Building a business legacy.

IN 1957, A YOUNG MAN from Brooklyn named Earl G. Graves graduated from Morgan State College in Baltimore. Thirty-eight years later, Graves earned what is perhaps the ultimate honor an alma mater can bestow on a favorite son: having a school named after him.

"I always thought you had to be very old or dead before they started naming things after you," Graves, 61, said jokingly, moments after Dr. Earl S. Richardson, president of what is now Morgan State University announced that Morgan's business school would be renamed the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management.

However, the occasion of the announcement - the gala dinner celebrating the silver anniversary of BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine, held in New York last August 9 - represented far better reasons for a university to so recognize an alum. Not least among them was Graves' pledge of $1 million towards supporting entrepreneurial education at Morgan State - nearly three-quarters of which was raised from proceeds of the anniversary dinner. But perhaps most important among them is Graves' accomplishments since leaving Morgan, including becoming CEO of two of the nation's largest black-owned businesses: Pepsi Cola of Washington, D.C., LP and Earl G. Graves Ltd., the parent company of BE.

Graves, whose pledge represents the largest alumni gift ever to the university, sees his loyal support of his alma mater as simply a balancing of the books against the invaluable nurturing of ambition he received at Morgan as a student. "I remember how it felt to be a student on a campus with brilliant and dedicated professors demanding the best from us, while also being very supportive of us; and where associations with fellow students - bursting with ambition and dreaming of success - became lifelong friendships," he recalled. "My experience was not unique. Our historically black colleges and universities - our Hamptons, Spelmans, Howards, Fisks and Southerns - have a long and noble tradition of educating, training and nurturing our young people while bracing them against a world that is often cruel, unfair and fraught with threats to their very survival."

The fruits of Morgan State's investment in Earl Graves were in full view at the New York Marriott Marquis Grand Ballroom, the site of BE's 25th Anniversary Gala. More than 600 luminaries in the worlds of business, politics and corporate America turned out to celebrate the magazine and its publisher. President Bill Clinton spoke to the esteemed gathering live via satellite from the White House. During his remarks, Clinton described Graves' efforts to advance business education Morgan State as "an investment that will pay great dividends for the next generation and beyond, and I hope on, that will encourage others to follow Earl's lead and do their part to help expand opportunities in business and education for African Americans."

25 YEARS OF B.E. IN ONE ROOM

Even those accustomed to rubbing shoulders with the powerful and influential found BE's 25th Anniversary Gala overwhelmingly impressive. Those gathered to celebrate BE's quarter century as the premiere business publication for and about African American professionals, executives and entrepreneurs represented a literal who's who of business newsmakers featured in the magazine itself.

Hosted by former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, now chairman of Jackson Securities, and chaired by Chase Manhattan Corp. CEO Thomas Labrecque, the dinner attracted the power brokers of government and politics, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown and the Rev. Jesse Jackson; corporate America, including Maxwell House Coffee President Ann Fudge, Ben & Jerry's CEO Bob Holland and American Express Vice-chairman Kenneth I. Chenault; and black entrepreneurship, including BE 100s CEOs Johnson Publishing's John H. Johnson, TLC Beatrice Holdings' Loida Lewis, BET Holdings' Robert Johnson and Essence Communications' Ed Lewis. Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke was on hand to present Graves with Maryland's State Seal.

Dinner co-chairs included Paul A. Allaire, chairman & CEO, Xerox Corp.; Geoffrey C. Bible, president & CEO, Philip Morris Co. Inc.; Edward Brennan, chairman, president & CEO, Sears, Roebuck & Co.; Daniel Burke, chairman & CEO (retired), Capital Cities-ABC Inc.; August Busch, chairman & president, Anheuser-Busch Co. Inc.; Kenneth I. Chenault, vice-chairman, American Express Co.; John L. Clendenin, chairman & CEO, BellSouth Corp.; Ronald E. Compton, chairman, president & CEO, Aetna Life & Casualty Co.; Comer J. Cottrell, president & CEO, Pro-Line Corp.; Robert L. Crandall, chairman & CEO, American Airlines Inc.; Robert Eaton, chairman & CEO, Chrysler Corp.; and Edward & Bettyann Gardner, chairpersons, Soft Sheen Products.

Also: Dennis Hightower, president, Walt Disney Television & Telecommunications; John H. Johnson, publisher, chairman & CEO, Johnson Publishing Co. Inc.; Leo-Arthur Kemenson, chairman, Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt; Loida N. Lewis, chairperson, TLC Beatrice International Holdings; J. Willard Marriott Jr., chairman, president & CEO, Marriott Corp.; Richard D. Parsons, president, Time-Warner Inc.; Allen I. Questron, chairman & CEO, Federated Department Stores Inc.; Allen F. Ryan, chairman & CEO, Prudential Insurance Co. of America; Frederick V. Salerno, vice chairman, NYNEX Corp.; Maceo K. Sloan, chairman, president & CEO, NCM Capital Management Group, Inc.; Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president & CEO, Federal Express Corp.; John F. Smith, CEO, General Motors Corp.; Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher, the New York Times; Alex Trotman, chairman, Ford Motor Co.; Craig Weatherup, president & CEO, PepsiCola Co.; John F. Welch, chairman & CEO, General Electric Co.; J. Lawrence Wilson, chairman & CEO, Rohm & Haas Co.; and Robert Wright, president & CEO, National Broadcasting Co. Inc.

Labrecque was chosen to serve as chairman of the dinner because of the strong relationship established between BE and Chase Manhattan Bank, which made a loan to Graves that helped him launch the magazine in 1970. According to Labrecque, American business, as well as Chase, has enjoyed a significant return on that investment. "Over the past quarter century, BLACK ENTERPRISE has made a significant contribution to the success of African American professionals and entrepreneurs" he said. "The magazine has also had an immeasurable impact on driving positive change in the corporate world, allowing American business to take great advantage of this nation's diversity."

Gala guests were also treated to a video-taped history of the magazine, created expressly for the silver anniversary gala. In addition to documenting the evolution of BE, the video featured testimonial tributes from the likes of Maxwell House President Ann Fudge, NCM Capital Management Group CEO Maceo K. Sloan and comedian/entertainer Bill Cosby - all of whom have graced at least one of the 300 BE covers leading up to the 25th anniversary issue.

Fudge, one of the most highly ranked African American women in corporate America, spoke compellingly of her discovery of BE as she entered her freshman year at Simmons College. "I first picked up the magazine at the school library, because I, like many college students, couldn't afford to buy magazines," she recalled. "When I first read BE, I was particularly impressed with it because it was the first magazine that talked about black entrepreneurship and black economic development. When I started working and earning a living, I became a subscriber. That was more than 20 years ago."

NCM Capital's Maceo Sloan summed up what BE means to many of today's most aggressive African American business leaders: "BE maintains a very special place for me on the list of the publications that I read. It's one of the few publications that I read not only because it's a business necessity, but also because I enjoy it."

Cosby exhibited his unique brand of humor during his recollections of his initial discovery of the magazine more than two decades ago. "The magazine only had about one ad," he quipped. Cosby was so impressed with the magazine and its commitment to championing business opportunities for African Americans that he immediately wrote a check for a lifetime subscription. That check, for $100 (a round figure Graves came up with since he had no idea what to charge for a lifetime subscription), still hangs framed in the executive offices of Earl G. Graves Ltd. in New York.

A TRIBUTE TO MORGAN

For Graves, the occasion was almost as much a tribute to Morgan State, one of the nation's most prominent historically black institutions of higher learning, as it was a recognition of the magazine. The fact that the dinner was dedicated to the $1 million pledge Graves made to the university in May 1995 was only the beginning of Graves' expressions of gratitude and commitment to the institution.

For example, the featured entertainment for the dinner was provided by the Morgan State University Choir. The talented group had the dinner guests on their feet, inspired by their renditions of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice" and the beloved spiritual, "Amazing Grace." Later that evening, Graves led the choir in a rousing rendition of the Morgan State school song. In addition, several of Graves' classmates from Morgan attended the festivities.

Morgan State President Richardson is quick to point out that Graves' contributions to his alma mater did not begin with the 25th anniversary of BE or his $1 million pledge. "Earl Graves has been one of Morgan's most loyal and generous supporters over the years," Richardson says. "He and I have worked to chart a vision for the growth of the School of Business and Management, and this gift of $1 million will go far to ensure the future success of African Americans in business."

Graves' passion for entrepreneurial education stems from his own ambitions as a young business major at Morgan. "As a student at Morgan State, I was asked on a number of occasions why I was majoring in business," he recalls. "You see, in the 1950s, there were no corporations interviewing black college students for jobs after graduation, and there were very few visible businesses owned by African Americans.

"With the brashness of youth, my standard response was: 'I want to make a lot of money.' It might have been blunt, but it made clear m determination to not let too much of what had apparently been proscribed for my future to limit my choices."

Indeed, Graves did not allow himself to be denied by the low expectations of others. He went on to distinguished military service, eventually becoming a captain in the U.S. Army's Green Berets. Later, he became an aide to U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Now in addition to his businesses, he serves on the boards of major corporations, including the Chrysler Corp., Aetna Life & Casualty Co., Federated Department Stores Inc. and American Airlines Inc. In addition to Pepsi Cola of Washington, D.C., his success with BE has also led to ventures ranging from a partnership with a Pepsi Cola bottling operation in South Africa to the successful Black Enterprise/Pepsi Golf & Tennis Challenge, the first and only annual golf and tennis tournament for African American entrepreneurs and professionals.

The crown jewel of Graves' entrepreneurial achievements remains the magazine he launched in 1970, the first dedicated to chronicling the desires and efforts, the ambitions and achievements of black business. From the BE 100s, the annual listing of the nation's largest black-owned companies, to the rankings of the "Most Powerful Black Executives In Corporate America" and the "Hottest Blacks on Wall Street," no one has done more to quantify and bring value to the contributions of African Americans to American business and the national economy.

"The launching of BLACK ENTERPRISE became the realization of my youthful bravado," he asserts. "But more importantly, it brought into being an instrument that is committed to the task of educating, inspiring and uplifting its readers - showing them how to thrive professionally, economically and as proactive, empowered citizens. Now, when a young person says, 'I want to make a lot of money,' we are here to say, 'We believe you, and not only that, we'll provide the examples and information you'll need to do so successfully.' I believe that the number and quality of the people brought together by our silver anniversary gala is evidence that we've lived up to that commitment, and we'll continue to do so. "