February 16, 2007
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Profile America for the 16th day of Black History Month. There was no question Reginald Lewis was smart after graduating from Virginia State University, he earned a law degree from Harvard. Following a brief stint with a top law firm, he set up his own corporate practice. After almost 20 years, he created a venture capital firm and became a master investment deal maker, topped by the acquisition of Beatrice International Foods in 1987. The largest black-owned and managed business in the U.S., and the first to have more than a billion dollars in annual sales. It was the top African-American firm for 11 years running, one year reaching $2.2 billion in sales. Of the 1.2 million black-owned businesses in the U.S., nearly 11,000 have annual revenues of more than $1 million. This special Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.