June for the US is ‘Immigrant Heritage Month’, celebrating and raising awareness of the stories of American immigrants – and, joining the official campaign for 2016 is actresses Lupita Nyong’o, Kerry Washington and Rosario Dawson, singers Estelle, Akon and Miguel among many others.
Photographed by Emmy award-winning director Cary Fukunaga (who directed Beasts of No Nation starring Idris Elba), the stars are seen wearing the official #IAmAnImmigrant t-shirt, and speaking in a behind-the-scenes video for the shoot on their thoughts on immigrants in American society.
Kenyan star Lupita is seen saying;
“What I think is so wonderful about America, is the fact that it’s a society of immigrants.”
With Akon (who is Senegalese but also raised in US, asides living briefly in Dakar) adding that America was “built on immigrants… built by slaves”, Rosario Dawson explains,
“You can trace back from trains being built, cities and industries being developed because of different influxes of people who came in. It’s incredible to be a part of a culture that’s still living.
What we expect or think about what america is, it’s fluid.”
Nigerian actress and director, Adepero Oduye also shared in the video;
“To me when I see ‘immigrant’ and I think ‘immigrant’, I think strength. I think strong. I think triumph.”
Tracee Ellis Ross, Miguel and Kerry Washington are celebrity supporters of the campaign, some sharing pics of themselves in the tee (which you can buy here) to social media too.
Team SPICE love the initiative and the number of star supporters involved (both those who are immigrants and those whose family roots began in America) , and suggest you take a look at the video below to hear Lupita Nyong’o, Akon and Rosario Dawson’s story for the #IAmAnImmigrant campaign.
Video & image source: Youtube.com/welcomeUS, @Kerrywashington, Iamanimmigrant.com
