In 1957, E. Franklin Frazier, the eminent black Sociologist criticized the Black business community as well as the black elite. He basically said that there is “no such thing as a successful black business”. E. Franklin Frazier would have a different opinion today if he had attended the Holiday Champagne Gala on December 12, 2008 at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. 

The Gala hosted by two of Alabama’s Preeminent businesses; Thomas, Means Gillis & Seay, P.C. & Medical Place, Alfred Seawright, Keela Seawright clearly revealed that there is such a thing as a successful black business. The Black and White elite of Alabama attended the affair. Some of the shrimp were as large as my hand and the pork tenderloin melted in your mouth. I think one 96-year-old attendee best described the enthusiasm of the night when she said: “ who needs to attend the Inaugural Ball after an affair like this?” 

 In the words of my dad, “You must honor the chair whether it is sitting, walking or lying down.”