[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 87 (Friday, May 8, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF EARL G. GRAVES, SR.

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                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 8, 2020

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life and 
legacy of Earl G. Graves, Sr., a business icon, civil rights legend, 
and close friend to my grandfather.
  Born in Brooklyn in 1935, Mr. Graves was the child of hardworking 
immigrants from Barbados and Trinidad. After graduating with a business 
degree from Morgan State University and spending time in the United 
States Army, he moved back home to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood 
and immediately began serving his community.
  As part of his organizing work, Mr. Graves helped organize a rally 
for my grandfather, Robert F. Kennedy in the mid-1960s. My grandfather 
was so impressed that he offered Mr. Graves a job almost immediately as 
an administrative assistant in his Senate office. From there, he used 
his business acumen to launch a newsletter to support the Black 
business community, which eventually evolved into Black Enterprise.
  More than just a conventional publication, Black Enterprise lifted up 
the successes of Black businessmen and women. Within its pages, Mr. 
Graves empowered his community and gave voice to minority-owned 
businesses across the country. He led by example, and our nation is 
better for the course he set.
  Beyond his professional career, Earl was a devoted husband to Barbara 
Kydd and a loving, proud father of three sons, Earl Jr., John, and 
Michael.
  As they mourn his loss and as this Nation that he helped build 
celebrates his memory, our hearts are with every single person whose 
life he touched.

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