2026 African American Heritage Month Origin Awards: Honoring the Works of Academy Award-Winning Director, Charles Burnett

In a tradition begun in 2023, this evening honors the twenty-six founding families of African American descent who, alongside other courageous founders, helped establish what is now El Pueblo de Los Angeles—by celebrating today’s Black trailblazers whose lives reflect enduring impact and achievement. Aligned with the national theme A Century of Black History Commemorations, friends and colleagues gather to honor a quiet, largely unsung treasure, hailed by The New York Times as “the nation’s least-known great filmmaker and most gifted Black director.” His works include Killer of Sheep, My Brother’s Wedding, To Sleep with Anger, The Glass Shield, and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation. He has also directed several short films and documentary films. He is the recipient of a 2017 Academy Honorary Award for eloquently chronicling Black American life in his influential work.