ACLU of Southern California Honors Civil Liberties Champions At Annual Bill of Rights Awards Dinner Monday, December 15, 2003
Friday, November 21, 2003
LOS ANGELES – On Monday, December 15, 2003, at 6:00 P.M., the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California will host its annual Bill of Rights Dinner at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The event honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of civil liberties.
This year's event will honor Jon Avnet, producer, director and writer as well as music manager Simon Renshaw. Political columnist and best-selling author Molly Ivins will receive the Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award.
Throughout Jon Avnet's career, he has produced and directed projects with tremendous social relevance, many of which address issues central to the work of the ACLU, including women's rights, workers rights, racial justice, religious freedom, rights of the disabled, and the civil rights movement. The issue of women's rights has been central to Avnet's films. The Burning Bed is one such film, and it has been widely credited with giving many women the incentive to seek help to escape from abuse. In For Their Own Good, he highlighted women who took legal action when their company ordered them to be sterilized or lose their jobs. Avnet showed a newswoman's struggle against the glass ceiling in Up Close and Personal. Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her was an anthology of five women facing a variety of issues, including homelessness, freedom of choice, sexual orientation, and living with a disability. Racial and religious discrimination are also recurring themes in Avnet's films. Heat Wave, a powerful drama set against the backdrop of the Watts riots of 1965, and his series Boomtown, examining the criminal justice system from many different viewpoints, both deal with issues the ACLU faces every day.
Simon Renshaw, an executive of the Los Angeles-based management company, the Firm, is a steadfast advocate for artists' rights. His continuing advocacy for the First Amendment, freedom of speech, artistic freedom, and protection of political discourse on the airwaves has long impressed the ACLU. During the controversy surrounding the Dixie Chicks for opposing the war and criticizing President Bush, Renshaw worked tirelessly to protect the group's freedom of speech. A resulting backlash from conservative country fans over the controversy included CD burnings, and several radio stations refusing to play their songs in protest. Renshaw was ever-present in the media, and went before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee to cite companies that banned the Chicks from their playlists. "Whether you agree with my client's statements or not, I know you support the First Amendment," Renshaw told the Senate committee during the session. He also testified in Sacramento regarding SB1246, which sought to repeal the 1987 amendment to California's seven-year labor statute. That fight spawned the birth of the Recording Artists Coalition (on whose board he serves) to give artists a political voice.
Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Molly Ivins is a best-selling author and widely syndicated political columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. One of the nation's wittiest and best-known political pundits, Ivins has been an outspoken advocate for justice, often confronting our political leadership when it is least popular to do so. Extremely dedicated to the ACLU, Ivins attempts to participate in an ACLU event every month. She is the author of two best-selling books, Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? and Nothin' But Good Times Ahead, both collections of essays on politics and journalism. Ivins' freelance work has appeared in Esquire, Atlantic, The Nation, Harper's, The Progressive, Mother Jones, and TV Guide, and her column appears in 114 newspapers. She is active in Amnesty International's Journalism Network and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. She been a Pulitzer Prize finalist three times, and has won numerous journalism awards, including a 1991 Headliner's Award for best Texas column.
"The Bill of Rights Award was created to acknowledge the contributions made by individuals whose creative and sometimes daring work affirms the democratic principles embedded in the Bill of Rights,'" said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU/SC. "This year's honorees truly exemplify the spirit of the award. The work of Jon Avnet, Simon Renshaw and Molly Ivins has had an immeasurable impact on civil liberties in this country and beyond."
Program participants will include Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, Poetri of the HBO program and Toni Award-winning Broadway Play "Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam," and political activist Arianna Huffington.
The event takes place Monday, December 15, 2003 at 6:00 p.m., and will be held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, 9500 Wilshire Blvd. Tickets start at $150, and all proceeds contribute to the ACLU's watchdog efforts. For additional ticket information call toll free: 877/225-8487.
Journalists interested in covering the event should contact the ACLU/SC Media Relations office at 213/977-9500 x.252.
