In time for International Day of Persons with Disabilities, this Friday, Dec. 3, ABC Owned Television Stations has produced “Our America: Accomplices – The Story of Ady Barkan,” which is set to premiere the same day on Hulu.
The half-hour special follows the story of Ady Barkan, a lawyer and activist who has become a vocal advocate for exposing the inequities in the American healthcare system since being diagnosed with ALS in 2016. Barkan, who had fought for social justice for historically underrepresented and marginalized communities long before his diagnosis, has focused on the challenges that disabled and senior communities face since experiencing firsthand some of those issues.
Barkam was named one Time Magazine’s “Most Influential People of 2020,” and co-founded the organization Be A Hero, advocating affordable and accessible home care.
“Our America: Accomplices – The Story of Ady Barkan” is the latest in a series of “Our America” specials produced by ABC Owned TV Stations that shed light on social issues, heritage and voices from often-marginalized communities. In the case of this special, Barkan narrates it himself via a Tobii Dynavox, an electronic device that tracks his eye movements to type out words.
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The special also follows Barkan as he premieres his film, “Not Going Quietly.” And the special highlights the role of caregivers and the importance of home health care being provided to disabled and senior communities. Barkan highlights his crusade for a form of allyship he calls “accomplice ship,” encouraging people to be a modern-day “accomplice” to underrepresented communities — including the disabled community.
“’Accomplice ship’ requires working hand in hand with the most marginalized, underrepresented and excluded voices toward a world where everyone can live with dignity and [have] the basic resources they need to thrive,” Barkan said.
ABC’s Race and Culture executive producer Nzinga Blake oversaw production on “Our America: Accomplices – The Story of Ady Barkan.”
“Persons with disabilities are often communities that are ignored and excluded within the conversations of diversity and inclusion,” Blake said. “Ady’s story and advocacy is an incredible reminder that people with disabilities can lead productive lives and be major contributors to society if given the resources and support to do so.”
Besides Hulu, “Our America: Accomplices – The Story of Ady Barkan” will also be available on the streaming apps of ABC-owned stations including ABC7/WABC-TV New York, ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles, ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago, 6ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia, ABC7/KGO-TV San Francisco, ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston, ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and ABC30/KFSN-TV Fresno, as well as connected TV apps on streaming platforms Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. The special will also air on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 10:30 p.m. on KABC-TV Los Angeles.
The “Our America” series is executive produced by ABC Owned Television Stations’ Race and Culture executive producers Blake, Porsha Grant and Mariel Myers.
