By Joi-Marie McKenzie
Special to the AFRO
The Ludacris Foundation held their sixth annual benefit dinner Saturday night inside the Atrium at the Ronald Reagan Building. (Courtesy Photo)
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The last time Chris “Ludacris” Bridges was in Washington, D.C., he was performing for thousands of fans at a nightclub in Northeast. This time around, Bridges, the man behind the rapper, has a very different agenda.
The Ludacris Foundation held their sixth annual benefit dinner Saturday night inside the Atrium at the Ronald Reagan Building. Honoring leaders who dedicate their work to community service, the evening was inspirational, elegant and lively thanks to the casino-styled after party.
This year’s honorees included Quincy Jones, Kevin Liles, Debra Lee/BET Networks and DC WritersCorp, which won The Community Service Award.
This was the first year that the benefit was held in D.C. To recognize this geographical shift, Congresswoman Maxine Waters was also honored with the first Ludacris Foundation Congressional Leadership Award.
"I feel like [they're] so many leaders here and that's extremely important," Ludacris said when explaining why they decided to move the gala to the Nation's capitol after holding it for five years in Atlanta, his hometown. "We wanted to connect with the policy makers and the decision makers here and that's what it's about, it's about expanding our reach."
Many musicians and industry leaders supported the gala. Rapper Common, singer Raheem DeVaughn, Michael Eric Dyson, singer Rashida Jolley, comedian Joe Clair, news anchor Cynne Simpson and the “Godfather of Go-Go” Chuck Brown were a few of the celebrities who mingled between tables and supported the cause.
While he continues to work on his latest hip-hop album called Battle of the Sexes, Ludacris is also helping communities battle very real issues and this year's benefit will help support these outreach programs. His LudaCares Initiative, aimed at economic development recently, gave 20 used vehicles to families in need and during the Atlanta flood disaster, Ludacris, along with rapper T.I., raised approximately $105,000 for victims.
To learn more about the Ludacris Foundation and it's many programs and initiatives, visit theludacrisfoundation.org.