Seaway Bank and Trust Company

Stephen B. Starr Design first designed the annual report for Seaway Bank in 1995 and became their trusted voice when it came time to present themselves to stockholders. The largest black-owned bank in the U.S., Seaway was an institution on Chicago’s south side. It opened in 1965 during a period when racial discrimination in lending practices was a chronic problem for black-owned businesses and black people seeking real-estate loans.

Walter E. Grady served as President of the bank over 30 years, with Jacoby Dickens serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1979 until his death in 2013. Dickens’ wife Veranda L. Dickens served as Chairman from 2014 until the bank was sold in January 2017 to the State Bank of Texas.