WASHINGTON—Barbara Kydd Graves, the wife of the publisher of Black Enterprise Magazine who aided in the growth of the publication and media company, died Friday.
Black Enterprise said in a statement that Graves had been fighting gall-bladder cancer for more than three years when she died at Howard University Hospital in Washington. She was 74.
Graves, the wife of Black Enterprise founder and publisher Earl G. Graves Sr., was involved in the magazine from its start in 1970. She held a number of positions with the company including chief financial officer and circulation director.
In 2010, in a magazine column commemorating the publication’s 40th anniversary, Earl Graves wrote that in the early days his wife “did just about everything there is to do” to put out a magazine. She wrote and edited, designed layouts, served as the sales director and office manager and “was vice president in charge of shutting down the publisher’s bad ideas,” Graves said.
The monthly magazine now has a circulation of 500,000 in the United States and a readership of 4 million according to Black Enterprise.
Barbara Graves, an elementary school teacher and graduate of Brooklyn College, met her husband on a blind date while he was in the Army.
“She was very attractive, very bright, and not impressed at all by my, you know, Army outfit on,” Earl Graves said in a 2006 interview with civil rights leader Julian Bond that was done for The HistoryMakers, a video archive of African American oral histories.
Disco Queen’s last dance:
Donna Summer dead at 63
The beloved Disco Queen has danced her last dance. Donna Summer, the cherished 1970s pop icon and singer of such mega-hits as “On the Radio” and “Bad Girls,” has died, leaving a legion of adoring fans tweeting fond remembrances. Summer, a five-time Grammy winner, left her platform-shoe print indelibly planted in the annals of music history, carving out a new, synthesized sound that one columnist called “as radical as punk.” Nearly every tune the disco diva cranked out became an instant anthem with her soaring vocals and epic beats. Summer gave kids a reason to party on Saturday night, and without her, the modern discotheque wouldn’t exist as we know it. Rest in peace, hot stuff.
Even if your family’s swimming in money like Uncle Scrooge (and if you are, congrats), we all appreciate a good bargain. Summer camp is an especially stressful financial issue because while we want our children to have a fun, rewarding and safe experience, we don’t want to dig into our 401Ks to pay for it. One thing we’ve learned is that cost and quality don’t always correlate. Some wonderful programs are subsidized by arts and education funding so that all children can experience the rich and amazing resources of this city.
Introduction
The holiday of Cinco De Mayo, The 5th Of May, commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico, and especially in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually September 16.
NEW YORK CITY NAMED ONE OF THE NATION’S 100 BEST COMMUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE BY AMERICA’S PROMISE ALLIANCE AND ING
In a celebration of America’s young people and the communities most dedicated to helping local youth graduate from high school, America’s Promise Alliance has announced the 2011 100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING. This year, more than 300 communities in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., were nominated for thecompetition. Twenty-two communities are now five-time winners and 29 communities are first-time recipients of the honor. New York City was recognized for the 4th time as one of the best communities for youth.
The entire 2011 list of 100 Best Communities for Young People and their accomplishments can be found at www.americaspromise.org/100Best.
Deadline May 18, 2012 ! Click to fill out an application.
