Entrepreneur and publisher Earl G. Graves was the force behind Black Enterprise magazine. He's the current director for Aetna and on the executive board for the Boy Scouts of America.
Graves, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Jan. 9, 1935, went on to graduate from Morgan State University with a degree in economics and later became a volunteer for Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign. His political positions also included working as an administrative assistant to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and sitting on the advisory board of the Small Business Administration (SBA). The work he did while on the SBA led to the creation of Black Enterprise, a magazine that advised Black business owners and covered relevant issues.
The first issue of Black Enterprise hit newsstands in August 1970 and his company, Earl G. Graves, Ltd. has expanded to include publishing, marketing, radio, and television and has strived to promote minority-owned businesses.
Graves also acknowledged the importance of higher education and entrepreneurial opportunities and donated $1 million to advance Morgan State University's business program in 1995.
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