Playwright Luis Valdez, State Sen. Ben Allen will also be recognized.
California Humanities is bringing legendary playwright and filmmaker Luis Valdez to Los Angeles for “Everyday Courage,” a special evening focused on what courage means in our lives and communities.
Valdez will headline the program, which will also honor two California leaders with the Spirit of the Humanities Awards. “Everyday Courage” will take place Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m. at the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles.
As artistic director of El Teatro Campesino, Valdez’s groundbreaking work has brought Chicano stories, history, and experiences to American stages and screens for more than six decades.
Through his reflections, “Everyday Courage” will explore what courage looks like in everyday life and how the stories we tell and preserve can influence our communities and California’s future.
The evening will also include a screening of the trailer for “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez,” a California Humanities-supported documentary exploring Valdez’s life, work, and influence on American theater and film. The film, which will air on PBS by the time of the event, traces Valdez’s journey from California’s farmworker movement to the creation of landmark works such as “Zoot Suit” and “La Bamba” and examines his enduring influence on American culture.
The Spirit of the Humanities Awards will be presented to leaders whose work reflects different dimensions of public service, cultural leadership, and engagement with the humanities.
Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum and its National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, will receive the Spirit of the Humanities Award for Courageous Leadership. An internationally recognized human rights and social justice leader, Burroughs’ lifelong commitment to justice was shaped by her experience as a young activist in South Africa, where she was imprisoned for opposing apartheid.
For more than 25 years, she has worked with leaders, organizations, and networks in the U.S. and abroad to advance racial justice and human rights. More recently, Burroughs has been at the forefront of museums that serve moral clarity, protect civic space, nurture public trust, and preserve truth and history.
State Sen. Ben Allen will receive the Spirit of the Humanities Award for Legislative Champion. Allen represents California’s 24th Senate District in Los Angeles County and chairs the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Arts. His legislative work related to arts and culture has included measures concerning California’s film and television industry, theatre and dance teaching credentials, and access to arts education.
Together, Valdez, Burroughs, and Allen reflect the many forms courage can take — from telling stories and advancing cultural memory to public leadership and expanding opportunities for people to participate in the cultural and civic life of their communities.
“‘Everyday Courage’ asks us to think about courage not only as a heroic act, but as something we practice every day — in the choices we make, the stories we preserve, and how we show up for our communities,” said Rick Noguchi, president and CEO of California Humanities. “Luis Valdez, Ann Burroughs, and Sen. Ben Allen have each demonstrated that kind of courage in different ways. Their work shows us how the humanities can connect our histories to the choices we make about California’s future.”
For tickets, go to www.eventbrite.com and search for “Everyday Courage.”