Maggie L. Walker & Earl Graves Sr.
Black Business Icons
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21m
Maggie L. Walker and Earl Graves, Sr. were born decades apart, but both understood the importance of economic independence for the Black community. Maggie L. Walker, the daughter of an Irish confederate soldier, saw her opening when the Independent Order of St. Luke’s needed help with membership and finances. In 1903, she started a bank, a newspaper, and a department store in response. Earl Graves, Sr. believed in the power of the Black dollar. In 1970, he convinced advertisers of the need for them to market to Black people. With the money he raised from advertisers, along with a one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollar loan, he started Black Enterprise Magazine, which is still in publication today.
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