National Urban League Mourns the Passing of Black Enterprise Founder Earl Graves

NEW YORK (April 18, 2020) -- National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said the world of Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs has lost its greatest champion with the passing of Black Enterprise Founder Earl G. Graves, Sr.

“Black Enterprise has helped to launch and nurture the careers of two generations of African American professionals and innovators,” Morial said. “Earl Graves was not just a chronicler of Black businesses and entrepreneurs, but a leader, and a role model for excellence in his own right.”

Morial said Graves’ life and work represent a blueprint for the National Urban League’s mission of economic empowerment for Black Americans.

“Graves demonstrated an almost perfect combination of intelligence, ambition, tenacity and passion in his career and in his personal life,” Morial said. “His influence can be seen everywhere from the humblest small businesses to the c-suites of the nation’s most influential corporations.”