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The ACLU recognizes that when vital civil liberties issues are addressed on screen, stage, canvas, and the page, so too are they addressed over the dinner table. Rights / Camera / Action uses the arts and popular culture as a platform for civil liberties discussions with the artists and other professionals who create entertainment, as well as with the audiences and students who are its consumers.
Through film screenings, panels, dialogue with artists, industry leaders, and civil liberties experts; and through spoken, sung, and written word, Rights / Camera / Action encourages conversations that tap into core American values that cut across the lines of political ideology, race, ethnicity, age and gender.
rendition the US vs john lennon standard operating procedure ghosts of abu ghraib civic duty the road to guantanamo the visitor taxi to the dark side at the death house door trials of darryl hunt shut up and sing this film is not yet rated
The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve our rights and freedoms: freedom of speech, press, association and assembly; freedom of religion; the right to due process; the right to privacy; the right to equal protection under the law, regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
Throughout time, the arts have told powerful stories about rights and freedoms. Over time, the entertainment industry has proven to be highly influential in informing and shaping public opinion about Constitutional issues.
Historically, works like To Kill a Mockingbird, 12 Angry Men, Norma Rae, and All the President's Men have provided us with stories about racial equality, criminal justice, the rights of women and workers, and protections from government abuse of power. In the last decade, films like Boys Don't Cry and Philadelphia contended with gay, lesbian, transgender, and AIDS patients' rights. Enemy of the State looked at privacy and the Fourth Amendment. Good Night and Good Luck and Shut Up & Sing tackled the fundamental freedoms of press, speech, and dissent guaranteed by the First Amendment. Rendition, The Road to Guantánamo and documentaries including Taxi to the Dark Side and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib have critically examined issues of human rights, due process and the government abuses of power confronting us today.
Because freedom can't protect itself, the ACLU provides a network for concerned individuals to learn about and defend civil liberties through news and information on our website, in our action center, and via email. The discussions encouraged by Rights / Camera / Action aim to inform and excite audiences, as well as empower them with the resources to learn more, change more, and act more.

From an ACLU Open Letter
January 7, 2008
WEAR AN ORANGE RIBBON
"The American Civil Liberties Union is calling on all people of conscience to Wear Orange on January 11th to demand the closing of the prison at Guantánamo Bay and an immediate end to six years of injustice. By standing in solidarity we can shift the debate on this national disgrace."
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New York Magazine
February 26, 2008
THE STYLING OF ACTIVISM: RIBBONS, RUBBER BRACELETS MUST MATCH THE DRESS
"Did you notice the orange ribbon pinned to Julie Christie's dress and Paul Haggis' lapel at the Oscars?...Organizations like the ACLU, which sponsors the Close Guantanamo campaign, ask stars to don thesestamps of activism..."
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Daily Variety
June 27, 2006
ACLU PAVES WAY TO 'ROAD'
"The crowd that gathered at the IFC Center for the ACLU's screening of Michael Winterbottom's "The Road to Guantanamo" was more civil liberties lawyers than celebs - but the real stars of the evening were sittingbleary-eyed 3,000 miles to the east in London. After the unspooling two of the so-called Tipton Three... talk over their experiences at Camp Delta via video-conference link with ACLU exec director Anthony Romero and Winterbottom."
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The Salt Lake Tribune
Sundance 2008
FORGET PARIS HILTON, THERE'S THE ACLU!
"In recent years, everyone from luxury clothing designers to animal-rights activists have taken theirv non-film-related causes to Park City during Sundance. Now it's the ACLU's turn."
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The Hollywood Reporter
February 25, 2008
OUTSIDE WORLD MAKES ITS WAY IN
"In a year when larger events the presidential election, the Iraq War, the writers strike overshadowed and even threatened to undo theAcademy Awards, Oscar responded...by incorporating those topics into the show."
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September 1, 2006
EVENTS THAT HAVE PEOPLE TALKING
"IFC Films' "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" was certainly ready for a special screening on Wednesday night, which was held in conjunction with the ACLU..."
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Los Angeles Times
March 2008
'TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE'S'DIFFICULT ROUTE TO AN OSCAR
"When Gibney's powerfully shocking and profoundly unsettling documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side" won the Academy Award on Sunday, it was the culmination of an effort on his part and that of supportive organizations such as the ACLU... to mobilize people against what they regard as the unthinkably inhumane treatment of detainees in America's foreign prison camps."
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People Magazine
February 29, 2008
LADY IN RED
Best Actress nominee Julie Christie wore an orange ribbon to support the American Civil Liberties Union
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The Washington Post
February 26, 2008
OSCAR SWAG FROM THE DO-GOODERS: THE ORANGE RIBBON
"The Oscars are all about product placement...On Sunday night, the goody with el primo placement - right nearthe collars of Best Actress nominee Julie Christie and two-time winner Paul Haggis was an orange ribbon.
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USA Today
March 2008
THE 80TH ACADEMY AWARDS
"The best-actress nominee designed the dress with help from her stylist and accessorized with an orangeribbon in support of the ACLU."
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The Miami Herald
February 25, 2008
GUANTANáMO PROTEST MAKES CAMEO AT OSCARS
"First British nominee Julie Christie strolled the red carpet with a "jumpsuit orange" ribbon...To anyone who asked, she said she got the accessory from the American Civil Liberties Union...Next you could spot the ribbon on the lapel of director Alex Gibney, as he picked up a statuette for Taxi to the Dark Side."
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Technology Daily
February 26, 2008
THE ACLU'S CELEBRITY OUTREACH
"While some lobbyists fight over the legislative fine print in Washington...theAmerican Civil Liberties Union in New York, has been busy organizing celebrity packed events to highlight policy differences between theACLU and the Bush administration."
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For more information, contact:
Rights/Camera/Action: An ACLU Production
125 Broad Street, 18th Fl., New York, NY 10004
Tel 212.549.2556 Fax 212.549.2646
rcainfo@aclu.org
www.aclu.org/rightscameraaction