WATCH: Celebrities Partake in Pro-Immigration Reform Campaign Focusing on Immigrant Women, Families
Last Thursday, immigration reform advocates released a new photo series shot by Albert Watson and featuring Julianne Moore, Rosie Perez, Cynthia Nixon, John Leguizamo, Christy Turlington Burns, Sherri Shepherd, Debi Mazar, Bobby Cannavale, Judith Light, Billy Porter, Ellen Barkin, Wyatt Cenac, George C. Wolfe, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Lucy Punch. The photo series was commissioned by We Belong Together, a campaign focused on supporting comprehensive immigration reform and highlighting the experiences and needs of immigrant women, as part of a photo sharing project called Fedoras for Fairness. The project is housed on a tumblr at Fedoras4Fairness.com and includes connected pages and accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.
Originally worn by women’s rights activists in the early 20th century, the campaign is using the fedora--an iconic unisex American fashion accessory--as both a metaphor and a symbol: a metaphor for women’s multiple roles and identities; a symbol of support for reform legislation that is inclusive of the needs of women.
Fedoras for Fairness also released a companion video featuring personal stories and calls to action from the photo shoot participants. Several reference immigrant mothers and grandmothers, including Christy Turlington Burns (“When my mother was eight years old, she immigrated to Los Angeles from El Salvador”) and Julianne Moore (“My mother immigrated to the United States from Scotland in 1950, when she was ten years old”).
Congress is poised to vote on immigration reform legislation this year. The Senate will debate and vote first, in the coming weeks. Through this campaign, We Belong Together is urging Congress to support a bill that fixes our immigration system and provides a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants, and that treats women and LGBT families fairly.
“We are gratified that so many talented women and men from stage and screen have chosen to stand up and speak out at this critical moment in the debate over immigration reform,” said Vivien Labaton, co-chair of We Belong Together. “Like so many Americans, they believe that now is the time to pass legislation that creates a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants and treats women and families fairly.”
To view the images and video and learn more about the campaign please go to fedoras4fairness.com.