EBONY Media Debuts EBONY Voices with Short Film Standing in the Ashes, Marking One Year Since Altadena Fires

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- EBONY Media released Standing in the Ashes: One Year After the Altadena Fires, the first short film in its new multimedia series, EBONY Voices, which spotlights human-interest stories that connect and uplift communities.

Directed by Lyric Perez and produced by EBONY Media Owner and CEO Eden Bridgeman Sklenar and EVP of Editorial Content Cori Murray, Standing in the Ashes marks the one-year anniversary of the Eaton wildfire that devastated parts of Los Angeles County in January 2024. The film centers three long-time Altadena families as they navigate loss, rebuilding, and the decision to remain in a historically Black community disproportionately impacted by the disaster.

"Standing in the Ashes reflects what EBONY Voices was created to do—center humanity, honor legacy, and ensure our communities are not reduced to statistics in moments of crisis," said Eden Bridgeman Sklenar, Owner and CEO of EBONY Media. "These families remind us that rebuilding is not just about homes, but about protecting history, culture, and the right to remain rooted where generations before them built a future."

Standing in the Ashes features Staci and Thomas Andrews; Ronda Carson and her mother, Barbara Carson; and Antoinette "Toni" Bailey-Raines, a community leader recognized as a 2025 EBONY Power 100 Community Crusader for her work co-hosting Altadena Talks, a grassroots radio show and podcast launched in response to the fires.

The Eaton wildfire claimed 19 lives and destroyed or damaged 9,418 homes and buildings. At least 60 percent of the homes affected were Black households. A data study from UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies found that 61 percent of Black households in Altadena were located within the fire perimeter, compared with 50 percent of non-Black households. Nearly half of Black households experienced destruction or major damage, and a majority of Black homeowners in the area are over age 65, increasing vulnerability during recovery.

Standing in the Ashes: One Year After the Altadena Fires is now available as part of EBONY Voices and also available for viewing on YouTube: https://www.ebony.com/ebony-voices-remembering-altadena/

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About EBONY
For 80 years, EBONY has stood as the defining voice of the Black American experience and remains the most influential Black-owned media company in the world. With a legacy rooted in chronicling cultural excellence and achievement, EBONY has expanded into a global multi-media brand—spanning EBONY, EBONY Studios, and JET—with an unshakable mission to Move Black Forward.

As EBONY celebrates its 80th Anniversary, it continues to illuminate the Black perspective, celebrate Black innovation, and serve as the ultimate curator of culture—past, present, and future.

EBONY Media Group is a division of 1145 Holdings, LLC. Follow on social: @EBONYMagazine on Instagram and @EBONY on X and Facebook.

SOURCE EBONY Media Group