#RolandMartinUnfiltered - #RMU Celebrates the life and legacy of Earl G. Graves, Sr., founder of Black Enterprise

Episode Date: April 12, 2020

#RMU Celebrates the life and legacy of Earl G. Graves, Sr., founder of Black Enterprise Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Graves was first launched Black Enterprise in 1970 in an effort to cover black businesses and also to provide business strategies to the magazine's readership. His efforts paid off. As of 2019, the magazine reaches four million readers. They also have numerous conferences all across the country. Graves went on to create Earl G. Graves Limited, the parent company of Earl G. Graves Publishing Company, which produces Black Enterprise Magazine. Butch Graves Jr. became the CEO in 2006, though Sr. remained as chairman.

In addition to his work in media, he also served as CEO of Pepsi-Cola, one of their bottle distributors between 1990 and 1998. Accolades have been pouring in on social media, as you see from the tweets we're showing you right now, folks. Here's some of those tweets. Go ahead and pull them up, please. Of course, you see right here, Cornel William Brooks, former CEO of the NAACP. This is from

the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. They're giving their condolences to Earl Graves. This is Reverend Al Sharpton. Also talk about the impact of Earl Graves. And then this is the tweet, of course, from his son, Butch Graves Jr., announcing his passing, his Maya Cummings, the widow of Congressman Elijah Cummings as well, who was running for his seat. And of course, National Urban League paid tribute to Earl Graves as well. Folks, I'm going to go back to Ron Busby, please.

Of course, I was talking to Ron. Ron, of course, is president of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. Ron, just share with our folks watching how vital Earl Graves was to the development and the fostering of black entrepreneurship across this country? There's a saying for brothers, men that are in the 100 black men that we can't be what we can't see or we can be what we see. So many African-Americans saw the future of black business through black enterprise. We were able to flip through the pages and see our future as well as our present. He was not only the editor, business owner, but a visionary and allowed that vision to transpire to Black people across the

globe. You have had young people, people in other countries all recognize what he has done for our community. And for that, we will always and forever be indebted personally i was able to meet him so many different times as a small business owner i was in his top 100 that gave us the accolades that other companies around the country said hey if they're good enough to be recognized by black enterprise they're good enough to do business with our firm. And I think so many of us don't get that acknowledgement from regular organizations. Black Enterprise was that entity that allowed us to showcase who we are, what we do, and more importantly, what we can do, and we're given the opportunity. All of us here at U.S. Black Chamber, as well as our 145 chamber

presidents around the country, truly will be missing him for lifetimes. And we look forward to continuing his success by his son, as well as other business owners across the country. Again, when you talk about seeing it and profiling in those pages, And I'm going to pull up in a second. I mean, if you look at in terms of that growth, I mean, you're talking about exponential growth going from 1972 to where we are present day. Yeah, I remember in 72 and I was just a young guy back in Oakland, California, and my parents used to bring the magazine home, leave it on our mantel, leave it on the kitchen table, and my sister and I would read through and just see ideas of businesses that we never knew that we owned. And because of that,

it just gave so many young people as well as business owners that drive to say, you know, if there's somebody across the country doing it, that it's going to provide me that vision, that competitiveness, that I can do it as well. And for that, he just allowed all of us to grow, not only Black Enterprise growth, not just through his events, but it also allowed other magazines like Essence Magazine, like so many other local black establishments to also be able to get their voices out there because they understood that black people were consumers. And so they marketed to us where they had never really had a vision of marketing to

black people before. But it also allowed us to tell our stories of our own consumerism, our own consumer dollars, as well as our own business acumen. All right, then. Ron Busby, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Folks, I'm going to go to this chart right here. Go to my iPad, please, just so you understand. And so this is the chart here. These are the number of Black-owned businesses that when Black Enterprise started. You see this chart, 1972, there were 187,602 black-owned businesses. In 2012, the number was around 2.58 million. It sits now around 6 million, excuse me, 2.6 million. And so I am not attributing all of that growth to Earl Graves, but I can guarantee

you seeing the stories, seeing all of the different ways in order to grow a business in Black enterprise, certainly I think you can do that. Right now, I want to go to the phone lines. Bob Brown, he was one of the folks who worked alongside, okay, okay, okay, we have Alfred Edmonds. Sorry, I was going to go to Bob. Y'all told me Bob is on here. So, Alfred Edmonds, of course, he's a longtime staff writer with Black Enterprise, editor there. Alfred, how you doing? I'm doing great, brother. How are you? Doing good. Certainly is a sad day for all the folks in the Black Enterprise family losing the patriarch of the magazine. Yes, but as I've been sharing with so many people, former employees, former interns, entrepreneurs, executives, I mean, you touch so many lives. You know, you take that scripture, weeping lasts for a night, but joy comes in the morning. And while we are certainly hurt,

we are also fully embracing the opportunity to celebrate all that he has contributed. And that celebration will go on for some time because it's almost hard to put into words or a single tribute all that he has done and the impact of his legacy. Explain to folks really how much of a towering figure he is. In a moment, we're going to hear from Linda Johnson Rice. I interviewed her earlier.

And I say, frankly, if you were creating a Mount Rushmore for black media, it would be John H. Johnson, it would be Earl Graves, and it would be, of course, the founders, Ed Lewis and others of Essence Magazine. Oh, no doubt. No doubt. You know, the best way I saw it put a couple of days ago, I mean, a couple of days, a few hours ago, was Earl Graves taught us what black excellence was before there was black Twitter. I mean, he represented excellence in how he presented himself. He represented excellence in terms of what he believed in for black people around the world and black Americans in particular.

And from a personal standpoint, and those of us who worked with him and for him, he believed in us as examples of black excellence. So he really communicated right away that if you were working with him or for him, he expected great things from you and you were willing to run through brick walls to deliver for him. And that was kind of a universal impact he had on everybody who knew him, worked for him, worked with him. The impact is just hard to put into a few sentences when you talk about that, that expectation of excellence and that being part of the heritage of being what it means to be an African American. The BE100s, of course,

the list of the top 100 black owned businesses, it was a huge creation. When you think about fortune lists, we think of these other different lists. What it really did was serve as a barometer for many of these black owned businesses, but also it sent a signal to the rest of the country that there were black folks who owned companies

that were at scale, and as Ron Busby just said, it allowed other companies to be able to say, oh, here are folks we could actually partner with. Well, it did several things. One, prior to the BE100's list, nobody measured the rankings of the largest black-owned companies in any way. I mean, we all knew in our individual communities the black-owned funeral home, the black-owned retail outlets, the barbershops. But no one really categorized in a real significant way the economic impact of these businesses.

The second thing it did is made them aware of each other, which created a community and a network that's necessary for all businesses to grow. You don't grow without those kinds of relationships. So it brought together nationally an awareness that we do have a legacy of entrepreneurs. Eventually, it became a good housekeeping seal of approval as corporations were looking for credible businesses to establish relationships with through supply diversity and other things. And making the B100s list kind of became almost a good housekeeping seal of approval, or at least was a starting point for major corporations to identify Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs that they could do business with. And all of that

spurred what you talked about a little earlier, the exponential growth of black owned businesses over the last 30 to 40 years, because all those things came together to put black business on the map. No longer could corporations say, oh, I'd love to do business with African American community, but I can't find qualified businesses to do it. The BE100's list in particular took that away and created even more wealth in the black community as a result. Obviously, we know about him professionally. Just give folks a sense of what it was like personally for you.

Well, first of all, I mean, his impact on us as young people, I got hired at Black Enterprise at age 26. My 27th birthday was a few days after I got hired. He was a big believer in getting the best and brightest young people he could find and putting us in positions of authority and responsibility, trusting in our talent, knowing we would make some mistakes, but getting out of our way and let us grow. And if you look at the roster of current and former black enterprise employees, interns, editors, salespeople, and how we've gone on to do great things in our own careers, that was because Mr. Gray's, he didn't just talk about investing in young black people. He really

believed in it. I took over the magazine at age, I wasn't even 35 yet. Cheryl Hilliard Tucker, who was made the leader of the magazine when she was in her late 20s. And I could name person after person, Derek Dingell and others, who we got the reins of authority in our early 20s. And that went to our interns who are going on to do great things. The second thing that was great is that it was fun to work for. I mean, you took a certain amount of pride in realizing that we were among the best of the best. We walked around knowing we were among the best of the best because you don't last long at Black Enterprise if you don't believe that

and you don't deliver that. But also, he has a great sense of humor. He's just so much fun. You know, we laugh a lot and joke a lot at BE. And that's part of because we had a CEO who believed in people, you know, having fun and having a good time, even as we were doing serious work and working really hard to deliver excellence every day. So it was always a fun place to work, you know, especially back in the day when I was young. But did you ever say, Mr. Gray, when are you going to cut them lamb chops? Not me. You ain't getting that from me, Mr. Gray, when are you going to cut them lamb chops? Not me. You ain't getting that from me, bro. I had the pleasure

of editing his column, award-winning column, and won a number of NABJ awards, as well as other awards on the publisher's page that he had continued even up until only a few years ago when he stopped doing it. And so I got to literally sit at his feet,

you know, at least once a month, more than that, because I had to work with him on his column and what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. And just some of the most treasured moments of my life to be able to learn from him, to see how he thought, and to really see his authentic passion for people. And not just the most important people, not just presidents and CEOs. This is a man that, you know, bell caps and waiters and, you know,

just FedEx delivery men got the same kind of attention from him and therefore loved him just as much because he was authentic all the way up and down the line, whether you were supposedly famous and important or you were just a regular guy just trying to make a living. Last question for you, if I'm correct, Black Enterprise also was the first black magazine to put Obama on the cover, him calling for Obama to run for president?

Yeah, I mean, that's another great example of, you know, me and Butch Graves, the current CEO, the oldest son of Mr. G and Derek Dingell, we often joke that often Mr. Graves is probably saying, what are you guys doing? But joking aside, he trusted us. And when we suggested to him that we had another cover plan for that first issue that he was on the cover, and Barack Obama was on, I think, five covers in total, ultimately. But the first cover when he was running for—well, that was the second cover, actually, when he was running for president, you know, we went out on the limb and said we think we can win this thing.

And that was before it was apparent to the rest of the nation that that was a possibility. Mr. Graves trusted our judgment, you know, gave me and Butch and Derek his blessings, and we went forward and put them on the cover, and it turned out to be prescient. But that's just another example of how Mr. Graves really walked the walk of saying, I hire my people, I believe in my people, they're the best and the brightest you can get, and he bet on us, and he won a lot because he bet on us and we believed in ourselves because he believed in he believed in us. All right. Alfred Edmonds, my man, was always appreciated. Certainly our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the employees of Black Enterprise. He certainly was a towering figure, someone who was greatly respected not only in the magazine business, certainly within the space of black media we appreciate it thanks a lot

thank you Roland all right folks doing this right now is Bob Brown Bob was a close associate confident board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Reverend out the Martin Luther King jr. then he went to go work for the Nixon administration as his top black aide Bob how you how you doing? I'm doing great. How you doing, Roland? Bob, it's always good talking with you. When I interviewed you a few weeks ago, I had not finished your book.

Of course, your book is right here, You Can't Go Wrong Doing Right, How a Child of Poverty Rose to the White House and Helped Change the World by Robert J. Brown. And in this book, you talk about Earl Graves. And in this book, you talk about Earl Graves. And in this book, you talk about the creation of the Office of Minority Business Enterprise within the Department of Commerce under Richard Nixon.

And you say here, I'm going to read this here, we took a lot of flack from Democrats and other skeptics who claim Nixon didn't care about black America. Still, even some diehard Democrats knew that blacks inside the Nixon administration were quietly pushing the agenda endorsed by Dr. King. One of those in the know was my old friend, Earl G. Graves, who was a leading black Democrat

at the forefront of pushing for black entrepreneurship and economic growth. He saw that with the OMBE, Nixon was reaching out with the program unlike others. Thank goodness you were there because he was about $100,000 short of raising the money to launch Black Enterprise, and you had to fight a lot of white folks who were like,

Bob, we're not giving to this black man. Yeah, Roland, you're right. Earl, I go back a long way with Earl. When he got out of the military, you know, Earl was a top military guy, and he was really gung-ho, and he came to work with me at the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in the New York office. We worked in the same group there, and there were very few blacks there at the time. And Earl came in from the first day he made a statement there at the Bureau. And we became close friends.

We traveled together. He used to visit me here in North Carolina all the time with his wife, Barbara, and his sons when they were little boys. boys and then he called me one day and said he was gonna get black he was thought black enterprise and he was gonna do a lot of this and a lot of that and I said well I'll be supportive and but even before then we worked with Robin Kennedy together Earl was was administrative assistant to Mr. Kennedy in New York. And we worked in his campaign together until he was killed. And then we all got together at Earl's place on Long Island. And along with Johnny Ford and and several others who were working with him, Johnny Ford, the mayor of Tuskegee, Alabama. And we decided that we were going to do different kinds of things. Earl and those stayed with the campaign at that time, the Democratic campaign of Humphrey, and I decided to to go with Nixon with some of my friends, my other friends, and it was

it was quite a time. We remained friends. Did we lose Bob there folks? Let me know. let me know what y'all got bob back uh and so this is what bob writes in his book i encourage him to apply for one of the first ombe grants when word got out that earl graves a big democrat and a frequent critic of nixon um had applied for the grant that was heated opposition from partisan republican operatives who didn't want it approved i argued forcefully that Earl wanted the same thing as we wanted for black America and that if we helped him develop his business he would support he would support economic development in

the black community they told me I was nuts not to mention naive and probably numbskull to my final response response was, process his damn application, Bob. That's exactly what I told them, and they processed it too. Yeah, and he got the money. And it helped to launch him forevermore. He was a great human being. He was my friend for many, many, many, many years. We worked together. We did a lot of things together in politics and business. And he was a magnificent human being. And I will always remember him fondly. Bob Brown, it was a pleasure talking with you, man,

to reflect back on the life and legacy of Earl Graves Sr. Of course, that photo right there is a photo of you, of Johnny Ford and Earl Graves, and join a huge laugh there. So it's always been great talking with you. Well, if you're trying to do the right thing and you're trying to lift up our people, it doesn't make any difference between Democrats and Republicans. I've worked on both sides. And wherever we work, we've got to be for our people. We got to lift up our people.

Yes, indeed. Bob Brown, we appreciate it, man. Thanks a lot. Yes, sir. All right, folks, joining, man. Thanks a lot. Yes, sir. All right, folks. Joining us right now is one of those other titans of black media, Ed Lewis, who is the co-founder of Essence magazine. Ed, welcome to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Roland, how are you, my friend? I'm doing great, sir. Just want to get just your initial thoughts on us losing one of our titans, Earl Graves Sr. Well, you know, Black Enterprise started in August of 1970. Essence started in May of 1970. So we're both celebrating 50 years of publishing

and doing something so meaningful, I think, for our community. And certainly I take my hat off to my dear friend, fellow publisher, who we tried to make a difference with regard to how we were being dealt with economically within our community. Give folks, give people an understanding

what life was like, what was it like for startup magazines, black magazines, 1970, two years removed from the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the tumultuous 60s. Black media companies today are able to do deals with major advertisers.

It was not easy for an Earl Graves Sr., for you at Essence, or for John A. Johnson at Ebony. No, indeed. We were always fighting the fight to get accepted, particularly for the audience that we represented. Advertising was always an issue with regard to all our magazines, and we fought hard. One of the things I deeply feel very good about is the way Earl, John Johnson, and I worked together, going collectively to advertising agencies and to major corporations and selling them on the importance of black media, a black

company. It wasn't about us individually making efforts on our behalf. We wanted to make sure that black media was heard and we wanted to get our fair share. We worked together. And that idea of working together was important because, you know, although y'all were, quote, competitors, you were also operating in different spaces. And so I'm quite sure y'all all said, look, it makes more sense for us to, we all can't be in the same place at the same time,

but we bond together. And so how often do the three of y'all actually strategize and meet and talk about how can we all get a piece of this pie? We met very often. We flew either to Chicago or New York or wherever to meet Corporate America. And we spoke on behalf of black media

because we knew that in the end, it's about uplifting our people, uplifting, making opportunity for those of us working in business so that we all can enjoy this incredible American pie that we helped build and create for this country. Last question for you. Obviously, Black Enterprise focused on Black business.

And when you look at the growth of Black businesses going from a little more than 100,000 in 1972 to now 2.6 million, I would dare say Black Enterprise played a critical role because when you look at the articles dealing with just basic stuff, how to start a business, processing franchising all of those things and being able to as uh as ron busby said being able to see people doing other things in other areas uh that had to cause

somebody to have a hey wait a minute i can do that as well no No doubt about it. We owe a great deal of debt to Black Enterprise for showing us the way, writing articles, how to capitalize, how to start your own business, the importance of cash in helping to be able to stay alive were all important with regard to what Black Enterprise has done for so many Black businesses and for the African-American community. Ed Lewis, co-founder of Essence Magazine. Ed, it's always a pleasure talking with you. Thank you so very much. My pleasure, my friend. Take care.

All right, folks, before I came live on the show, I had an opportunity to record an interview real quick when I was at home with Linda Johnson-Rice. She, of course, the daughter of Ebony Jet founder John H. Johnson. Here's our conversation about Earl Graves Sr. Linda, we've lost another titan, certainly one of our legends, and of course, in the black media space, one of, frankly, the pillars. No question about that. First of all, Roland, thank you for having me on and asking me to talk about Earl Graves, an incredible icon, a giant of a man, a friend of my know, the Johnson's and the Graves were always good friends. I mean, it goes back for four decades. And so I think there's always been a great deal of respect and admiration for everything that Earl Graves and Black Enterprise and all of the offshoots of Black Enterprise that have developed over the years. We've always

had a great respect and I've always had a great respect for him and for his family and I had the great fortune to speak to his son Butch this morning and and express my heartfelt sympathies to he and to his family. And when we think about the role played, I mean you look when look at history and culture, entertainment, when you think about Ebony, when you think about Essence targeting Black women, when you think about Black Enterprise with Black business, I mean, really, you know, Ebony Jett, Essence, Black Enterprise represents the Mount Rushmore, if you will, of Black media. Yeah, that is absolutely true. That is absolutely true. And you know, Black Enterprise really came along

and filled that void where there wasn't really a voice for business, just strictly for business. I mean, you had, obviously, you had white counterparts, you had Forbes Magazine and Fortune Magazine, but there was nothing really that was strictly for business for African Americans. And voila, here's Black Enterprise. And they've just done a tremendous job of chronicling so many things that have happened, both good and bad, the trials and tribulations and the challenges that African Americans

have faced with Black business. And that all is thanks to Earl Graves. I mean, he is the one who opened that door, who started to write about this and report about this and really help us to see ourselves as business people and to help us try to think about how to develop our own business, how to be entrepreneurs. And so that's what's so wonderful about Black Enterprise and about what Earl Graves really founded and started, and that his son, Butch, continues. He also was someone who I think that people, if you're in the Black media space today, whether it's Black-owned or Black-targeted,

you really have to, I believe, show appreciation to Earl Graves, to your father, because 1970, you're talking about two years after M.O.K. is killed, corporate America, you know, okay, we're looking at black, but they really went in and were the ones who were saying, no, no, no, we have an audience here you should be advertising to. So when you look at people who are able to go out, I mean, the platform that I have, able to go out and get sponsors. I mean, really, Earl Graves and John A. Johnson really were the ones who broke through those doors to get those meetings, to get these companies to understand there was value in the black consumer and they needed to advertise. Oh, there's no question about that. And you would be surprised how many times John Johnson,

Earl Graves worked together to really break the doors down for mainstream marketing to really understand and mainstream companies to really understand the value of the African American dollar. They weren't really rivals. They were really more friendly competitors and compatriots and really did work together on a lot of things. I'll tell you one quick story. My father served on the board of Chrysler Corporation for several years. And when it came time for him to retire, the one and only person that he recommended take his place was Earl Graves.

And it did happen. Absolutely. I'm sure it did. I'm sure it did. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Because he knew that Earl would continue to be a champion for African-Americans and that Earl would speak on their behalf in order to get their just dollars that are deserved in the African-American community. Last question for you. You talked about Earl being this big man. Physically, he was a big man. Yes. And I think for a lot of people, the lamb chops are also very intimidating

to a lot of people. Seeing this former, I think he was, I think it was a Green Beret. He was a special forces, you know, coming in that voice and that presence. Yes, indeed. Very, you would never forget him. Very imposing, very imposing. But, but I also think very warm and very engaging. And yes, he did lead with the lamb chops, which I loved. I love that was so distinctly him. And so these are the ways that you remember somebody. These are their characteristics.

These are the things that are indelibly etched in your mind about him. The wonderful, wonderful man. All right, Linda Johnson Rice, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right, folks, one of those young upstarts

who looked at what Earl Graves did and wanted to follow in his footsteps is Keith Plinkscales. Keith, of course, was the founder of Vanguard Media, had owned Savoy Magazine, as well as Honey, Heart and Soul. Keith, I don't think people really, I mean, people who, they might read Black Enterprise, but an Earl Graves Sr. really meant something to those of us who committed ourselves to work in Black media because of all the barriers that they knocked down. I mean, Earl, he represented so much. He was basically the person that helped to establish what black media should be about. He helped us get black executives. He helped us get black business. And more importantly, he taught us the importance of politics.

You cannot make things work unless you put all these things together. And he created quite an amount of influence. And when you talk about that influence, as somebody who stepped out there, worked at Vibe magazine, then launched his own company, share just some of those conversations, advice, you may have gotten. I mean, even though he was, look, you're a Kappa, I'm an Alpha, and he was in that other little fraternity,

Omega Psi Phi. And with, matter of fact, and Isi Phi. And I got some photos. They were not digital then. But I remember we were at some event and I got a photo of him, this huge laugh from him, because we were joking about, of course, him being Omega and me being an alpha. Well, I think very early on, Mr. Graves was kind of like the chairman. He was like the Don of all this stuff. And when I was at Vibe, very early on, he spoke with me and I was so excited to really meet him and get to know him.

And then his son, Butch, sat me down and kind of talked to me about the way things are in black media. And I felt that that was important. And from that whole time, I've been able to kind of be a part of the black enterprise family. And most of that was led by Mr. Graves, making sure that I not only had opportunities to talk to Butch and what else was going on, but when other opportunities came forward, I was considered. And that was something that was important um when you first of all i've heard you say this now three times you said mr graves and

then of course you had uh john a's johnson called mr johnson uh there's a level there's a level of respect that was that's been afforded to both of them uh because of their pioneering status in this space well yeah not just because of their pioneering status in this space. Well, yeah, not just because of the pioneering status. I mean what they did rolling. I mean, you know how hard advertising is, you know, how hard it is to run one of these businesses and you go back to 1970 as you so eloquently put two years after King a lot of things the black advertising that we've had today exists because of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Graves. They were courageous. They would go sit in people's

offices. They would explain the importance of this marketplace. So if we didn't have that, you wouldn't have anything today. I was fortunate to run Vibe, but by the time that happened, you're talking about almost 20-something years of essence, of Black enterprise, of 30 years of Ebony, and that helped to at least shape a marketplace. The thing that we have today where people understand the power of the Black marketplace, it comes very early on from people like Mr. Graves making sure not only to talk about just the market, but making sure people

got the opportunity for jobs, for positions. That's how that happened. And when you talk about creating folks in other different spaces, look, it was also validation of your business. If you were able to be in Black Enterprise

for those who are black journalists, the opportunities, whether to write for a BE, to write for an Ebony or Jet, to write for an Essence as well. And that's the thing I think people don't realize, those magazines served as a springboard for so many other different spaces. And not just in terms of whether you had a business

or you're a journalist. I mean, look at the people who worked at PR firms, the people who worked in other ancillary businesses, this whole ecosystem that these magazines created. Yeah, and Rowan, the other thing is just how black people expanded to other media, into radio and television and having influence in different places where the major advertisers were not as afraid of them because they got started to see the business in working with people of color. When you think about what has happened, especially if you had Ed Lewis on earlier, you look at how powerful Essence has made the black women's marketplace. A lot of that came from what Black Enterprise did

in terms of speaking about markets, speaking about the opportunities for people, showing black CEOs, showing people like Ken Chennault. Where does Ken Chennault come from? Ray McGuire. You see some of these executives come from. Ray McGuire, you know, you see some of these executives come along, you know, Miss Hughes, you know, when you see all these people,

they come through those pages, they come through that opportunity. This is a sad day, but at the same time, it's the foundation of what we have, and that's something that his family and Mr. Graves' legacy can be extremely proud of.

All right, Keith Cleanskills, we certainly appreciate it, man. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. All right, folks, right now I want to play a video, actually, that Black Enterprise folks put together on their YouTube channel saluting the founder, the will to carry that vision through. And thank goodness for Earl Graves. Earl G. Graves Sr. mapped out his vision for the first African-American magazine 40 years ago. When my father started Black Enterprise, his vision was creating a publication

that would provide how-to information for African-Americans to be successful in business as entrepreneurs. It's 1970. Money was tight for most African-Americans. They were hungry for a way to build wealth and power. And Graves was ambitious and gutsy enough to deliver a way. The advertising world had never seen anyone like him. First off, he had a very unique look, which is his sideburns. But he also was a dashing figure. And when I say that, I say that with every level of respect. He was well-dressed. His presentation was polished.

He knew exactly what he wanted to say. And he was determined. Married with three young sons, the 35-year-old, former assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy and former Green Beret, never took no for an answer, making the publication profitable by its ninth issue. When my father went on sales calls, he went out with this unique sales toolkit. And so he'd open up his kit, and he'd get to his first card, and then he would take people through what is Black Enterprise about.

I remember my father telling me a story in regards to how difficult it was for him to secure advertising. He went to go see a top advertising agency. One of the gentlemen looked at him and said, Black people only drive used cars and drink half pints of liquor. Why would we want to advertise in Black Enterprise? And he said it infuriated him, but he was cool about it. And he ultimately won the gentleman over and won the account over, over a period of time.

The fact that he's so authentic, I think that's why businesses listen to him. I think that's why the broader black community listens to him because everybody really respects what he says because they know he's really genuine about what he's saying. His vision has become a multimillion-dollar media empire that now encompasses black enterprise magazine, two award-winning television shows, a state-of-the-art website, iPad and mobile phone apps, world-class business conferences, and more. With a welcoming handshake, Graves has greeted policymakers from every arena, earning their respect as a trusted resource. Today, Black Enterprise is under the leadership of his son, CEO Earl Butch Graves Jr. The most important lessons I learned from my father was that he never put his family second. Because in his mind, success without sharing it with his family would not be success at all.

Married 50 years to wife Barbara, with three sons and eight grandchildren, Earl G. Graves Sr. still made time to hold seats on the boards of major corporations. I think Earl Graves shares a common characteristic of our founder, Don Kendall. And Don Kendall believes that everyone in the company should be a salesperson, regardless of whether you're in finance or HR or marketing or whatever. And Earl Graves was a salesperson for PepsiCo every day. I think the reason we got our products into American Airlines was because of Earl Graves was the salesperson for PepsiCo every day. I think the reason

we got our products into American Airlines was because of Earl Graves. He's a longstanding civil rights activist. He holds 70 honorary degrees and is a committed champion of education. It gives me great pride to announce a pledge of $1 million to my alma mater, than 60 years. His mission is to ensure that all Americans, including those of color, share in the American dream of equality and prosperity. This man has taken risk on behalf of all of us and has achieved greatly.

And I think for that, we're all achieving more for it. Congratulations. All right, folks. And again, that was a video that was put together by the folks at Black Enterprise. You heard in that video Earl Graves, Sr. talking about his alma mater, where he really got his business start at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Well, joining us right now is David Wilson.

He is the president of Morgan State University. President Wilson, glad to have you on the show. Roland, thank you for having me on this evening. Earl was in that other fraternity. We know what the real one is. I'm just joking. But it's so interesting. He really, really loved Morgan State. I'm sorry, but can you repeat that? I said he

really, really loved Morgan State University. Oh, I mean, Earl Gray Sr. was the epitome, if you will, of the Morgan graduate. He was the quintessential Morganite. He loved Morgan State, and Morgan State loved him back. I often say that in my 10 years as president at Morgan, and I have been in the company of Mr. Gray's, I mean, numerous times, I can count on one hand when I've seen him, and he did not have orange and blue on. I mean, he had the orange and blue bow tie, the blue blazer, and even would wear orange and blue checkered slacks. I mean, he really loved Morgan. And we loved him back. And as you know, as I was making my way into the presidency at Morgan, I reached out to him as I was leaving Wisconsin. I never met him and reached out to him

in 2010. And we had a great conversation. And and he said, you know, I think we should have regular conversations because it was a transition period. And so he and I spoke several times before I actually showed up at Morgan, and he gave me some wonderful guidance and great wisdom in terms of how to make sure that Morgan was connected to the business community. And then he came to Morgan and we had a personal conversation. And at the end of the personal conversation, he wrote me a check. And he said, look, I have contributed to my alma mater over the years. Of course, he gave us a million-dollar donation, and at the time, that was the largest in our history. But he said, take this check, Mr. President, and use it to go to business functions in and around Baltimore and Maryland and the region when I know as a state institution, you cannot use state money to do that. And I was so, I was so, so moved by the fact that he understood that as a

university president, it was important for me to really have the ear of the business community. And so I certainly took advantage of that and began to go to function the Greater Baltimore Committee here in Baltimore and to increase the Morgan presence. But I just really, really think very, very highly of Earl G. Graysinger. Well, he certainly did indeed love the university. It was interesting reading the backstory of how he really took advantage of homecoming at Morgan State by cutting deals with local florists and reselling those flowers on campus. And so he was focused on making money real early. Yeah, real, real early.

As a matter of fact, you know, a few years ago, as we were about to open a $90 million building there at Morgan to house the Earl G. Gray School of Business and Management, Butch and the family invited me up to kind of go through many of the things that he had accumulated over the years. And so to see a picture of those things, of course, we wanted to bring and put on display in the building. So, first of all, I was just overwhelmed with all of the honorary doctors that he had received. But what shared with me was the original kit that he used as he was getting Black Enterprise magazine off the ground. And he would literally go door to door. He still had his briefcase and how he would go selling ads. And it was just incredible to see that he had this acumen for entrepreneurship

early on. And he often told me that when he came to Morgan from Brooklyn, that he didn't really come to get the skills at Morgan to go and, quote, unquote, work for somebody else. He wanted to start his own business and to be his own boss. And immediately he started a grass-cutting business and would tell me, yeah, I saved my little knuckles and saved my little dimes and paid my way through Morgan in the process. So he was really destined for greatness and destined for success. And our current students at Morgan, former students, alums,

we just adore Earl G. Graves, Sr. David Wilson, President, Morgan State University. I appreciate you joining us for this tribute to the life and legacy of Earl Graves, Sr. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it, folks. In 2006, National Association of Black Journalists honored Earl Graves with their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Here is that ceremony. This year's history, the mission of Black Enterprise has always been to promote financial empowerment, encourage the establishment of minority-owned businesses, and highlight their accomplishments. No doubt, since its founding in 1970, that mission has been and continues to be accomplished. The face and visionary behind that brand is none other than Earl G. Graves, Sr. Taking a look back, Earl grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He went on to graduate from Morgan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army. After completing his enlistment as a captain in

the Green Berets, he would serve as an administrative assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. And here, during the turbulent yet progressive time, also known as the Civil Rights Era, Earl's vision and passion began to take shape. He started developing his nationwide reputation in business by forming a management consulting firm to advise corporations and major multinational companies on urban affairs and economic development. And two years later, alongside the work of raising three little boys with his wife Barbara, Earl founded Black Enterprise. Detailing the impact of Black Enterprise on the financial industry would like be trying to like trying to explain the Bible's significance on religion.

The magazine has a readership of nearly four million nationwide and a paid circulation of half a million. By the end of this year, the magazine projects revenues will exceed 60 million dollars. And that's before you even factor in its successful brand extensions from online features to golf tournaments to networking ski events. In a super competitive and rapidly changing magazine publishing industry, Earl has beat the odds and made Black Enterprise a model for business success. Now earlier this year, Earl passed the torch of Chief Executive Officer and President to his son Earl Butch Graves Jr.,

marking a milestone for the family-owned media company. But Earl Sr. remains as chairman and publisher. Now, it's certainly not a first night Earl has received a nod. He's gotten honorary degrees from over 60 colleges and universities. He received the NAACP's 1999 Spring Garden Medal, the civil rights organization's highest achievement award for African Americans. Last year, NABJ recognized Black Enterprise for marking its 35th anniversary. This year, NABJ salutes the man who has had his finger on the pulse of the world of business for the last 36 years and has never let it go. For these reasons and more, NABJ is proud to present the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award to Earl G. Graves, Sr. Gràcies. Good evening. I first want to thank Brian Gumbel.

I don't mean Brian Gumbel for the introduction. Al Roker, right. We get even with each other almost every time we're on the stage. Thank you. Good evening. My sincere thanks to all of you for that warm reception, and thanks also to the leadership of the National Association of Black Journalists for bestowing upon me this award for lifetime achievement. I know that it helps to be 105 to be honored for one's life achievements. So I'm flattered that the NABJ has chosen

to recognize me while I'm still young. I do need to share a short story. They gave me three minutes, but I figured three and a half and it's okay. This morning I was working out in the health club in the hotel, and there was a young man working out and then he was lifting weights and huffing and puffing,

and I was glad when he left because it was depressing to see what he was doing and I was not. And then in comes another young man, and he looks up and he goes, Wow, Mr. Graves. I said, How are you? As I was on the machine doing the best that I could, running, and he said to me, Wow.

I never thought. I said, Okay, fine fine and then he said how old are you so I said 71 he said wow why are you working out so I said to him let let me guess, you're on the hospitality committee of the organization, right? Anyway, true, absolutely true story. Seriously, what this award tells me is that somewhere along the way, I was able to make a contribution. And the fact that I've been included in such a distinguished company tells me that my contribution has mattered. Two of the great pioneers of African-American journalism were John B. Rustworm and Samuel E. Cornish, co-editors of Freedom's Journal,

the first African-American-owned and printed newspaper in the United States. In the journal's very first issue, published in 1827, Rustworm and Cornish printed these words, we wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoke for us. These words rang true just as for me when I founded Black Enterprise Magazine 36 years ago. My dream was a publication that represented it, empowered and spoke the truth about America's black business and professional class. To a degree, I think we've succeeded,

and if I have, then many of the people who are here tonight representing Black Enterprise are part of that, and I'd like to ask them to stand. Alfred Edmond is leading the charge. We're the black enterprise people. I told you guys to get your registration in earlier, be up closer. That's what happened. To a degree, I think I've succeeded because of the young people represented here, just as a whole generation of African-American publishers, reporters, and editorialists succeeded in bringing a measure of true dignity to the African-American story. And yet I fear that those words published by Rushworm and Cornish so long ago still ring true today louder than ever.

The nightmare of Katrina and its aftermath, the ongoing tragedy of the war in Iraq, the scourge of AIDS and the silent response within our community, the collapse of public education, the crisis of the African-American male, these and other issues are destroying the hopes and aspirations of a whole generation of our people. And with rare exception, I don't see the mainstream media asking why to the extent they should. I don't see elected officials being pressed hard for accountability and I don't see enough stories that illuminate our experience in ways that are truthful

that inspire social change. That's why the efforts of the esteemed members of this association cannot go unrecognized. You shine the spotlight on the issues that we as a people are facing, both in the black media and the mainstream. Clearly the moral imperative that drove our first African American journalist is just as strong today as it was for today's generation. That didn't quite come out the way it was supposed to, but it's all right. My message, particularly for the young men and women here this evening, is to continue the legacy of social justice,

embodied by those who came before you. Use your voice, your talent, and your influence to plead our cause, because if you don't, the question is, who will? Thanks again for this award. I pledge to continue to you to strive to be the very best. That was Earl Graves, Sr., getting the NABJ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. I had the pleasure, of course, in my career as a journalist to meet Earl Graves Sr., to meet John A. Johnson, Ed Lewis as well.

We've now lost Graves and Johnson, two of our pioneers. The bottom line is this here. If you dedicate your life to being in black media, you can't help but bow down to those figures the work that they have done the work they did uh to advance black business along the signs of of course robert abbott who found the chicago defender a.i scott who founded the atlanta daily world and of course the folks who found the pittsburgh courier uh frederick douglass and the north star and goes on and on and on the reality is that we needed Black Enterprise in 1970. We need Black Enterprise in 2020.

We need this show. We need others as well. Folks, I keep saying this repeatedly. We are now 23 years away from this nation being the nation's majority of people of color. And we showed you the video earlier of all the Black experts that we've had on this show talking about coronavirus over the last three weeks,

more than 50 folks discussing it. The reality is now, now that we're seeing the racial disparity numbers, someone tweeted this to me, Dr. Fauci and others at the White House, are now commenting on the racial disparities and the underlying reasons. Why is that important?

Because they just did it today. Mainstream media just started talking about those numbers in the last 24 hours. We've been talking about those numbers for the past month. If you don't understand why black media is important, then you better understand this, and that is without black media, our stories are not centered.

Our stories are not top of the line. They come behind everyone else. And so we certainly thank Earl Graves Sr. May he rest in peace for what he contributed to African Americans, to black business, but simply to America,, to black business, but simply to America. Because without black enterprise, you would not have the stories that were being focused and profiled.

You would not have African Americans rising in corporate America. The role that they play to force corporate America to promote African Americans the same way you had Sam Lacey and others who promoted Jackie Robinson. Exact same thing. We understand all of these things are linked. So we certainly appreciate his life and legacy, which is why we want to do this tribute.

He wouldn't get the accolades properly in mainstream media, but that's why we exist here at Roland Martin Unfiltered. Please support what we do. We're averaging 10 million views a month. We're, of course, growing in our YouTube channel, nearly 500,000. Of course, we live stream across all three platforms, YouTube, Facebook, and Periscope,

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It has an impact on us and our advertising dollars, so your dollars are going to make it possible for us to deliver you this kind of content every single day, which is why we are here. Thanks a bunch. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Holler! © transcript Emily Beynon Thank you. Every single night, we've got some of the top black experts. You're not going to see them on cable news or broadcast news because you swear black people aren't experts when it comes to this health crisis. That's why we have this show and why we do what we do every day on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Joining us right now is retired General Russell Honore.

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