Jim Obergefell, named plaintiff in the lawsuit that resulted in national marriage equality, will receive Black Tie Dinner’s Equality Award at the event on Nov. 8.
TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editor
Nash@DallasVoice.com
The 44th annual Black Tie Dinner happens Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Sheraton Dallas Downtown, and this year’s senior Co-Chair Liliana Villareal this week said that the dinner will be “a celebration of the [LGBTQ+ community’s] resilience and unwavering commitment to equality” as well as a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community itself. “It will allow people to embrace our theme, ‘Still We Rise,’ and we aim for everyone to be empowered, educated and entertained,” she said.
Junior Co-chair Deirdre Coleman added, “I really want our guests to leave Black Tie feeling empowered, supported and reminded of the strength we have as a community. Nights like this show that we’re in it together. The words shared throughout the night will keep us motivated as we continue the fight for equality, in addition to knowing the money donated, will do so much.”
The 2024 dinner brought in $1.45 million that was distributed among 20 local beneficiaries and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, with a portion also going to the then-newly-established John Thomas Beyond the Tie Fund award recipient, LGBTQ SAVES.
This year’s proceeds will be distributed among the HRC Foundation and 20 local beneficiaries, including Abounding Prosperity Inc., ASD A Home for Life, Cathedral of Hope, Celebration Community Church, Dallas Hope Charities, Equality Texas Foundation, Finn’s Place, Galileo Church/NTTN, HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness, Kind Clinic, Legacy Cares, LGBTQ SAVES, Northaven United Methodist Church, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Resource Center, Synergy Wesley Foundation, Transition Resource Action Center, Turtle Creek Chorale, Uptown Players and The Women’s Chorus of Dallas.
The dinner will include the presentation of the Equality Award to marriage equality case plaintiff Jim Obergefell, the presentation of the Kuchling Humanitarian Award to Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black, presentation of the Richard Weaver Volunteer Excellence Award to Dena Batrice and the presentation of the Mike Anglin Trailblazer Award to Libby Gonzales.
Special guests and featured speakers include Congresswomen Julie Johnson and Jasmine Crockett, HRC President Kelley Robinson and former NFL player Carl Nassib, with Hayley Orrantia as the featured performer.
The co-chairs said they are thrilled to have Johnson and Crockett in the dinner’s lineup of speakers. Villareal noted that Johnson was the first openly-LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from the South and described Crockett as a “strong supporter and ally of the community,” and we wanted our audience to have the chance to hear both of them speak.”
Coleman said both congresswomen “work tirelessly for their constituents and show support for our community, and having them with us really means a lot. Their voices bring energy and hope, and I think they’ll inspire everyone in the room.”
The Equality Award
With the U.S. Supreme Court slated to begin considering whether to hear a case that could provide the court an opportunity to overturn marriage equality, and with the Texas State Supreme Court recently having issued a rules clarification allowing Texas judges to refuse to conduct same-sex weddings, Black Tie Dinner’s choice to recognize Jim Obergefell with the Equality Award is especially timely.
Villareal pointed out that Obergefell attended Black Tie a decade ago, just months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality in the case bearing his name. Having him at this year’s dinner to receive the Equality Award is “a reminder that, even a decade later it’s still necessary to defend existing rights like those established by Obergefell v. Hodges. It’s also the perfect illustration of our theme, ‘Still We Rise.’”
Obergefell himself agreed. “It’s incredibly meaningful to me to have been chosen to receive this award,” he said this week. “I never thought I would be part of something as wonderful and as meaningful [as the fight for marriage equality]. This fight is about our relationships and our love being treated as equal. It’s all about equality.
“And I love that the theme this year is ‘Still We Rise.’ That is something we can all remind ourselves of when we start feeling down about how things are now,” he continued. “Our community has been through so much recently, and things are really bad now. But we’ve been through horrible things before, and still, we rise. Every day we can wake up and tell ourselves that we can have an impact, and that we can choose to make that impact something positive. It means so much to me that Black Tie Dinner considers me someone worthy of being honored.”
With marriage equality again in the line of fire, Obergefell said he gets “really angry that there are people in this country who just aren’t happy unless they are attacking someone else, unless they are demonizing and harming someone else. It’s just cruel and vindictive. I am just angry and disheartened and disgusted that, 10 years later, instead of celebrating [the reality of marriage and of queer couples and families], here we are worried we will lose the ability to marry the person we love.”
Obergefell urged LGBTQ+ people and allies to “keep being who we are, keep celebrating queer married people, queer families. The more people get to know us, the more they realize, ‘Hey, they are no different than we are.’ That’s how we make sustainable change.
“And we have to use our voices to make sure our elected officials know how we feel about this,” he continued, urging people to focus on local and state elections “where we have the best chance of changing things right now. And we have to fight for every marginalized community, not just ourselves. The queer community includes every other community, and there is no place for misogyny or racism or transphobia in the queer community. We are just helping the extremists who hate us.”
Most of all, Obergefell stressed, “Remember, this is a continual fight. We can never just sit back and say, ‘Oh, we’re done.’ We are far from done. And we will continue to rise to meet the challenges our community faces.”
The Kuchling Humanitarian Award
Villareal explained that the Kuchling Humanitarian Award is given “to acknowledge the contributions of individuals who have made extraordinary gifts of their time and talents in leadership on behalf of the North Texas LGBTQ community.”
Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black, this year’s recipient, she added “exudes those qualities, and their tireless work in North Texas, Family Equality and, now, The Trevor Project shows their unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and especially the youth that need support, voices of hope and let the youth know they matter. It is truly lifesaving work, and we are honored to recognize Jaymes.”
Coleman said that Black “truly embodies that spirit” of the Kuchling Award, and that Black “represents what it means to lead with purpose. They’re a fierce advocate, a steady voice and a reminder that we need leaders who aren’t afraid to stand up for those who feel unseen or unheard.”
Receiving the award, Black said this week, “means the world to me. Dallas is where I found myself, my career and my community. It’s incredible to be back at such a historic and necessary event to celebrate Texas’ vibrant LGBTQ+ community and receive this honor.”
Black said that while the Trevor Project, with its mission to end suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that “transcends political divides.” But, they added, “Right now, we cannot ignore the reality that the current climate in this country is taking a devastating toll on the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth.” With research showing that 90 percent of LGBTQ+ young people say recent politics negatively impacted their well-being, Black said, “It’s critical that we urge lawmakers to stop using LGBTQ+ youth as political pawns, and to remind LGBTQ+ young people everywhere that, no matter the headlines, there are millions and millions of people in this country who support them exactly as they are.”
Black noted that the loss of federal funding supporting Trevor Project’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has “created a major gap in access to crisis care for high-risk young people.” Trevor Project has since created the Emergency Lifeline Campaign for LGBTQ+ youth to raise money to fund the organization’s 24/7 phone, text and chat crisis services. But while that effort is receiving “an incredible outpouring of support, we still have miles to go,” they said, encouraging everyone who is able to donate to “support our life-saving work.”
“Beyond financial support, we need to ensure that every LGBTQ+ young person knows that The Trevor Project is here for them, even — and especially — in their darkest moments,” Black said. “Share The Trevor Project’s resources with your networks, follow and share our content on social media and, most importantly, let the LGBTQ+ young people in your life know that The Trevor Project is here for them 24/7, and we aren’t going anywhere.”
Volunteers, auctions, raffles and more
Coleman reminded everyone to visit the BlackTie.org website to check out the live luxury and silent auction items already open for preview on the site. “You don’t have to be present to bid on silent auction items, and you don’t have to be present to win,” she said. “And the same goes for our car raffle. Visit BlackTie.org for all the details.”
Black Tie Dinner is selling raffle tickets for $100 each — six for $500 —for a drawing, to be held at the event. The winner gets a $50,000 credit toward the vehicle of their choice from Park Place Motorcars Dallas, Park Place Volvo or Park Place Porsche.
Coleman and Villareal also both took time to credit the members of Black Tie Dinner’s all-volunteer board for all their hard work in putting together a successful and entertaining event each and every year.
“They’re the ones who put in countless hours, on top of their full-time jobs, to make this dinner happen and to raise the funds that support our beneficiaries,” Coleman said.
Villareal added, “I can’t stress enough how selfless they are in dedicating their time and commitment to putting on this dinner and raising these critical funds for all of our 2025 beneficiaries.”
For more information about Black Tie Dinner or to bid on silent auction items or buy raffle tickets, visit BlackTie.org.