Gabriela Hearst, Willy Chavarria and Padma Lakshmi helped the American Civil Liberties Union launch its “Creatives for Freedom” initiative Wednesday night at The Standard, East Village.
The organization’s aim is to bring together leaders in fashion, film, television, social media, music, comedy and advocacy to draw attention to critical issues facing democracy. The crowd in the Cooper Square hotel’s penthouse included designers Jameel Mohammed, Kim Shui and Kingsley Gbadegesin, actors Alan Cumming, Busy Phillips and Danai Gurira, rapper Joey Bada$$, artist Dustin Yellen, model Ella Snyder, as well as others like Glenda Bailey and Julie Gilhart.
Hearst, Chavarria and Lakshmi cohosted the event with the ACLU’s deputy executive director for strategy and culture AJ Hikes, and its national legal director Cecillia Wang spoke of the group’s ongoing efforts to protect and advance fundamental freedoms.
As an ACLU member since 2017, Hearst said it’s important to remember that it is a nonpartisan 105-year-old organization that “is here to defend our rights and the Constitution.” The designer said that when Trump’s second administration started in a “dramatic, vicious and targeted way,” she inquired about doing more. Hearst spoke of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming series on Netflix about the ACLU, and her $250,000 donation to the organization. “Anyone who wants to match is welcome to. If you can’t, come with whatever you can. Come with your work, your brain, your heart — everything is welcome,” she said.
Chavarria, a Mexican American, spoke of having the good fortune of having been born and raised by a humble, good and working family in an immigrant community in California. “I’m also of the LGBQT persuasion, which means that every ounce of blood in my body is really built to fight against the oppression that we are seeing right now that is stronger than ever,” he said. “All of the creatives in this room can have such incredible impact and contact with people both emotionally and spiritually. Through our art and the way we communicate, we can really make people feel and think differently about what’s going on. It’s important that we do that especially at a time when so many brands, TV series and whatever are just ignoring what’s going on.”
Encouraging attendees to use messaging about the current situation through the beauty of fashion, makeup, music or other disciplines, Chavarria said, “We are the ones who are probably best poised to get people to really see what’s going on. We need to protect people, the institutions and the organizations that are under attack. Our ability to contribute to and guide unique and powerful cultural and topical conversations is more necessary now than ever before.”
The author and Emmy-nominated TV host Lakshmi, who is also the ACLU artist ambassador for immigrants’ and women’s rights, said, “Democracy is really being threatened at every turn whether it is bodily autonomy, LGBQT rights, equal rights, or First Amendment rights. There is no frontier of our society or culture that is not under attack.”
Hikes spoke of the ACLU’s “millions of supporters around the country,” and its legal arguments in the Supreme Court with “equal rights for all” being its guiding principles. Hikes and other supporters talked about the group’s priorities that were designated more than a year ago — immigration, reproductive freedom, trans justice, and “free speech — always free speech.” With 350 litigators nationwide, Hikes said, “Even with that kind of force, we are still David to the government’s Goliath.”
During Trump’s first administration, the ACLU took 434 legal actions and, thus far, into his second administration, more than 100 legal actions have been taken. Wang highlighted how the ACLU helped four theater groups take legal action in a Rhode Island federal court to challenge the National Endowment for the Arts from requiring that grantees’ projects not promote gender ideology, per a Trump executive order.
After the panel discussion, one of the ACLU’s more seasoned supporters, Terry McDonnell, spoke of his commitment. Having supported the ACLU since he was 25, the media executive, literary editor and author said that was due to how, “They echo that great thinking about ‘I could agree with you, or disagree with you, or hate whatever you think, but I will die to protect your right to think that.’ I hope they’re still doing that. It’s a First Amendment thing foremost. I’m totally in support of that.”
Referring to “the long and broad menu” that the ACLU presents to people, McDonnell said he would like to see that expand. As for the event’s strong turnout, his wife Stacey Hadash said, “I think people are really frustrated, sad, angry and feeling all different emotions. And they don’t know what to do or how to organize. One of the messages that came out tonight was, ‘Check us out. Do anything. Anything that you do with us is worthwhile, and that can make you feel better.’”
