“THE EBONY CANAL” DIRECTOR EMMAI ALAQUIVA, CENTER, WITH RACHEL STRADER, LARISSA LANE, ALANA YZOLA-DALY AND MARIAH PEOPLES.
The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned exclusively that “The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Health,” has been nominated for a 2026 NAACP Image Award in the category of “Outstanding Short Form Documentary (Film).”
The documentary was directed by Pittsburgh’s own Emmai Alaquiva and narrated by Viola Davis, the actress who has an “EGOT” (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards).
The documentary, which was featured in the New Pittsburgh Courier in July 2024, follows the pregnancies of four Black women —Mariah Peoples, Rachel Strader, Alana Yzola-Daly and Larissa Lane. All except Yzola-Daly are from Pittsburgh. The documentary sheds light on an often overlooked issue —Black maternal health, and the fact that in the U.S., more than twice as many Black babies die before their first birthday than White babies. That statistic holds true in Pennsylvania, where the infant mortality for Black babies in 2020 was 10.9 per 1,000 live births. If you thought the 10.9 rate was bad, the rate was even higher in 2010, when the rate was 14.4.
LARISSA LANE IS FEATURED IN THE DOCUMENTARY, “THE EBONY CANAL.”
When it comes to maternal mortality, Black women have it much worse, too. According to the Pa. Department of Health, in 2020, the maternal mortality rate, or the death of a woman during pregnancy or up to one year following the end of the pregnancy, regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy, was 83 per 100,000 live births. Broken down by race, White women’s maternal mortality rate in the state was 81, while Black women’s maternal mortality rate in the state was 148.
Since its release, the documentary has been screened in over 14 film festivals globally, produced over 20 private screenings and walked away with Best Short Documentary (Social Impact) at the 2025 Essence Film Festival and received the 2025 Cultural Visionary Award from Urbanworld Film Festival.
“It’s not about me, it’s not about one person,” Alaquiva told the Courier, Jan. 19. “It’s about a solid collective of individuals that make a change, and the fact that our nomination is dedicated to Dr. Janell Green Smith, the midwife who lost her life giving birth to her own child when she delivered over 300 babies. This is more than a film; this is a humongous movement.”
Dr. Smith, a South Carolina native, made it her mission to help Black women as they delivered their babies, and in the weeks and months afterwards. However, she did not have a midwife by her side as she gave birth at 32 weeks to Eden Verne Smith on Dec. 26, 2025. Three days later, she was rushed into emergency surgery, and on Jan. 1, 2026, she died. She was just 31.
The National Black Nurses Association, on Jan. 5, issued a statement mourning Dr. Smith’s death. The statement also read: “That a Black midwife and maternal health expert died from complications of childbirth in the United States is both heartbreaking and unacceptable. Her death lays bare a truth the data have long confirmed: Black women—regardless of education, professional expertise, or proximity to healthcare—remain at disproportionate risk during pregnancy and childbirth due to systemic failures in care.”
Alaquiva told the Courier that he and the four women featured in “The Ebony Canal” will be in Pasadena, Calif., for the live awards show. The 57th NAACP Image Awards will take place on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. ET, shown live on BET and CBS. “The Ebony Canal” is up against the other nominees, “Black Longevity” (Apt. 5f), “CIRILO, A Legacy Untold” (JOCMedia & Entertainment), “Freeman Vines” (Switchboard), and “Masaka Kids, a Rhythm Within” (Netflix).
Alaquiva said “The Ebony Canal” “shows why everyone needs to be brought aware of some of these third-world issues that we still have when it comes to Black and brown women when it comes to their children.”
