Jennifer Holliday to Sing at San Fran Equality Awards 2/10

The California State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will receive the Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Marriage Equality Award at Equality California's (EQCA) 2007 San Francisco Equality Awards event on February 10.

"Equality California is proud to honor the NAACP, one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the nation, for standing beside us in the fight for justice and equal rights for all Californians," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "We are grateful to have the NAACP's support as we work to make marriage equality a reality in our state."

In 2005, Alice Huffman, president of the California State Conference of the NAACP, announced that her organization supported AB 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. Authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by EQCA, the bill would have given same-sex couples the right to marry in California. Assemblymember Leno and EQCA reintroduced the bill on December 4, 2006, again pushing for marriage equality in the Golden State. The new bill, AB 43, retains the same name.

"With the support of equal rights advocates like the NAACP, AB 849 passed both the state Senate and Assembly," Kors said. "Building coalitions with like-minded community organizations is critical for our success in achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians."

The Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Marriage Equality Award is named after San Francisco LGBT rights pioneers, Phyllis and Del, who were the first same-sex couple in the nation to marry. The women were married when Mayor Gavin Newsom made history by offering marriage certificates to same-sex couples in 2004, legally recognizing Phyllis and Del's relationship of more than 50 years. Huffman will accept the award on behalf of the NAACP.

The 2007 Equality Awards will be held at San Francisco's majestic City Hall, where three years ago more than 4,000 same-sex couples were married. The evening's festivities include a gourmet dinner, awards ceremony, silent auction and after-party with music and dancing.

The event's entertainment features Broadway "Dreamgirls" star Jennifer Holliday, who starred as Effie Melody White in the original Broadway musical in the early 1980s. Holliday will dazzle EQCA supporters with her chart-topping songs, including the hit from the Broadway musical "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going."

Lead sponsors for this year's event include Comcast, AT&T, Wells Fargo and Energy 92.7 with additional support from Contempo Homes, Clear Channel Outdoor, Olivia Cruises and Resorts, Seduction Wine, Smirnoff, Geoff Kors and James Williamson, Strategic Accounting Solutions, BvHLawGroup LLP, California Teachers Association, Hon. José Cisneros and Mark Kelleher/Chip Conley and Donald Graves, Janet and Clint Reilly, Heller Ehrman LLP, Human Rights Campaign, Merrill Lynch, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Sterling Bank & Trust/Seligman Family Foundation, Jim Nickoff and David Lawson, and Hollenbeck Associates.

To purchase tables and individual tickets or for information about sponsorship packages, contact Traci Hoffberg with Blue Room Events at (310) 491-1401 or traci@blueroomevents.com.