Where Every Voice Has a Seat at the Table.
One week. One hour. Every family. Together.
The Black Family Dinner & Dialogue was conceived by Selma Mayor James Perkins and is being launched by members of the 2025 Delta Regional Authority Leadership Institute cohort: mayors, educators, executives, and community leaders from across the eight-state Delta region.
This initiative creates an easy, repeatable entry point for strengthening Black families, with no politics, no preaching, and no barrier to participation.
The Delta is not a starting point because it is small. The Delta is the starting point because it is the source: the birthplace of culture, resilience, and movements that have always shaped this nation. What begins here will not stay here.
"Imagine one week each year when Black families across this country sit down together at the table. Not for politics. Not for a program. Just for one hour of food, stories, and each other."Mayor James Perkins, Selma, Alabama — Concept Originator
Part of the 2025 Delta Regional Authority Leadership Institute Executive Academy
Learn about the DRA Leadership Institute →Pick any day during the launch week, September 6 to 12, 2026, and gather your family around the table. Any day that works for you is the right day.
At home, at church, at the barbershop, at the community center. Wherever family gathers. No preparation required.
A free, beautiful conversation guide with prompts that open the door to storytelling, memory, and dreaming together.
Share a photo or story with #BlackFamilyDAD and invite someone else to gather. The movement grows one table at a time.
"What makes you proud to be part of our family?"
"Who are the ancestors whose shoulders we stand on?"
"What dream do we have for the next generation?"
Participant locations will appear on this map as families register across the country.
Research consistently shows that families who eat together regularly demonstrate higher academic performance, lower rates of risk behaviors, and stronger emotional bonds across generations.
"The table is set. Come home."
Your information is used only to map participation and send the Starter Kit. We do not sell or share your data.
Thank you for registering. Your Conversation Starter Kit will arrive by email before September 6th.
#BlackFamilyDAD