In the aftermath of the 1999 dragging death of James Byrd Jr., the Leadership Dallas Alumni (LDA) Board met and decided to develop and implement a series of dinners designed to:
- Encourage communication about race and ethnicity.
- Educate participants about perspectives held by others related to race relations in Dallas.
- Empower citizens to develop relationships with people from a variety of racial and ethnic groups.
The event transitioned to an independent non-profit in 2002 to allow it to thrive and expand. The LDA board was concerned that they were not able to focus on it as much as needed and that it might disappear without focused leadership and advocacy.
- The Dallas Dinner Table (DDT) event was held from 2002 – 2009 with over 5000 people participating.
The Dallas Dinner Table was revived in 2014 with almost 300 participants. Our latest event had over 500 participants. Thank you!
The Dallas Dinner Tables continue to be run by a team of volunteers; please donate now to support our work. Every donation, large or small, is greatly appreciated.