It’s a winner! ‘The Ebony Canal’ wins NAACP Image Award for Best Short Form Documentary

By Rob Taylor Jr. – Courier Staff Writer

Documentaries and short films that shed light on a certain issue aren’t made for the purpose of winning awards.

However, “The Ebony Canal,” the documentary directed by Pittsburgher Emmai Alaquiva and featuring four African American women who were fully transparent about their journeys to maternity and the health complications they faced, was so well-received that it won the 2026 NAACP Image Award for Best Short Form Documentary, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned exclusively.

The awards ceremony was held, Feb. 28, in Pasadena, Calif. One of the featured women in the documentary, Pittsburgher Larissa Lane, made the trip to California for the ceremony, along with Alaquiva. Together, they were there to receive the physical NAACP Image Award.

“It feels like a blessing,” Lane said during an interview at the awards show. “I’m very grateful, this is an honor, honestly.”

LARISSA LANE, ONE OF THE WOMEN FEATURED IN THE FILM.

In the documentary, Lane explained how she lost her son, Zuri, just two days after his birth, on Sept. 24, 2022.

Another woman who was featured, Mariah Peoples, said upon learning “The Ebony Canal” won an NAACP Image Award: “I shared my journey hoping to make a difference in just one person’s life, not knowing I was making a difference in my own as well. The call to action addressing Black maternal and child health is urgent and to be recognized for the work done, and work to come, I truly feel honored.”

“The Ebony Canal” beat out the other nominees, “Black Longevity” (Apt. 5f), “CIRILO, A Legacy Untold” (JOCMedia & Entertainment), “Freeman Vines” (Switchboard), and “Masaka Kids, a Rhythm Within” (Netflix).

Depending on who you talk to, they’re either talking or not talking about Black maternal health. One thing that doesn’t lie is data. And data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2022 stated that Black women were three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. Moreover, from 2011 to 2015, the CDC found that White women experienced 13.0 deaths per 100,000 births, compared with 42.8 deaths per 100,000 births for Black women.

Statistics from the CDC also found that a Black woman with a higher education degree is 1.6 times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related death as a White or Latina woman with less than a high school diploma. Thus, Black women are disproportionately affected in maternal health even if they are better educated.

“The Ebony Canal’s” mission was to highlight these disparities and bring forth a call to action to help bring the tragically high numbers pertaining to Black maternal mortality down. The awareness and care for Black women and Black mothers should go up, and the Black maternal mortality rates hopefully will go down, is what Alaquiva ultimately hopes will happen.

EGOT WINNER VIOLA DAVIS, WITH EMMY AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER EMMAI ALAQUIVA.

Internationally known and respected actress Viola Davis, also a winner of an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards), was the narrator of the documentary.

“You look at those numbers and it says something,” Davis told the Associated Press at the Feb. 28 NAACP Image Awards. “Doesn’t matter your income, doesn’t matter if you have great health care; so what it says is, usually, we’re not believed when we walk into our doctor’s office and we say that something is wrong, and that we need to be heard. I’m always shining a light on Black women, because I do believe what Malcolm X said, that we are the most misunderstood, the most disrespected, and I will do anything in any way, shape or form to shine a light on when we are being disrespected.”

“‘The Ebony Canal’ stands at the intersection of art and advocacy, and we are proud to have served as executive producer on a project that elevates voices too often marginalized,” said Janis Burley, August Wilson African American Cultural Center President and CEO and artistic director for the film.

Rachel L. Strader was one of the four Black women featured in “The Ebony Canal.” Upon learning of the win, she told the Courier: “Our stories matter and our voices move culture! Proud to be a part of work that brings about change.”

And Alana Yzola-Daly, one of the four Black women featured in the documentary and an associate producer, told the Courier: “Before, during and after my pregnancy, there were so many times that I felt unseen and unheard. The overwhelming response to this film has not only shined a light on my story, but the stories of the thousands of Black women that are overlooked and underserved every day.”