Sally Field, Jeffrey Wright, Lea DeLaria, Keegan-Michael Key, Rosie Perez, Steve Buscemi and Janet Mock have joined other in a new video, directed by documentarian Liz Garbus, best known for her documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone?
The video, titled #StandUpForUS, is produced by Humanity for Progress, the organization formerly known as Humanity for Hillary.
“To the extent that Trump pursues racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, anti-worker, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-environmental policies, we demand that you vigorously oppose him,” says the cast of actors, faith leaders and activists. “We demand that you block nominees who threaten the rights of women, the LGBT community, people of color, immigrants and the poor.”
#StandUpForUS from Art Not War on Vimeo.
DIVERGE spoke to the Laura Dawn, the Executive Director and Founder of Humanity for Progress to find out more:
Why did you decide to do this video?
We’ve worked with director Liz Garbus in the past and she raised the idea–then she and I wrote the script together. We felt it was important to put out a strong message that any further moves towards sexist/ racist/ anti environment / anti immigrant policies from the Trump admin would be strongly opposed
Why is this important and essential to do right now?
The Trump administration needs to hear loudly and clearly that the majority of Americans have NEVER been with them. Trump likes to pretend (and tweet!) that this is not the case, but the facts tell a different story. They have no mandate to reshape the country to their clearly white supremacist agenda.
What would you say to those who say its too late for this?
Too late for what? Trump will only be President for 4 years, maximum of 8. The fight for the soul and direction of this country is not something you do for one election cycle. It’s not a sprint, or even a marathon: it’s your life. We must all be vigilant and devoted to making sure our voices are heard.
Future plans on this project?
We plan to continue to build on what we accomplished with Humanity for Hillary, and launch a media/ activist site very in the next month that features well researched and factual writing, commentary, and video content all from artists and activists who want make sure the majority of Americans continue to be heard via social media over the next 4 years and beyond.
Additional thoughts?
The rising American electorate are the future most powerful voting bloc of this country. The more we organize women and people of color to fight and more importantly VOTE together, the more we will move our country to a more equal place for all to thrive. We at Humanity for Progress are committed to this evolution.
