By Tim Saunders on
Rosario Dawson has brought together stars such as Eva Longoria, Wilmer Valderrama, Jessica Alba, Common, Amy Smart and Carla Gugino for a new PSA campaign to fight Arizona’s new immigration laws.
Dawson has launched the United We Win campaign through Voto Latino, an organization she co-founded in 2004. The new law – called SB 1070 – allows police to question any individuals they suspect are illegal immigrants, and all legal immigrants are required to carry registration documents at all times.
“I haven’t made it a secret that I’m strongly opposed to the Arizona law and I’ve been pretty vocal about it,” says Eva. "It’s unfortunate that this immigration issue has been on the national agenda for the past three administrations.
“I think the biggest misconception is that everybody who is dark or of colour is from somewhere else. I’m ninth-generation American. I’m more American than a lot of my Anglo friends. If my father got pulled over because of the colour of his skin, I could guarantee you I would be outraged.”
Dawson hopes the campaign will get young people to fight for human rights by voting on November 2.
“We recognize that this isn’t just a Mexican issue or a Latino issue… There are people blogging and Tweeting for everything, from the BP spill to education and healthcare,” Dawson, 31, tells UsMagazine.com. "We’re all buzzing about these things, but unless we’re actually marching to the polls, nothing is going to actually change.
“When you look back at Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, he got arrested and asked everyone else to get arrested….and people were afraid to step forward. Who was going to be the people who stepped up? The people who did were high schoolers because they weren’t afraid of being arrested. We’re all underage, and that was really crucial in getting the civil rights movement going — getting young people’s participation.”
The PSA campaign kicks off in September.
Copyright © 2010 Look to the Stars
