One thing about Trell Thomas is he’s going to celebrate, promote and pour into Black Excellence. Thomas has been the mastermind behind The Excellence Brunch since 2018. The founder and CEO created the “family style brunch modeled after the Sunday dinners that were a signature at his home in South Carolina” to establish community and to pay homage to the Black and excellent professionals among us—across industries, BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported.
Thomas’s soirée has crisscrossed the United States, taking place at venues in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Disney, just to name a few. The tastemaker has even carried The Black Excellence Brunch across the Atlantic to the mother continent—as part of Ghana’s annual invitation to Black diasporans to return home. Thomas brought all the bells and whistles as per usual.
However, Thomas’s most recent Black Excellence Brunch on Mother’s Day in Atlanta was a bit different. While Thomas honored attending mothers and industry talents including Cynthia Bailey, Quad Webb and Le’ Andria Johnson—he was also able to celebrate his own mom who is the very inspiration behind The Black Excellence Brunch. BE caught up with Thomas to talk about the event, and to find out what’s tried and true and what’s new for The Black Excellence Brunch.
BLACK ENTERPRISE: Share the difference and feelings you have for your very first Black Excellence Brunch vs. this last Mother’s Day event.
Trell Thomas: The feeling from the first Black Excellence Brunch to this recent one for Mother’s Day gives me this overwhelming feeling of joy. It honestly felt like a full circle moment, being able to have my mom who all of this is inspired by there and to celebrate her in that way. The brunch would not exist had it not been for the very intentional tradition of Sunday dinner that she carried out in our home when I was growing up. She is the blueprint for Black Excellence Brunch.
I witnessed you serving plates at the Mother’s Day Brunch, talk about you the many hats you wear beyond being the creator and founder.
It’s very important to me to keep the elements of Sunday dinner intact so that people don’t feel like they are at some “stuffy” Hollywood event but that they are at “home” with family so I treat my role at Black Excellence Brunch like a host inviting you to their home and around their table. If that means serving food, then I do it, my goal is always to provide hospitality, comfort and to celebrate my guests. A lot of people come to an event and look at the person leading it for guidance— my hope is that if they are looking at me, they feel safe to let their guards down and show up authentically.
So far, the New Orleans Brunch experience has been my favorite. Do you have a favorite, if so, which one?
It’s so hard to choose a favorite but there are favorite things I have about each. I can say that the one we did in Ghana is at the top of my list. There were so many emotions that I felt. I actually remember shedding tears of joy about the experience. I was so nervous about how the brunch would be received in the motherland and I didn’t know anyone that was invited to the event, which is not typical but everyone was so welcoming and loving. It was everything that I hoped it would be!
What does the future of Black Excellence Brunch? What’s the next stop?
The future of Black Excellence Brunch brunch is bright! We have some amazing things planned and are excited to show up in spaces like CMA Fest and ABFF bridging gaps and shining a light on Black Excellence! You can also expect to see us on the big screens soon!
What do you want attendees and honorees to take away from the Black Excellence Brunch experience?
I want them to walk away with a stronger knowing of their value and to feel celebrated. I want attendees to have a desire to share their experience not just in the sense of having people want to attend, but to spread the love they felt there to someone else who may need it.
Ida Harris
Ida Harris is an essayist and journalist writing at the intersection of Blackness and womanhood. Ida’s is a published author whose work is included in the newly released anthology Bigger Than Bravery: Black Resilience and Reclamation in a Time of Pandemic. Her work is featured in Boston Review, Teen Vogue, ELLE, Essence, Yes! Magazine, USA Today and more. As a New York native she represents South Jamaica, Queens—and considers the South home. Ida is currently Director of Digital Content for BLACK ENTERPRISE