EARL G. GRAVES SR
(January 9, 1935 – April 6, 2020)
BLACK ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE FOUNDER
CHAIRMAN OF EARL GRAVES MEDIA COMPANY, LTD.
Was the Director for Aetna and Executive Board member of the Boy Scouts of America.
Education:
Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1958 Morgan State University,
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. He was the father of Earl G. Graves Jr.
BLACK ENTERPRISE was founded by Earl G. Graves,Sr.. The entrepreneur magazine was published in 1970, the United States was in a period of transition that resulted from the U.S. Civil Rights Movement a few years after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. Graves wanted a resource where African Americans could go to learn and see the achievements of the success of Black America when it was completely compromise and tried to hidden by propaganda. The publication reinforced the development of black mobility and the emergence of the middle class and upper class . Black Enterprise Magazine is a leading guide in building, saving and expanding by networking as a black entrepreneurs.
His leadership and national achievements and his steadfastness as an advocate of higher education and equal opportunity goes way beyond the pages of his magazine.
Graves is currently a director of Aetna Inc. He retired from the boards of AMR Corp. (American Airlines), DaimlerChrysler AG Corp., Federated Department Stores, Inc., and Rohm & Haas Corporation.
In 2002, Fortune magazine named Graves one of the 50 most powerful and influential African Americans in corporate America. He holds a seat on the board of selectors of the American Institute for Public Service, the Advisory Council of the Character Education Partnership, the board of the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation, the board of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the national advisory board of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. He is also a trustee of Howard University, the Committee for Economic Development, the Special Contributions Fund of the NAACP, and the New York Economic Club. Graves was appointed to serve on a presidential commission for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and was a civilian aide to the secretary of the U.S. Army from 1978 to 1980.
In 2007, Graves was inducted into the U.S. Business Hall of Fame, which recognizes the contributions of the nation’s most distinguished corporate professionals who have enriched the econonmy and inspired young people to pursue excellence in business and in life.
Graves is an ROTC graduate. He attended Airborne School and Ranger School and finished his Army career (in the rank of Captain) as a member of the 19th Special Forces Group, the Green Berets. He received a U.S. Army Commendation Award.
He has also received the highest recognition awards for volunteer service in scouting: the Silver Beaver Award (1969), the Silver Antelope Award (1986), and the Silver Buffalo Award (1988).
In 1998, he received the Marietta Tree Award for Public Service from the Citizens Committee for New York City Inc., the Charles Evans Hughes Gold Medal Award from The National Conference for Community and Justice, the Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Merrick-Moore Spaulding National Achievement Award at the 100th Anniversary celebration of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co., among others. In 1995, he was named New York City Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and inducted into the National Sales Hall of Fame by the Association of Sales and Marketing Executives. Other awards he has received include the Dow Jones & Co. Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence (1992), the Free Enterprise Award from the International Franchise Association (1991), and the New York State Regents Medal of Excellence.
In 1999, Graves received the 84th NAACP Spingarn Medal, the highest achievement award for African Americans, and he was named one of the Top 100 Business News Luminaries of the Century by TJFR, a business journalism publication. That same year, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Caribbean Tourism Organization. In 2005, Graves was inducted into the Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) Academy of Achievement Hall of Fame and named Entrepreneur of the Century by Atlanta Life Financial Group at the company’s centennial celebration. In January 2006, he was immortalized in wax when ExxonMobil commissioned a likeness of him to be exhibited in the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. In August, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for his contributions to the field of journalism and the publishing industry. In October, civil rights activist and founding Black Enterprise Board of Advisors member Julian Bond interviewed Graves for “An Evening with Earl Graves,” a program produced for The HistoryMakers that aired on the PBS network in February 2007.
Graves is a member of the National Black College Hall of Fame, and he has also lectured at Yale University as a Poynter Fellow. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Morgan State College (now Morgan State University) in Baltimore, Maryland, and has received honorary degrees from more than 65 colleges and universities, including his alma mater.
Elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2000, Graves is continually sought out as a keynote speaker by small and large corporations, as well as the public and non-profit sectors of business in America. He authored a book titled How to Succeed in Business Without Being White, in which he talks about his strategies for success. Published by HarperBusiness Publications, the book was released in April 1997 and made the best-seller list in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. It was also selected as a finalist for the 1997 Financial Times/Booz-Allen & Hamilton Global Business Book Award.
Graves died in White Plains, New York, on April 6, 2020, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 85.
Awards and Honors
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.
Morgan State University’s business school is named after him, Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management.