LCCR Celebrates "Crash" Oscar Win
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 3/6/2006
"Crash," the 2006 recipient of the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award, won three Academy Awards March 5, including Best Picture of the Year."The Academy's recognition of 'Crash' is a testament to the strength of the film's powerful core message," said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR). "In a year of many stunning, eye-opening depictions of our society, 'Crash's' gut-wrenching examination of race and class stood out as most deserving."
LCCR announced in December that it would honor Lionsgate's extraordinary film "Crash," co-written and directed by Paul Haggis, and La Opinión publisher and Chair of the National Council of La Raza Monica Lozano with the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award, the organization's highest honor given to those committed to the advancement of civil and human rights.
"When I saw 'Crash' I was deeply moved not just by the powerful portrayal of the racial, ethnic, and class tensions in our society, but because the characters and situations felt so real," said Henderson, in announcing the award recipients. "At that moment I said to myself, 'LCCR needs to recognize this unprecedented film to further its underlying message - the need for greater understanding and respect.'"
The film, considered a Best Picture long shot by many industry insiders, deals with America's continuing struggle with race, gender, and class. The film stars Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Larenz Tate, Terrence Howard, Ryan Phillippe, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Peńa, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Brendan Fraser, as multi-racial Los Angeles residents who "crash" into one another over a 36-hour period and learn how race, class, and gender isolate (and bind) them all.
Paul Haggis, "Crash's" director and screenwriter, wrote the film after he and his wife were carjacked in the early 1990s.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award will be presented at a dinner in Washington, DC on May 4.
