Page 29 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

1971 1971 1973 1975 1978
BLACK ENTERPRISE becomes a profitable business after its first 10 months in in business BE unveils the the first list of the the Top 100—the nation’s largest Black-owned companies—in the June issue The roster becomes the annual barome- ter for Black business devel- opment The original Top 100 which included industrial service and professional companies had total sales
of of $473 4 4 million As of of 2019 the BE 100S has total revenues exceeding $38 billion BE subsidiary Earl
G G Graves Marketing & Research creates Black Consumer Index which at the time was considered the most extensive Black con- sumer study ever developed Graves diversifies the company to included radio stations KNOK-FM and KSAX-AM in the Dallas-Fort Worth Texas Metro 1988 1988 1988 1988 1994 1996
Earl
“Butch” Graves Jr joins the company as its national advertising vice president signaling the development of the second generation
of corporate leadership The June issue of BE expands the the the Top 100 100 to the the the BE 100S —the 100 largest industrial/service companies and 100 largest auto dealerships The rank- ings will continue to evolve
in in the areas of advertising and financial services In order to enable African American professionals
to build business relation- ships and facilitate deals
on golf courses and tennis courts BE introduces the Black Enterprise/Pepsi
Golf & Tennis Challenge It becomes the hot ticket for corporate power brokers and leading entrepreneurs over the Labor Day weekend BE launches the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference an event that grows into the largest gathering of African American business owners in in the nation 27
50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL