Ava DuVernay to Be Honoured by ACLU SoCal on Dec. 9
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay will be honoured at the Bill of Rights Awards of ACLU SoCal, the Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. Variety reported the news on Nov. 13, 2026.
The celebration takes place on Dec. 9 at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. It opens with a special screening of DuVernay's Netflix documentary 14th, followed by a conversation with the filmmaker and a private reception.
The film looks at the history and lasting importance of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The amendment, ratified in 1868, sets out guarantees of citizenship, equal protection and due process. Equal protection means the law must treat people equally. Due process means the government must follow fair legal procedures before it takes away a person's rights.
14th will begin streaming on Netflix on Dec. 9, the same day as the event. That gives audiences in Los Angeles and elsewhere a chance to see the documentary in the same week it reaches the platform.
ACLU SoCal is led by executive director Chandra Bhatnagar. The organisation works on civil liberties issues across Southern California, and its awards recognise people whose work it considers to advance those rights.
DuVernay is known for documentaries and dramas that look at the justice system and civil rights history. Her Netflix documentary 13th, about the Thirteenth Amendment and its exception for punishment after conviction, is one of her best-known works. Dec. 9 puts her new film and the award in the same frame, and the screening will be the first chance for many to see how the Fourteenth Amendment story is told.
