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| Inducted: |
2007 |
| Region: |
U.S. |
| Industry: |
Publishing
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Publisher and business leader Earl Graves has done more to change the landscape of the African American business community than anyone in the United States. In the late 1960s, when African Americans were starting to enter corporate America, Graves decided to start a newsletter. The idea for a newsletter quickly grew into Black Enterprise Magazine.
Since launching the business publication in 1970, Graves has helped to foster the growth of a vibrant African American business community. Today, Black Enterprise is a multimedia company with properties in television, radio, events, digital media and the Web.
The company boasts annual sales of nearly $60 million, with more than 500,000 paid subscribers and 3.9 million readers. Graves is the recipient of more than 60 honorary degrees from colleges and universities nationwide and abroad, and numerous awards for his business success and civic contributions.
In 1990, he was awarded the 84th NAACP Spingarn Medal, the highest achievement award for African Americans. In August 2006, 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. |
