TIME Magazine Honored Its 2025 Closers List

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Talk about an impact! TIME magazine and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation took over Second Floor’s gleaming halls for a special dinner and ceremony in New York City on Thursday, honoring the publication’s “The Closers” list. The second annual list, which honors 25 Black leaders across numerous industries, includes Colman Domingo, Gabby Thomas, Lisa Holder, and more.

Colman Domingo and Jessica Sibley

The TIME Impact Dinner: The Closers event kicked off with a splashy cocktail hour, where attendees viewed TIME‘s new print issue and hit the red carpet. There were also plenty of delectable bites on hand, including jambalaya arancini, smoked brisket, miniature shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, and mini tacos. Following cocktail hour, guests convened for a seated dinner. The night’s delectable menu included honey butter cornbread, chow-chow salad, and family-style mains of fried chicken, blackened Creole salmon, BBQ-pulled jack fruit, braised green beans, coconut rice and peas, mashed candied yams, and mac n’ cheese.

Before the main ceremony, attendees witnessed a memorable panel, “Bridging The Divide—Strategies For Achieving Racial Equity,” moderated by birthFUND founder and editorial alumni Elaine Welteroth. Participants included Praxis Labs CEO Elise Smith, National Black Justice Collective CEO David J. Johns, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation CEO La June Montgomery Tabron, who each discussed examples and methods that can be used for progress towards racial equality for children, neighborhoods, and more.

Elaine Welteroth, Elise Smith, David J. Johns, and La June Montgomery Tabron

During the dinner itself, guests saw speeches from honorees Domingo, Thomas, and Holder. Each touched on important themes of internal and environmental empowerment, communal love, and support needed to foster and grow greater racial equality across fields including entertainment, sports, philanthropy, and more.

“The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out,” Domingo said. “It is all of our responsibility to close the racial equality gap, the racial equity gap. We will all win when we look at our fellows and see them thriving.”

Colman Domingo

Guests included Abby Phillip, Elise Smith, Sara Sidner, Rachel Scott, Vivian Tu, Troy Millings, Jessica Betts, Rashad Bilal, Patricia McGregor, Danessa Myricks, Jessica Sibley, Sam Jacobs, Sade Muhammad, Chidinma Asonye, and more.

All images: Getty Images

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