Earl Graves Sr., son of Barbadian Americans and founder of the first black-owned magazine in the United States which focused on African American entrepreneurs, died last month in New York. He was 85.
“Graves, Sr.”Graves, who was born in Brooklyn to Earl Godwin and Winifred Graves, both children of Barbadian immigrants, reportedly suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
He attended Morgan State University, graduating in 1958 with a degree in economics. He worked in politics, including the campaign of eventual President Lyndon B. Johnson and as an administrative assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Graves was later named to the advisory board of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
While at the SBA, he developed the idea for a magazine to focus on African Americans in business. That led to “Black Enterprise” magazine being launched in Aug. 1970.
Graves was awarded the NAACP Springarn Medal, the highest award for African Americans, in 1999. Morgan State University named its business school the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management.
