THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
"No Matter What People Tell You, You're Not As Good As You Think You Are."
Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) president of media sales Louis Carr was born May 3, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Lillian Cheers Carr and boxing trainer Lewis Carr were members of the Nation of Islam (NOI). Carr attended Muhammad’s University of Islam, Bidler Elementary School, and J. Sterling Morton Junior High School, and graduated from Lane Technical High School in 1974. A high school track star, Carr was part of a world record-breaking mile relay team, despite a severe hamstring injury. Attending Drake University on a four-year track scholarship, Carr graduated with his B.A. degree in broadcast journalism in 1978.
Carr worked as a customer service representative for Bankers Life Insurance Company until 1980, when he joined New York Life Insurance Company. In 1984, Carr joined Johnson Publishing Company as a salesman. Soon after, Carr was invited to work for Black Enterprise magazine in 1985. Carr was recruited to work at BET. Carr worked to convince sponsors of the viability of the African American market. Carr is president of media sales for BET and is responsible for the strategic planning to generate revenue for BET, the company's flagship; BET J, their flanker network for a mature audience, and BET.com.
Carr is also CEO and president of TV, LLC, (Tweetie Ventures) which is a real estate company that owns and manages multi-family apartment buildings in Chicago. Additionally, he is chairman of the Louis Carr Internship Foundation, which provides paid internships for students of color. Carr serves on the Board of Directors of The Advertising Council, the American Advertising Federation, the Cable Advertising Bureau and Boys Hope Girls Hope.