Kwanza Honors Dionne Warwick

“When the women call, you’ve got to show up,” said Lou Gossett Jr.

These women were the members of the Kwanza Foundation, a fund-raising and charitable organization made up of black women in the entertainment industry.

The occasion was the foundation’s 17th annual dinner held at the Radisson Bel-Air Summit hotel on Friday night honoring singer Dionne Warwick. Gossett emceed the evening, which was chaired by his wife, Cyndi James Gossett.

The Kwanza Foundation (its name comes from the Swahili word for “the spirit of giving”) honored Warwick for her humanitarian deeds in the black community, especially her AIDS projects.

“She’s been so visible in her work,” said foundation president Marguerite Ray. “She’s been able to bring so much attention and support into the community.”

Warwick said she supported the foundation because “these women have built a dream. They’re concerned about the well-being and the fruition of life for youngsters.”

The event raised $50,000 for the Jenesse Center for Victims of Domestic Violence and the Helping Hands Home for Boys.

“Jenesse is incredible,” said Cyndi James Gossett. “They give people food, shelter, love and a way to get on with their lives. And Helping Hands helps young boys get off the streets.”

Warwick said the foundation deserves more prominence. “It’s a fact that it’s a black organization,” she said. “I mean, you’ve got to face it. Any white organization that does exactly the same thing for white children and white abused and battered women, they get corporate support. They get underwriting. They have lobbies . . . .”

The dinner took place in two adjoining tents. Among the 300 guests were Denzel Washington, Gladys Knight, Lola Falana, Esther Rolle, Marilyn McCoo, Jamaal Wilkes, Kimberly Russell, Bill Duke and Jon Voight.

The program included performances by comics Sinbad and James Stephens III, and singers Carol Connors and Barbara Morrison, both backed by the Randy Randolph Band.

It was a rewarding evening for an organization that succeeds because in the words of Sinbad “you’ve got a bunch of women involved who don’t take no for an answer.”