About this issue.

They built empires on blood, sweat, and dreams. They spawned a different breed of entrepreneur--part bootstrap, part innovator, part deal maker. They became leaders of an entrepreneurial revolution, developing an array of groundbreaking products and services while, at the same time, creating access, wealth, and power for a people.

They are known as the BE 100s, the nation's largest black-owned businesses.

For 30 years BLACK ENTERPRISE has chronicled the exploits and achievements of the African American titans who run these companies. The BE 100s CEOs have made significant contributions to mainstream America, changing the business paradigm, adding much needed diversity to the nation's entrepreneurial class, and creating lasting brands. Where would this country be without Ebony magazine, the Motown sound, the Essence woman, Black Entertainment Television, Park Sausages, Ariel Mutual Funds, and hip-hop courtesy of Def Jam? That's not to mention the legions of business owners who have hawked Big Macs, Whoppers, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pepsi-Cola, Steelcase furniture, and autos from the Big Three--General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler--as franchisees, distributors, and dealers.

Such contributions made by past and present BE 100s CEOs like John H. Johnson, Berry Gordy, Bob Johnson, Russell Simmons, George and Joan Johnson, Reginald Lewis, and A.G. Gaston--the black business pioneer we named "Entrepreneur of the Century" a decade ago--are responsible for the development of the massive black consumer market, historic business deals, and some of the nation's largest cultural and commercial exports. Through three wars, four recessions, and seven presidential administrations, these bold entrepreneurs have changed American business. And, in many cases, they have been able to make remarkable strides using meager resources and fighting institutional racism.

Now the BE 100s operate in a new era that has changed dramatically within the last year. Sept. 11. War. Recession. Enron. These events have produced a more unpredictable and turbulent business environment. As a result, many of our companies--from industrial/service concerns to financial service firms--took severe blows to their customer base, payroll, and bottom line. But this generation of BE 100s CEOs, like their predecessors, refuse to fold. When CEO J. Donald Rice Jr. of New York-based Rice Financial Products saw his office, which was located in the north tower of the World Trade Center, decimated during the Sept. 11 attacks, he didn't crumble. He immediately made calls to employees, purchased new computer hardware, and had set up shop in his home by the next day. Despite the tragedy, the firm increased its business by 19.8% in 2001. "The BE 100s represent a class of entrepreneurs who will not be deterred by hardship and adversity," says Editor-in-Chief Alfred A. Edmond Jr., who has covered these companies for 15 years. "These times have forced them to become more innovative, more cost conscious and client focused. Besides their ability to build better mousetraps, many of these CEOs will drive the growth of their enterprises through the application of sheer will."

Tenacity has marked the upward surge of the BE 100s for three decades. Regardless of the era, that quality will always be a part of the legacy of the BE 100s, passed down from one generation of CEOs to the next.

--The Editors