ACLU Ambassador Project

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte serves as an ACLU Artist Ambassador for the overincarceration of juveniles. Belafonte exposed America to world music and spent his life challenging and overturning racial barriers across the globe. Recently, Belafonte founded the Sankofa Justice & Equity Fund, a non-profit social justice organization that utilizes the power of culture and celebrity in partnership with activism. It is a space for artists to contribute their talents to build awareness and confront the issues that negatively impact marginalized communities.

In 2019, Belafonte penned the introduction for a children’s book, We Are the Change, highlighting the work of civil rights leaders.

Learn more: Juvenile Justice

W. Kamau Bell

W. Kamau Bell, an ACLU Artist Ambassador for racial justice, is a sociopolitical comedian and the host of the Emmy Award winning CNN docu-series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell.  He recently made his Netflix debut with the stand-up comedy special, Private School Negro. Kamau has a book with the easy-to-remember title The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. He is the director of the critically-acclaimed documentary Cultureshock: Chris Rock’s Bring the Pain.  Kamauhas hosted three critically acclaimed podcasts: Kamau Right Now!, Politically Re-Active, and Denzel Washington is The Greatest Actor of All Time Period. Kamau is on the advisory board of Hollaback! and Donors Choose in addition to his work at the ACLU. The New York Times called Kamau “the most promising new talent in political comedy in many years.”

Kamau has been nominated for multiple NAACP Image Awards and a GLAAD award, and he was featured on Conde Nast’s ‘Daring 25’ list for 2016. The SF Weekly called Kamau “smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle,” though he was mostly just excited that they called him “handsome.” The New Yorker said, “Bell’s gimmick is intersectional progressivism: he treats racial, gay, and women’s issues as inseparable.” Kamau is also known for his criminally short-lived FX & FXX comedy series, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.

Kamau still finds time to travel to college campuses around the country, performing his one-man show that inspired Totally Biased, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour. Kamau’s writing has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter,CNN.com, Salon, The LA Review of Books, The Establishment. (One time, on his website, Kamau wrote about getting kicked out of The Elmwood Cafe in Berkeley on his birthday because they thought he was harassing his wife. Listen to his appearance on This American Life for all the details.)

In 2018, Bell used the Emmy’s as a platform to speak out against the Family Separation crisis.

Learn more: Racial Justice

Demián Bichir

Demián Bichir serves as an ACLU Artist Ambassador for immigrants' rights. Bichir is one of the most well-known and well-respected actors in his home of Mexico and the U.S. He received a 2012 Academy Award, SAG Award and Independent Spirit Award nomination for his portrayal of an undocumented gardener trying to connect with his estranged teenage son in Chris Weitz's feature "A Better Life." He is the first Mexican born actor to be nominated for the Best Actor award by the Academy since Anthony Quinn was nominated for the film "Wild Is the Wind" in 1957.

His outstanding U.S. film credits include: “Alien, Covenant”, “The Hateful Eight”, Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh's "Che," "Savages," “Dom Hemingway,” "The Heat," and "Machete Kills."

In the United States TV, Bichir is beloved for his portrayal of Esteban Reyes opposite Mary-Louise Parker in the hit Showtime series "Weeds." And he also stared in the critically acclaimed television series, "The Bridge" for FX opposite Diane Krueger. He wrote and directed "A Circus Tale & A Love Song", a coming of age story about the possibility of love and need of redemption. 

In Mexico, Bichir is an Ariel Award winner for Best Actor, given by the Mexican Academy of Cinematography, and has received numerous other nominations and prestigious honors including a Medal of Honor for Merit in the Fine Arts, given by the Legislative Assembly of Mexico City.

Bichir comes from a well-known and highly respected theatrical family. He is the son of famed theater director Alejandro Bichir and acclaimed actress Maricruz Nájera. His brothers Odiseo and Bruno are also two of the most talented actors of their generation. Bichir also impressed U.S. audiences in 2017 starring in Luis Valdéz’s “ZOOT SUIT”, in a sold-out season at the Mark Taper Forum.

His most memorable Latin American credits include, Jorge Michel Grau’s “7:19”, Antonio Serrano’s “Sex, Shame and Tears” (Ariel Award Best Actor Nominee) and "Hidalgo, The Untold Story" (Ariel Award Best Actor Nominee and winner of the Best Actor award at the Huelva Film Festival in Spain). 

Demián resides in Los Angeles and Mexico City.

In 2016, Demián spoke out with the ACLU to inform immigrants of their unalienable rights.

Learn more: Immigrants' Rights

Lewis Black

Lewis Black is an ACLU Artist Ambassador for voting rights. Black has been a fixture on The Daily Show segment, "Back in Black," since the show's debut in 1996. He won a Grammy for comedy album, The Carnegie Hall Performance (2006), has starred in numerous HBO Comedy and Comedy Central specials. In addition to his work in comedy, Black has written over 40 plays, and three books. He has made numerous appearances on CNN and MSNBC, and has appeared as a guest on several late-night television shows, including Larry King Live, Piers Morgan Tonight, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O' Brian and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Lewis Black was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Silver Spring, MD. His mother, a teacher, and his father, a mechanical engineer, instilled in both Lewis and his younger brother Ron the importance of education and the necessity to question authority. Black holds degrees from the University of North Carolina and Yale Drama School, where he received an MFA.

Lewis supports a number of charitable causes, including the ACLU. In 2012, he was honored with a National Civil Liberties Award by the ACLU of Georgia.

Learn more: Voting Rights

Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, an ACLU Artist Ambassador for LGBT rights, currently stars as “Mitchell Pritchett” on the Award-winning ABC comedy MODERN FAMILY. Currently, in its tenth season, the show has earned five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Ferguson has also received five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and four People’s Choice Award nominations for "Favorite Comedic TV Actor" on behalf of MODERN FAMILY.

Ferguson returned to Broadway in 2016 starring as 40 outrageous characters in the hit one-man show, FULLY COMMITTED for which he received a Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Solo Performance" as well as a Drama League Nomination for "Distinguished Performance.” On the big screen, Ferguson most recently starred as the voice of “The Shangri Llama” in 20th Century Fox’s ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE.

Ferguson made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 as “Chip” in George C. Wolfe’s revival of ON THE TOWN. He later went on to originate the role of "Leaf Coneybear" in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (Drama Desk Award, “Outstanding Ensemble Performance,” “Distinguished Performance” nominee, Drama League Awards).

Ferguson has also worked extensively with The New York Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park in such notable productions as THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, THE TEMPEST, THE WINTER’S TALE, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (“Distinguished Performance” nominee, Drama League Awards) and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS (“Distinguished Performance” nominee, Drama League Awards).

Other theatre credits include world premieres of Jordan Harrison’s LOG CABIN, Christopher Shinn's WHERE DO WE LIVE and Michael John LaChiusa's LITTLE FISH, as well as “Sir Robin” in SPAMALOT and “Leo Bloom” in THE PRODUCERS, both at The Hollywood Bowl.

A longstanding advocate for marriage equality, Ferguson co-founded Tie The Knot in 2012 with his husband, where they design limited edition bow ties with all the proceeds going to various organizations that fight for LGBTQ equality around the world.

For the 2018 midterm elections, Ferguson wrote an inspiring op-ed urging voters to consider LGBT voices when choosing their candidate.

Learn more: LGBT Rights

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Maggie Gyllenhaal is an ACLU Artist Ambassador for immigrants’ rights and privacy & technology. She is an award-winning actress and star of the HBO series “The Deuce.” Her film work has included, “Secretary,” “Crazy Heart,” “Dark Knight,” “Stranger Than Fiction,” “Sherrybaby,” and many more. She has starred in the BBC/SundanceTV original series “The Honorable Woman,” for which she garnered a 2015 Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award nomination, and an Emmy Award nomination. She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in “Crazy Heart” and two Golden Globe nominations, for “Secretary” and “Sherrybaby.”

Gyllenhaal is also accomplished on stage, having performed at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and the Vanborough Theatre in London. In October 2014, Maggie made her Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, opposite Ewan McGregor and Cynthia Nixon.

In 2016, Gyllenhaal narrated “Truth and Power,” a documentary series on Pivot TV exploring the invasive use of technology by our government.

This past year, she created the video “My Name is Mirian,” joining over 30 celebrities in reading a letter penned by a mother forcibly separated from her son at the border. 

Learn more: Privacy & Technology, National Security

Michael Kenneth Williams

Michael Kenneth Williams is an ACLU Artist Ambassador for ending mass incarceration. Williams is best known for his remarkable work on The Wire, which ran for five seasons on HBO. The wit and humor that Williams brought to Omar, the whistle-happy, profanity-averse, dealer-robbing stickup man, earned him high praise and made Omar one of television's most memorable characters. For his work Williams was nominated in 2009 for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series." Williams is also co-starring in HBO's critically acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire, which premiered in 2010. In the Martin Scorsese-produced show, Williams plays Chalky White, a 1920s bootlegger and impeccably suited veritable mayor of the Atlantic City's African-American community. In 2012 Boardwalk Empire won a Screen Actors Guild Award for" Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series." Giving back to the community plays an important role in Williams' off-camera life. He has established Making Kids Win, a charitable organization whose primary objective is to build community centers in urban neighborhoods that are in need of safe spaces for children to learn and play.

A few years back, Michael spoke with the New Yorker to discuss his role as an ACLU Ambassador for ending mass incarceration.

Learn more: Smart Justice, Fair Justice

Sasheer Zamata 

Sasheer Zamata is an ACLU Artist Ambassador for women’s rights. She is a comedian, actress, writer and former Saturday Night Live cast member for 4 seasons. Sasheer starred in NBC’s pilot SO CLOSE. Earlier this year, she wrapped the lead role in the independent feature “The Weekend,” opposite Tone Bell and Dewanda Wise and recently released her first one hour comedy special, “Pizza Mind,” to rave reviews. She can also be seen in Amy Schumer’s “I Feel Pretty” for Voltage.
She received improv and sketch training from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and performs stand up at colleges and clubs across the country. Additional TV credits include Transparent, Inside Amy Schumer, People Of Earth among many others. She’s told stories for This American Life. She co-created and co-starred in the webseries Pursuit of Sexiness, which was named one of the Top 10 Web Series of 2013 by Variety, and part of Glamour's 7 Web Series We Can't Stop Watching in 2015.

Sasheer has been listed in Cosmopolitan's 13 Funny Women to Watch, Time Out New York's Top 10 Funniest Women in NYC, Brooklyn Magazine's 50 Funniest People in Brooklyn, and Complex Magazine's Women in Comedy You Should Be Paying Attention to Right Now.

She's performed stand up at Bonnaroo, SXSW, Moontower Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest, Vodafone Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, Brooklyn Comedy Festival, Limestone Comedy Festival, Woodstock Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, Great American Comedy Festival, and Women in Comedy Festival.

She can be seen on the big screen in Yoga Hosers, Sleight, The Outdoorsman, and Deidre and Laney Rob A Train. She’s done voice over for Call of Duty, Lucas Bros. Moving Co., and Albert (Nickelodeon). She also serves as ACLU's Artist Ambassador for Women's Rights.

Learn More: Women's Rights

Ike Barinholtz

Ike Barinholtz, an ACLU Artist Ambassador for Voting Rights, is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after comedians, writers and actors in the comedy world. Barinholtz can most recently be seen in The Oath, alongside Tiffany Haddish, which marked his feature directorial debut. Ike starred in Universal’s Blockers alongside John Cena and Leslie Mann this past summer. Additionally, he wrapped the final season of Hulu’s The Mindy Project in 2017, which he also served as a writer and producer on in past seasons. 

Barinholtz was seen in Fox’s Snatched alongside Amy Schumer, reprising his role in Universal’s Neighbors 2, appearing in Warner Bro’s Suicide Squad and starring alongside Amy Poehler and Tina Fey in Universal’s Sisters. Additionally, he wrote the action comedy Central Intelligence with his writing partner David Stassen in 2016. 

Barinholtz’s additional feature credits include Neighbors, Meet the Spartans, Disaster Movie and the indies Shrink, Lock and Roll Forever and Inventing Adam.

Learn more: Voting Rights

Amber Heard

Amber Heard serves as an ACLU Ambassador for women’s rights, with a focus on gender-based violence. She is an actor, activist, and philanthropist who is committed to both art and social justice.  Originally from Texas, Heard moved to Los Angeles when she was 17 and made her feature film debut in “Friday Night Lights.” Heard went on to gain national attention in the film “Pineapple Express,” and later starred in films like “The Joneses,” and “Zombieland.”  Over her 15-year career, she has appeared in nearly 50 films, including “The Danish Girl,” “Magic Mike XXL,” “Drive Angry,” and “3 Days to Kill.”  Heard was Mera in the 2017 Warner Bros. and DC Comics’ film, “Justice League."  She reprises the role in “Aquaman,” which has made over one billion dollars worldwide.

Heard uses her public platform to advocate for human rights. In 2003, Heard started working with The Art for Elysium, which introduced her to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. A longtime supporter of women’s rights and a prominent voice in the LGBTQ community since 2006, and in addition to her work with the ACLU, Heard is actively involved with organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Now. Since 2011, she has been a partner with Amnesty International, traveling to the Mexican border to provide humanitarian assistance.  In 2018, she went on a mission to Jordan with the Syrian American Medical Society to provide support to Syrian refugees. She has also traveled to Mexico in support of Smile Train. She continues to organize trips and demonstrations with other artists and activists to fight for migrant and human rights. Heard recently became L’Oréal’s newest Global Spokesperson and works to spread the message that all women are “worth it.” As a Human Rights Champion of the United Nations Human Rights Office, Heard uses her voice to champion human rights for all.

Heard contributed to The Washington Post in a moving 2018 Op-Ed, calling for a change to the repressive stigma facing victims of sexual assault.

Learn More: Women’s Rights

Padma Lakshmi

Emmy-nominated Padma Lakshmi, an ACLU Artist Ambassador for immigrants’ rights and women’s rights, is internationally known as a food expert, model, actress, and best-selling author, as well as the recipient of the 2016 NECO Ellis Island Medal of Honor and Variety’s 2018 Karma award. Lakshmi serves as host and an executive producer of Bravo’s Emmy award-winning Top Chef, which is currently in its 16th season.                                                                                                                                             
Lakshmi established herself as a food expert early in her career, having hosted two successful cooking shows and writing the best-selling Easy Exotic, which won the “Best First Book” award at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.  Lakshmi followed this success with the publication of her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet. In 2016, she released her food memoir, The New York Times best-selling Love, Loss and What We Ate, which also won “Best Lifestyle, Body & Soul” at the 2017 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, followed by The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs. In Spring of 2018, Padma collaborated with MAC Cosmetics for a worldwide capsule collection called #MACPadma. She is also co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America and was recently named a Visiting Scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In her empowering 2018 Op-Ed for The New York Times, Lakshmi added her voice to the #MeToo movement.

Learn more: Immigrants’ Rights, Women’s Rights

Alyssa Milano

Actress and Activist Alyssa Milano has been in the spotlight for most of her life.  She chooses to shine that spotlight on causes that matter deeply to her.  Her advancement of #MeToo sparked a viral movement of women fighting against sexual harassment and assault and she has been involved in TimesUp since its inception.  She recently joined the ERA Coalition’s Advisory Council.  In the wake of the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, Alyssa became one of the founders of NoRA, a coalition dedicated to combatting the NRA money in political campaigns so that common sense gun reform can be enacted. For 15 years, she has been a UNICEF National Ambassador.  In 2016, she received their Spirit of Compassion Award for her dedication to their mission of advocating for the protection of children's rights, helping meet their basic needs and expanding their opportunities to reach their full potential.  She has lobbied members of Congress for greater rights for immigrants as well as education reform and has been on the forefront of efforts to protect health coverage for all Americans.  She continues to use her voice and platform to advocate for social justice, fairness and equality.

As the Reproductive Rights Ambassador, Milano participated in an important video encouraging women to claim their rights in instances of pregnancy discrimination.

Learn more: Reproductive Freedom