25 years of covering the nation's largest black businesses.

PRIOR TO THE LAUNCH OF BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine in 1970, black business--with the exception of such prominent black-owned enterprises as Motown Industries and Johnson Publishing Co.--was invisible. Perhaps the most important role BE has played over the past quarter-century has been to reveal, define and document that black companies not only exist, but they are a significant indicator of the African-American economic condition. More important, they make critical contributions to the national economy.

There is no more authoritative barometer of the impact of black business than the BLACK ENTERPRISE 100s, the annual listing of the nation's largest black-owned companies. The anchor of BE's Annual Report On Black Business, the BE 100s is comprised of the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100 and the BE AUTO DEALER 100. When the first BE 100 list was published in June 1973, the nation's largest black-owned businesses (which included auto dealerships) generated a total of $473 million in sales. Today, the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100 alone is responsible for more than $6.7 billion in sales; the BE AUTO DEALER 100 adds another $5 billion. Whereas the original BE 100 were identified squarely with America's small business community, today's BE 100s are firmly entrenched among the nation's midsized and emerging growth companies.

But tracking the nation's largest black businesses involves far more than merely sales statistics. The trials and triumphs of the leading black businesses comprise a dramatic account of the African-American entrepreneurial legacy. The continuing story of Motown Records, the leveraged buyout of Beatrice International Foods, the initial public offering of BET Holdings and other chapters of black business history provide fascinating, informative and inspirational examples of how far black business has come in the past quarter-century.

The lives of entrepreneurs such as Berry Gordy, John H. Johnson, Herman J. Russell and the late Reginald F. Lewis have inspired generations of black business owners--several of whom are BE 100s CEOs today. Meanwhile, a new generation of BE 100s CEOs, including W. Don Cornwell, Russell Simmons, Karl Kani and Bob Johnson, are advancing African-American business further into the nation's economic mainstream and the global marketplace. These businesspeople, and others yet to emerge, have the potential to set the standard, not just for the next 25 years but well into the 21st century.

With in-depth overviews and rankings of the nation's largest black-owned financial institutions, insurance companies and investment banks, BE's Annual Report on Black Business is now the single most important measure of African-American business achievement. As we move toward the 25th Anniversary of the BE 100s and beyond, the existence and importance of black business will never again be in doubt.

RELATED ARTICLE: The annual report

1970

The first issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine is published in August. The cover story: a profile of Fayette, Miss., Mayor Charles Evers, who is also CEO of the Medgars Evers Shopping Center, named for his brother and a martyred civil rights leader.

1973

BE publishes the first Top 100 listing of the nation's largest black-owned businesses. The nation's largest black company is Berry Gordy's music recording company, Motown Industries, with sales of $40 million. Total sales of companies on the list: $473 million.

1977

The fifth anniversary of the BE 100 list. Total sales for the businesses listed is now $787.4 million. Thirty-two of the original Top 100 have appeared on all five lists.

1979

The BE 100 breaks the billion-dollar barrier, posting sales of $1.053 billion in 1978.

1981

This issue of BE, which features the 9th annual listing of the BE 100, is the first to be distributed on newsstands nationally.

1982

The 10th anniversary of the BE 100. Total sales of companies on the list: $1.9 billion. Fifteen of the original Top 100 companies have appeared on all 10 lists.

1984

Johnson Publishing Co., a publishing, TV broadcasting and cosmetics company with sales of $118 million, breaks Motown Industry's 11-year grip on the No. 1 spot on the BE 100.

1987

The 15th anniversary of the BE 100. Total sales of companies on the list: $3.3 billion. Ten of the original top 100 companies have appeared on all 15 lists. This is also the first year that the report is designated BE's Annual Report On Black Business.

BE honors Johnson Publishing founder and CEO John H. Johnson as Entrepreneur of the Decade.

1988

The BE 100 becomes the BE 100s, which is comprised of two lists: the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100 and the BE AUTO DEALER 100.

1990

Long Beach, Calif.-based Shack Woods & Associates, No. 1 on the auto dealers list with sales of $287 million, is recognized as BE's first Auto Dealer of the Year.

1990

With sales of $1.5 billion, TLC Beatrice International Foods, headed by Wall Street attorney Reginald F. Lewis, becomes the first BE 100s company to break the billion-dollar sales barrier. TLC replaces Johnson Publishing Co. as the nation's largest black-owned company.

1990

Due to rapid contraction of the financial services industry, BE merges its annual list of top black commercial banks with its list of top black savings & loan associations, creating the BE FINANCIALS list of the top 25 such black financial institutions.

1992

The 20th anniversary of the BE 100s. Total sales of companies on the list: $7.9 billion. Only seven of the original top 100 companies, including two auto dealerships, have appeared on all 20 lists.

1994

The BE 100s breaks the $10 billion barrier, with combined sales of $10.28 billion.

S&J Enterprises CEO Sam Johnson becomes the first two-time BE Auto Dealer of the Year.