Black In Business

What is it about the weekend, when I can sleep all day I am wide awake at 5:30am? During the week, many days when the alarm goes off at 6, I think I could easily last another 3 hours. This morning I got up and could have slept more but I could not wait to start making phone calls for my business as an executive recruiter.
This Saturday morning I came accross a TV show, Black Enterprise Magazine, in Chicago it came on 6am Saturday morning. Not exactly prime time but I am glad I was up. The topic was succession planning. This is a big coporate word, I first became aware of from 1990 on .Succession planning is where you plan to replace your key people in the event they are no longer employed for the firm. Any HR team worth their salt and many that are not, introduce succession planning. When done correctly, people are indentified early, provided developmental plans, which could include, training, assignments and different responsibilites enroute to suceeding this incubent.
Black Enterprise founded in 1970 and enjoying a current circulation of over 500,000 subscribers. The company founder is Earl Graves Sr, a Morgan State Graduate. I have often read Black Enterprise and their focus is on black business and black business people. It is one of the best known magazines in black America. Graves Sr has built an empire and has become a well known achiever and an inspiration for many. He has done a great job and will be big shoes to fill.
Often times we think rich and famous black people are immune to racism. In Graves Sr. best selling book, “How to Succeed in Business without being White,” he described times where banks refused to cash large checks because they could not believe a black man had a check so large. I had a major bank refuse to let me deposit a 400,000 dollar check because they said my credit was not good enough. I didn’t challenge, I thought if they were that dumb, some body would take my business. Not to give the wrong impression, I was getting my cash together for a house downpayment.I qualified for a jumbo mortage, car loans but could not open an account. This was in 1998, and I think accounts can be open today with discrimination, but clearly discrimination in banking was a problem then. Still I was shock that someone as dignified as Mr. Graves would encounter the same discrimination as me.
Graves’s son, Earl Graves JR, aka, Butch encountered a DWB, driving while black. He ended upped face down on the ground and hand cuffed. This was in thr Greater New York City area. I was glared at DWB, just last week by a white police woman leaving the United Center in my CLS 500 with my neighbor. He said wow that is a mean looking woman, I am glad she is not my wife. I thought I hope this b word does not pull me over. She was driving with 3 other cops and she decided to mess with some younger black men and pulled them over.
Raising a black family in a racist environment, running a business, being married over 40 years to the same woman, and keeping everyone out of trouble is no easy task.
Earl Graves Sr passed the tourch to Butch to be CEO. Butch has 2 brothers, one is VP of corporate sales, the other a Lawyer. They were both interviewed and spoke without rivalry, anger or disappointment. They showed complete support and respect for their new CEO. Their mother is Sr’s most trusted advisior and has been a Sr staff leader for most of the years since the magazine started.
Congratulation to both Earl Graves, Butch on the well deserverd promotion and Sr and showing us that blackmen can have it all and still head an excellent family unit.