Farmworker Justice is a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower migrant and seasonal farmworkers to improve their living and working conditions, immigration status, health, occupational safety, and access to justice. Farmworker Justice’s Los Angeles Awards provide an opportunity to bring together supporters and contributors from the business, legal, government, and nonprofit communities to report and highlight its important work. They also serve to recognize individuals, businesses and other organizations that have demonstrated leadership, commitment, dedication and sacrifice to address the ongoing plight that farmworkers face each and every day in America. For more information visit the Farmworker Justice website at www.farmworkerjustice.org and follow #FarmworkerJustice.

This year’s honorees are:

DeVon Franklin, (Flamin’ Hot) award-winning producer, New York Times bestselling author and renowned motivational speaker, recipient of the Social Justice in the Arts Award for his commitment to diversity in film, securing and producing a major motion picture with a majority of Latinos in front and behind the camera. Flamin’ Hot highlights the life of a child farmworker who made it to the upper echelons of corporate America through innovation and marketing. Actor Emilio Rivera (Mayans M.C., Flamin’ Hot) will present the award.

Teresa Romero, President of United Farm Workers (UFW), recipient of the Dolores Huerta Award for her decades-long activism, dedication and commitment to farmworker rights and living conditions.

Enrique Castillo, (Weeds, Blood In Blood Out) actor, writer, producer, activist, and former child farmworker from Calexico, is the recipient of the Farmworker Justice Award for his social justice activism, beginning with his work with El Teatro Campesino, Zoot Suit, and his play Veteranos: A Legacy of Valor about Latinos in the military, and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients who fought for America’s defense, and his activism thru film.

Shura Wallin, border activist and co-founder of humanitarian group Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritan, recipient of the Shelley Davis Humanitarian Award, for her unparalleled dedication as a leader in the fight to secure border relief to immigrants in peril and reconnecting families of those who have perished from the harsh conditions crossing the border. Legendary singer Linda Ronstadt will present the award via video.

Farmworker Justice CEO Ron Estrada will provide keynote remarks on the state of farmworkers and proposed solutions to the numerous challenges they face as well as the work of Farmworker Justice and its allies across the nation to fulfill its mission.

“I am delighted to start my tenure at Farmworker Justice by honoring these four individuals who continue to fight for justice for America’s farmworkers,” says Ron Estrada. “Through their work, they remind us all of the important role that our trabajadores agrícolas play, picking the fruits and vegetables that American families consume every day. Farmworkers are too often invisible to the general public, yet they are the frontline heroes that feed America. This event is about farmworkers, their families, and all who have worked in the fields so the rest of us can eat.”

Iconic Hollywood actor and activist Pepe Serna (With Love, Flamin’ Hot) will deliver the keynote presentation.

This year’s Presenting Sponsor is PepsiCo.

Click to buy tickets. NOTE: Proof of COVID vaccination will be required to attend the event.

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Burbank, CA — The Walt Disney Company has pledged $5 million to support nonprofit organizations that advance social justice, beginning with a $2 million donation to the NAACP to further their longstanding work promoting social justice by eliminating disparities and racial discrimination through their advocacy and education programs.

“The killing of George Floyd has forced our nation to once again confront the long history of injustice that Black people in America have suffered, and it is critical that we stand together, speak out and do everything in our power to ensure that acts of racism and violence are never tolerated,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “This $5 million pledge will continue to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations such as the NAACP that have worked tirelessly to ensure equality and justice.”

Today’s pledge is part of Disney’s ongoing commitment to support organizations that advance social justice. For many years, Disney has worked closely with groups that advocate for and empower communities of color, including the NAACP, whose mission is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race. The Company has also previously provided millions of dollars in grants to help students from underrepresented groups make the dream of higher education a reality, including $2.5 million to the United Negro College Fund.

In addition, through the Disney Employee Matching Gifts program, employees are able to increase their impact in their communities by donating to eligible organizations, with the Company matching those gifts.

Disney has used its creative resources and platforms to address issues of race and inequality. On Tuesday night, the Company aired a slate of special programming on a number of its TV networks to encourage a discussion of racism and oppression in America. The programming included an ABC News primetime special, “America in Pain: What Comes Next?,” that examined the protests and outrage across the country in response to the killing of Mr. Floyd. The special was preceded by the re-airing of two monumental and timely episodes of Black-ish: “Hope,” which explores the issue of police brutality and flaws in the judicial system, and “Juneteenth,” which examines the lack of accurate representation of African Americans in our nation’s history.

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