boy Scouts of America.[1] He was the father of Earl G. Graves Jr.

Background

[edit]

Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Earl Graves, an immigrant from Barbados, and Winifred (Sealy) Graves, who was from Trinidad. Graves grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of New York City. A member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1958 from Morgan State University.[2] He was an ROTC graduate and attended Airborne and Ranger Schools.[1]

Having written a letter to the Democratic National Committee, he became a volunteer for the 1964 presidential campaign of Lyndon B. Johnson. His work with the party gave Graves the opportunity to serve as administrative assistant to newly elected Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1965. Following the assassination of the senator, Graves would land a seat on the advisory board of the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 1968.

Business ventures

[edit]

He undertook his first job at the age of seven selling boxed Christmas cards for his uncle. His territory was severely limited due to his father's rule that he could only sell to people living on their side of the block.

While at Morgan State University, Graves made a name for himself as an entrepreneur. Realizing that there was a big market for flowers during Homecoming Week, he went to two competing local florists and cut deals with both to sell flowers on campus. For a percentage of the profits, the florists provided the flowers while Graves covered the campus.

His time serving on the SBA's advisory board and his direct work with the agency would lead Graves to his belief in the need for advice to businesses in economic development and urban affairs, which convinced him to create an annual newsletter that would chronicle issues relevant to black business people, and raise awareness of the importance of black consumer power. At the suggestion of then SBA Director Howard J. Samuels, Graves would expand the concept of a newsletter into a full-fledged magazine.[3]

Graves started Earl G. Graves, Ltd, and under that holding company he began the Earl G. Graves Associates management consulting firm. In August 1970, the first issue of Black Enterprise magazine would hit newsstands. Earl G. Graves, Ltd would grow to include a number of divisions including publishing, marketing, radio, television and event coordinating arms. The firm is the co-owner of the private equity fund Black Enterprise Greenwich Street Corporate Growth Fund, an equity partnership formed with Travelers Group, Inc. The fund aims to invest and promote minority operated businesses.[4]

In 1990, Graves and Magic Johnson purchased the Pepsi Cola bottling franchise in Washington D.C., and Graves served as CEO until 1998, when he sold his ownership to Pepsi.[5][6] He held board and director memberships with a number of other corporations, including AMR Corporation, Daimler AG, Federated Department Stores and Rohm and Haas, as well as board member of the American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium in New York City. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Howard University.[7][8]

Awards and other accomplishments

[edit]

Graves received the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 1988, and served as the National Commissioner from 1985 to 1994. He received the NAACP's Spingarn Medal in 1999. In 2002, Graves was named as one of the 50 most powerful and influential African Americans in corporate America by Fortune magazine.

Graves was appointed by the administration of George W. Bush to serve on the 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. In 2009, he became the recipient of the 2009 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.

In his honor, Morgan State University's business school was named Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. It was opened in 2015.

A "special thanks" to Mr. Graves is included in Bayer Mack's documentary No Lye: An American Beauty Story.[9]

Death

[edit]

Graves died in White Plains, New York, on April 6, 2020, from complications of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 85.[10][11][12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. (March 10, 2015). "Women of Power: My Mother's Legacy". Black Enterprise.
  2. ^ "Earl Gilbert Graves Sr". History Makers.
  3. ^ Gates, Henry Louis Jr.; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (April 29, 2004). African American Lives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199882861 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Earl G. Graves LTD". Hoovers.
  5. ^ Derek T. Dingle (August 31, 2017). "45 GREAT MOMENTS IN BLACK BUSINESS – NO. 30: EARL GRAVES SR. AND MAGIC JOHNSON CLOSE $60 MILLION DEAL TO CREATE LARGEST BLACK PEPSI FRANCHISE". Black Enterprise. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Black Enterprise founder Earl Graves Sr. dies at 85 eu.usatoday.com, Brett Molina, 7 April 2020
  7. ^ "Earl G. Graves Associates". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010.
  8. ^ "Scouts In The Big Office". Forbes. September 4, 2007.
  9. ^ "Earl G. Graves Sr". IMDb.
  10. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (April 10, 2020). "Earl G. Graves Sr., a Voice for Black Entrepreneurs, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "Earl Graves Sr., Founder of Black Enterprise And Ultimate Champion of Black Business, Passes Away At 85". BlackEnterprise.com. April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  12. ^ Asmelash, Leah (April 7, 2020). "Earl G. Graves Sr., founder of Black Enterprise, dies". CNN. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
[edit]
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