← B.E. 40th ANNIVERSARY COVER GALLERY

nd-1997-JUNE

By Alfred Edmond, Jr. | Published August 8, 2010 | Full size is 500 × 320 pixels

In celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the BE 100s – the rankings of the largest black-owned businesses – in the June 1997 issue, our editors recognized the “Marathon Men,” leaders of the five companies on every listing since its inception. They were John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Co., the parent of Ebony and Jet magazines and Fashion Fair Cosmetics; Herman J. Russell of H.J. Russell & Co., the largest black-owned construction company; Clarence Smith and Ed Lewis of Essence Communications Inc., publisher of Essence Magazine; Nathan Conyers of Conyers Riverside Ford; and Earl G. Graves, Sr. of Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., publisher of BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine. To date, Johnson Publishing, H.J. Russell & Co. and Earl G. Graves Publishing are the remaining BE 100s perennials

In celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the BE 100s – the rankings of the largest…