It all started nearly four decades ago with an idea: Without economic empowerment, the hard-fought political and social gains of the civil rights movement would never result in true freedom and equality for black Americans. That idea gave birth to a mission: to educate, inspire, and uplift black Americans by showing them how to thrive professionally, economically, and as empowered, proactive citizens. That mission, in turn, became the imperative that led to the creation of a magazine called BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Beginning with our very first issue, published in August 1970, we clearly stated our intent: “Lacking capital, managerial and technical knowledge, and crippled by prejudice, the minority businessman has been effectively kept out of the profitable corner of the American marketplace. We want to help change this.” And 37 years later, we are still committed to ensuring that all black Americans gain the opportunity to participate in the free enterprise system and secure a considerable measure of the American Dream.
However, while our mission remains largely the same, just about everything about how we carry out that mission is changing. After spending our first three decades as a single-title magazine publishing company, BLACK ENTERPRISE has been in a state of transformation over the past 10 years, emerging as a true multimedia brand for the 21st century. Indeed, a new generation of corporate leadership, led by my eldest son, President and CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr., is carrying out my vision in ways I could scarcely have imagined back in 1969. They are creating a diverse portfolio of media products and platforms designed to serve BE’s influential audience of financially savvy, entrepreneurial African Americans, as well as the companies that want to engage and do business with that audience. This portfolio of properties–ranging from interactive Web content and live events to television and radio–is designed to bring BE’s unparalleled combination of information and inspiration to you whenever and wherever you need it, whether you are a new college graduate looking to buy your first home, a young couple intent on accumulating wealth during your peak earning years, or a successful entrepreneur determined to establish a legacy of multigenerational wealth. As a result, BE’s mission is no longer limited to the 3.9 million readers of our magazine but extends to a much broader audience of Web visitors, radio listeners, television viewers, and event attendees. In fact, more than a third of the annual revenues earned by our company are generated by media products other than our magazine–a trend we fully expect to continue as we move forward. At the same time, our ventures in other areas of the media marketplace are designed to strengthen the revenue potential of the magazine as well.
Take our foray into television programming as an excellent example. In the past three years, in partnership with Chicago-based Central City Productions, we’ve launched not just one, but two top quality programs hosted by a pair of the most accomplished and respected journalists in the television news business. Our World with Black Enterprise, hosted by Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Ed Gordon, is unduplicated as a powerful and uplifting weekly news and lifestyle program. Our World features headline celebrity profiles, provocative and intelligent roundtable discussions, and riveting human-interest stories. In addition, each week, Gordon, one of the best interviewers in broadcast journalism, goes one-on-one with the best, brightest, and most compelling personalities in black America, ranging from U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to rapper-actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, to the cast of the hit movie Dreamgirls.
Our second show, Black Enterprise Business Report, hosted by Emmy nominated and former CBS 2 News co-anchor Shon Gables, is must-see TV for those who are passionate about black entrepreneurship, financial empowerment, and building wealth–yes, I’m talking about you. Premiering this past June, Black Enterprise Business Report is business and financial television at its best, featuring interviews with today’s most prolific power players, from billionaire BET founder and Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert L. Johnson to Deborah C. Wright, the CEO of Carver Federal Savings Bank, the nation’s largest black bank. But the real focus of the show is you. Each week Gables interviews
leading financial experts and the editors of BE for a wealth-building segment designed to give you information and strategies you can use to eliminate debt, boost your credit, and achieve your financial goals. In addition, Careers/Lifestyle Editor Sonia Alleyne shows you ways to enjoy the fruits of your wealth-building efforts in our “Luxe Life” segments. Simply put, there is no other show like it on television.Take it from me, once you check out these great shows, you’ll want your BE TV every week. But if you miss an installment of one of our programs (or forget to set your DVR), don’t worry: You can now watch previously aired segments of both Our World with Black Enterprise and Black Enterprise Business Report right from your laptop computer. The Media Center at our totally redesigned Website, www.black enterprise.com, represents yet another upgrade to our burgeoning media portfolio. That’s not the only new feature you’ll experience at our newly relaunched site. The news and information available at BlackEnterprise.com is more robust, accessible, and up-to-the-minute than ever, thanks in part to exciting new partnerships with such online content providers as AOL/Black Voices and columnists providing exclusive coverage from Hollywood to Wall Street. Once again, our goal is to provide you with the tools you need to put your wealth-building plans into action. Want to take the plunge into entrepreneurship? Check out
our small business channel and search hundreds of opportunities with our franchise directory. Ready to take your career to the next level? Get employment tips and post your résumé at our career center. Determined to go from debt-challenged to wealth builder? Learn the 10 principles that comprise our Declaration of Financial Empowerment and download your very own Black Enterprise Wealth Building Kit. Looking to buy your first home? Your timing couldn’t be better. While you are visiting BlackEnterprise.com for home buying tips, be sure to enter our third annual Own Your First Home Contest for a chance to win $10,000 toward the down payment on your new home.If it sounds like I am excited about BE’s ability to help you to achieve your goals and aspirations in more ways than ever before, it’s because I am. Evidence of my unflinching and long-held belief that our greatest history lies ahead of us–as a company and as a people–is more apparent than ever. As we celebrate the 37th anniversary of the birth of the BLACK ENTERPRISE brand and mission, with all of the change our company has experienced and all of the change to come, one thing will always remain: Our absolute commitment to enriching, uplifting, empowering, and increasing the wealth and quality of life of all African Americans–today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.