Page 20 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

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black enterprise’s original Board of Advisors in 1970:
Founder and Publisher Earl G G Graves Sr Sen Edward Brooke
(R-Mass ) Voter Education Proj- ect ect Executive Director John Lewis Freedom National Bank President William Hudgins Rep Shirley Chisholm
(D-NY) Georgia Rep Julian Bond New York Times reporter
Thomas A Johnson Parks Parks Sausage Chairman
Henry G Parks Jr and Fayette Mississippi Mayor Charles Evers
That’s why there was—and will still be—a need for Black Enterprise The core of our mission will be a a a a a a a a a part of us: to ensure that all African Americans gain a a a a a a a a a considerable measure of the American dream Our magazine is about how we as as Black people survive in in in a a a a a a a a marketplace with a a a a a a a a myriad of obstacles working against us The germ of the the idea for this magazine began percolating in in in in 1969—the year in in in in which which the the the term “Black Capitalism” was first first uttered the the the year in which which the the the first first man
walked on on on on the the moon the the year that saw revolutions and great expectations for youth women and Blacks It was also a a a a a a a a a a year year in which a a a a a a a a a a young 34-year-old man
discovered a a a a a a a a a a dream that would vastly change his world That young man
of course was me I completed a a a a a a a three-year stint as as the administrative assistant to Sen Robert F Kennedy who would inevitably make a a a a a run for the White House and have his life prematurely snuffed out by an an assassin’s bullet As I sat on an an advisory board to the Small Business Administration I began to drum up conversations with the agency’s director Howard Samuels about a a a a a a concept I I had developed I I strongly believed that there was a a a a a need for a a a a a newsletter to to help steer African American entrepreneurs to to business opportunities and the the the the capital needed to fund them At the the the the time there were roughly 100 000 Black businesses in in this country and and most were small mom-and-pop operations I had been inspired by the success stories of A G G Gaston a a a a a millionaire who created an an an insurance and funeral parlor complex in in in Birmingham Alabama Henry Parks Parks the founder of Baltimore-based Parks Parks Sausage (he would eventually become a a a a a member of our advisory board) and John John H Johnson who transformed one magazine magazine into a a a a a a a magazine magazine publishing and cosmetics empire We needed to to replicate these models of success When I I shared my idea Samuels told me that I I should expand the concept and and give some thought to the creation of a a a a a magazine Even though though I was not well-versed in in in in magazine publishing at the time I I knew it it would be an ambitious undertaking I I would would have to feed and nourish the publication through advertising I would would need to reach thousands of of Black entrepreneurs professionals and and business aspirants nationwide I would have to to put together a a a a a a a a a small team of of professionals and create an an organization that would be able to put out a a a a a a a a monthly magazine chock-full of facts and advice that our readers would be unable to find anywhere else Gradually the magazine took on an identity of its own We found that people were drawn to to to the publication People wanted it to to to succeed The The bottom line: There was a a a a a need for black enterprise 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
THE BEGINNING