research paper on Ronald Verie Dellums (African American History)
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lEar!G . G
raves Sr.,a
voice for black
entrepreneurs,dies at85
B y
D an
ielS .S
lo tn
ik .
T he
N ew
Y ork
T im
es
E ar1
G .
G raves
Sr., an
e n
frepreneurw ho
fostered su
e
ëess in
the A
frican A
m er
ican business
co m
m u n ity
by founding
th e
m agazine
B lack
E nterprise
and w
rit
ing th
e book
“H ow
to S
u c
ceed in
B usinessW
ithoutB e
ing W
hite,” died
M onday
at a
care facility
in W
h ite
P lains,
N ew
Y ork.
H e
w as
85. H
is son,
E arl
G .
G raves
Jr., B
lack E
nterprise’s c u r
rent chief executive, said
the cause
w as
com plications
of
A lzheim
er’s disease.
G raves
created B
lack
E n terp
rise in
1970 w
ith a
$175,000 loan
and the
b ack
ing ofadvertisers
he courted
him self.
T he
m agazine
w as
designed to
appeal to
new ly
ascen d an
t A
frican A
m eri
can professionals, to
en co
u r
age young
people to
becom e
entrepreneurs in
th eir
ow n
right, and
to m
ake black
ex
ecutives a
m ore
recognizable p art
of A m
erican corporate
culture. T
he id
ea of
targ etin
g
th e
black business
co m
m u nity
w as
novel, b u t
G raves
pitched it
w ith
confidence
befitting the
m u ltim
illio n
aire publisher
and b u sin
ess m
an he
w ould
becom e.
“I w
as ju
st another
en tre
preneurw ho
believed in
h im
self,” G
raves told
T he
Post-
S tan
d ard
of S
yracuse, N
ew
Y ork,
in .2005.
“T he
only d if
ference w
as th
atI w as
black.”
G raves
set up
a board
of
pow erful
A frican
A m
erican advisers,
including Sen.
E d
w ard
W .
B rooke
III of
M as
sachusetts, R
ep. S
hirley C
h
ishoim of
N ew
Y ork
and Ju
h an
B ond,
the civil
rights
activist and
a founder
of the
S outhern
P overty
L aw
C en
ter.T o
build an
audience, he sent
free copies
of B
lack E
n terprise
to black
profession als,m
inisters, politicians and
m any
corporations. B
lack E
nterprise, w
hich featured
profiles of
A frican
A m
erican businessm
en and
w om
en, advice
on n av
ig at
ing the
corporate w
orld for
young professionals
and an
annual list
of the
m ost
su c
cessful black-ow
ned co
m p a
nies, proved popular.
In tim
e it
becam e
a co
m
bination of publications
like
F orbes,
M oney
and F
o rtu
n e
aim ed
at A
frican A
m erican
readers. E
arl G
raves Jr.
said th
at the m
agazine’s printc
ir culation
peaked at
aro u n d
h alf
a m
illion hi
the early
2000s. G
raves, in
stan tly
reco g
nizable in
a pow
er suit
w ith
su sp
en d ers
an d
th ick
b u t
m eticulous
sideburns, also
ran a
successful soft
d rin
k franchise
w ith
investors in
cluding M
agic Johnson
and served
on several
corporate boards,
including those
of A
etna, A
m erican
A irlines
and w
h at
w as
th en
D aim
lerC hrysler.
In 1997
G raves
published “H
ow to
S ucceed
in B
u si
ness W
ithout B
eing W
hite: S
traight T
alk on
M aking
ft
in A
m erica,”
w hich
he w
rote
w ith
W es
S m
ith. T
he book,
a N
ew Y
ork T
im es
bestseller,
included concrete
lessons on
netw orking, m
axim izing
c a
reer opportunities and
b u ild
ing w
ealth g lean
ed from
G raves’
lifetim e
of en
trep re
neurship.Italso em
phasized th
at G
raves saw
the goal
as
an equal
chance at
success m ent. “T
he w
h ite-d
o m
in ated
business w
orld needs
to u n
derstand th
at w
e don’t w
ant charity,”
he w
rote. “W e
w ant
to do
business. W e
don’t w ant
guaranteed success.W
e w
ant
the opportunity
to earn
it.” E
arl G
ilbert G
raves w
as
b o rn
in N
ew Y
ork C
ity’s
B rooklyn
borough on
Jan. 9,
1935, to
E arl
G raves,
an im
m igrant from
B arbados,and
W inifred
(Sealy)G raves, w
ho
w as
from T
rinidad. H e
grew
up in
the B
edford-S tuyves
an t
neighborhood. H
is fa
th er
w orked
in the
garm ent
industry and
his m
other w as
a hom
em aker.
H e
graduated from
E ras
m us
H all
H igh
S chool
in B
rooklyn,then studied
b u si
ness at
w hat
is now
M organ
S tate
U niversity,
a h isto
ri
cally black
institution in
B al
tim ore,
w here
he sold
flo w
ers, m ow
ed law
ns, w orked
as a
security guard
and w
as on
the track
team .
A fter graduating,he
spent
som e
years in
the A
rm y, then
returned to
B rooklyn, w
here
he w
orked in
law enforce-
brother, R
obert; and
eight
grandchildren. In
2006 G
raves retired
as B
lack E
nterprise’s chief
executive, th
o u g h
lie re
m ained
ch airm
an until
his
death. B
lack E
n terp
rise is
still printed periodically, but
E arl
G raves
Jr. said
th at
the
com pany
now focuses
m ore
on events,
social m
edia and
its w
ebsite, w
hich attracts
about 2
m illion
unique v is
itors a
m onth.
In “H
ow to
S ucceed
in B
usiness,” G
raves w
rote th
at
w hen
he w
as a
stu d en
t at
M organ
S tate
an d
told ac:
quaintances th
at he
hoped
to be
a successful
b u sin
ess m
an, they often
reacted w
ith incredulity
because “the
co n
cept of
a black
businessm an
w ith
his ow
n corporation”
w as
“largely a
foreign, even
a laughable,
one to
blacks as
w ell
as w
hites.” T
im es
have changed,
in
p art
helped by
G raves’
e f
fo rts,
an d
his alm
a m
a ter
now train
s new
g en
era tions
of A
frican A
m erican
entrepreneurs at
the E
arl G
. G
raves S
chool of
B usiness
and M
anagem ent.
rath er
th an
special treat-
m ent and
realestate.H e
also
volunteered w
ith local
g o v
ern m
en t
an d
civic groups,
including one
dedicated to
im proving
B edford-S
tuyves ant th
at w as
founded by
Sen.
R obert K
ennedy. G
raves m
etK ennedy
after
organizing a
rally for
him in
B rooklyn
in the
m id-1960s.
E arlG
raves Jr.said
th at K
en
nedy w
as so
im pressed
w ith
G raves’
organizational acu
m en
th at
he offered
him a
job on
his staff, w
hich he
a c
cepted. G
raves w
orked for
K en
nedy u n til
lie w
as assassi
nated in
1968,after w hich
he retu
rn ed
to B
rooklyn.S o m
e one
in the
B edford-S
tuyves ant
group suggested
th at
he start
a new
sletter to
p u b li
cize advances
in the
black
b u sin
ess com
m unity.
T he
new sletter
grew into
B lack
E nterprise. In
1960 G
raves m
arried B
arbara K
ydd. She
died in
2012. In
ad d itio
n to
his son
E arl
Jr., he
is survived
by tw
o o th
er sons,
John an
d M
ichael; tw
o sisters,
Jo an
Jones and
S andra
G raves;
a