[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO EARL GRAVES, PUBLISHER, BUSINESSMAN, AND MORGAN STATE ALUMNI

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                           HON. KWEISI MFUME

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 1996

  Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to Earl Graves, a 
nationally recognized authority on African-American business 
development and an alumnus of my alma mater, Morgan State University in 
Baltimore, MD.
  On August 9, 1995, Morgan State University president Dr. Earl 
Richardson announced that the Morgan State School of Business and 
Management would be renamed the Earl G. Graves School of Business and 
Management. This high honor was due in part to Earl's entrepreneurial 
vision which has guided Black Enterprise magazine through 25 years of 
publishing and in part to his strong commitment to higher education.
  As the publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, Earl has been one of 
the Nation's leading advocates for upscale black professionals, 
executives, entrepreneurs, and policy makers in the private and public 
sector. Earl has also applied much of what is discussed in his magazine 
to his professional life: he is the chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola of 
Washington, DC, the largest minority-controlled Pepsi-Cola franchise in 
the United States. The company covers a franchise territory of more 
than 400 square miles including Washington, DC and Prince Georges 
County, MD. Earl is also a General Partner of Egoli Beverages, the 
Pepsi-Cola franchise bottler of South Africa.
  Earl has been very active in supporting historically black colleges 
and universities, with the recent contribution of $1 million to our 
mutual alma mater, Morgan State University. President Clinton praised 
Earl's contribution as ``an investment that will pay great dividends 
for the next generation and beyond, and I hope one that will encourage 
others to follow Earls lead and do their part to help expand 
opportunities in business and education for African-Americans.''
  In addition to his tremendous successes in business, Earl Graves has 
also been intimately involved in trying to improve the lives of all 
Americans. He served as an administrative assistant to Senator Robert 
F. Kennedy from 1965 to 1968: following Senator Kennedy's assassination 
Earl formed his own management consulting firm to advise corporations 
of urban affairs and economic development.
  Earl Graves has also been a long and active advocate of the Boy 
Scouts of America; he currently serves as the vice president, 
relationships/marketing and on the executive board of the national 
office.
  The list of organizations on whose boards he voluntarily serves is as 
extensive as it is impressive: New American Schools Development 
Corporation, TransAfrica Forum; the Glass Ceiling Commission; American 
Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, and is chairman of the Black 
Business Council. Earl also serves on the board of selectors of the 
American Institute for Public Service, the executive committee of the 
Council on Competitiveness, the advisory council of the Character 
Education Partnership, and the board of directors of the Associates of 
Harvard University's Graduate School of Business Administration.
  Despite all of these honors and responsibilities, Earl does not rest 
on his laurels. He continues to remain an active participant in all of 
his endeavors--a perusal of his monthly essays on the Publisher's Page 
of Black Enterprise magazine often leads the reader to consider such 
important issues as affirmative action and the fate of our national 
economy.
  While this may be but a brief overview of the many accomplishments 
and contributions of Earl Graves to our Nation, it is clear that he is 
a remarkable man. The fact that he is willing--indeed, eager--to share 
his gifts makes him all the more extraordinary. We as a nation are 
certainly lucky to have citizens like Earl Graves among us, and it is 
an honor to be able to salute him.

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