LOS ANGELES — The ACLU Foundation of Southern California will honor the Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award and Peabody Award-winning series "The Handmaid's Tale" and actor Bambadjan Bamba at its 24th Annual Luncheon awards event to take place June 8.
"The Handmaid's Tale," based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, will receive the ACLU SoCal's Social Responsibility in the Media Award. The award will be accepted by series' creator, showrunner, and executive producer Bruce Miller, and members of the cast will be on hand for the luncheon, as well. "The Handmaid's Tale," currently airing its second season on HULU, has garnered worldwide critical acclaim and provided a platform for discussing issues of inequality and restricted freedom which are central to the ACLU. The series, which was recently renewed for a third season, is produced by MGM Television and internationally distributed by MGM.
"This brilliant, harrowing series portrays a totalitarian future in which women are violently forced into subservient roles, without rights," said Hector Villagra, Executive Director of the ACLU SoCal. "It's gripping fiction, but also powerful advocacy in that it serves as a warning for us all. We are honored to be presenting ‘The Handmaid's Tale' with our Social Responsibility in the Media Award."
Miller, whose writing career in television began with "ER," received Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for his work on "The Handmaid's Tale."
The series has won eight Emmy Awards®, two Golden Globes Awards®, a Peabody Award, and a BAFTA Award, in addition to multiple guild awards including the Producers Guild Award and Writers Guild Award.
Actor and filmmaker Bambadjan Bamba, who will receive the Courageous Advocate Award, has had prominent roles on numerous television shows, such as "The Good Place," and in films such as "Black Panther."
He was born in the Ivory Coast and brought to the U.S. by his family when he was 10-years-old, escaping a violent civil war. Last year Bamba publicly disclosed that he was a recipient of the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) that is in danger of being canceled.
"I'm coming out as undocumented right now because I've benefitted so much from DACA," Bamba said in a video by the Define American organization. "It allows me to work as an actor, it allows me to provide for myself, my family."
"There are so many immigrants who work in Hollywood, in front of the scenes, behind the scenes," he continued. "Hollywood has the opportunity to make real change, to help immigrants. It would be disingenuous if I were to turn my back on immigrants."
Also at the luncheon, awards will be presented to groups of attorneys who partnered with the ACLU SoCal on actions in the last year. The Lifetime Advocate for Justice Award will be presented to attorney and social justice advocate Sidney J. Machtinger, a long-time supporter and board member of the ACLU SoCal.
The 24th Annual Luncheon awards event will take place at the JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles L.A. Live on June 8 at 11:15 a.m. Tickets are available at https://www.aclusocal.org/annual-luncheon.
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