“I am not an American who wants to be shut up or have my neighbors be shut up.”–Michael Stipe
Michael has joined with several other artists, entertainers, and
personalities in an ad campaign to broaden awareness of the American Civil Liberties Union and what it stands for.
According to Andrew Janson of Benenson Janson, the ACLU’s advertising agency since 2002, “The campaign plays to everyone’s desire to get involved, to be heard, and to preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and the laws of the United States.” The black and white print ads are scheduled to run from September to December in magazines like Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, and Vanity Fair. According to Howard Benenson, president of the agency, the “I am not an American” motif which begins each ad “plays to the desire for everyone to stand up for their beliefs.” Michael’s ad was featured in an article in the New York Times on September 12th. Richard Dreyfus, Al Pacino, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Vonnegut, Sheryl Crow, and Martin Sheen have all done ads for the ACLU campaign. For more information about the ACLU, how you can get involved, and the “I am not an American” effort, please click here.