Earl G. Graves, the founder of Black Enterprise, a nationally recognized black business magazine, was born on January 9, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. Both his mother, Winifred Sealy, and his father, Earl Godwyn Graves, influenced their son’s successful career. His mother led many community activities, and his father was … Read MoreEarl G. Graves Sr. (1935-2020)
Image Ownership: Hudson family Police official, business leader, and civil rights advocate Elbert T. Hudson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 16, 1920. Three years later, his family moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1924, his father, H. Claude Hudson, became president of the … Read MoreElbert T. Hudson (1920-2017)
Arnold Donald is an American businessman and CEO of Carnival Corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida. He has held the position since 2013. Prior to this position, he was a senior executive at Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri. Donald was born in 1954 in New Orleans, … Read MoreArnold Donald (1954- )
Herb Cawthorne, teacher, community leader, and news reporter, was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Roosevelt and Edythe Odrene Cawthorne in June 1947. He is the youngest of four children, including John, Elsa, and Edythe. He attended North Des Moines High School in Omaha from 1962 … Read MoreHerb Cawthorne (1947- )
“Image Ownership: Dudley M. Brooks/Washington Post” C. Payne Lucas, who co-founded Africare in 1970, established the largest and oldest predominately African American non-governmental organization (NGO). Since its founding, Africare has invested over $1 billion development-related projects in thirty-five African nations. Lucas has spent half a … Read MoreC. Payne Lucas (1933– )
Bernard J. Tyson was a leading figure within the field of healthcare and a notable African American businessman. Tyson was the chairman of the board and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. With 175,000 employees, including 18,000 physicians, and over ten million members in eight states and … Read MoreBernard J. Tyson (1959-2019)
Mellody Hobson is the co-CEO of Ariel Investments (AI), which was founded in 1983 by John W. Rogers Jr. With the continued growth of the African American middle class, the number of black investors has risen. Ariel Investments is one of the nation’s few African … Read MoreMellody Hobson (1969- )
Robert Frederick Smith is best known as the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a multi-billion-dollar private equity and wealth management company that employs over thirty thousand people around the world and focuses on the growth of firms that develop enterprise software. Forbes … Read MoreRobert F. Smith (1962- )
“Image Ownership: Studios Harcourt” Clothing entrepreneur Malamine Koné, was born in Mali on December 21, 1971, but now lives near Paris, France. He is most famous for creating the sport-clothing brand Airness in 1999. Fifteen years later, the clothing line is one of the most … Read MoreMalamine Koné (1971– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Born April 24, 1949, to working-class parents in Fort Dix, New Jersey, John Wendell Thompson climbed the high-tech world’s business ranks from entry level sales to executive positions at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and Symantec Corporation for a combined forty … Read MoreJohn Wendell Thompson (1949– )
