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"It’s a way for us to state our solidarity with those communities under threat and to say what [Trump is] doing is really un-American."
The American Civil Liberties Union has released giant billboards featuring the First Amendment, which provides the right to freedom of speech and press. Written in Arabic, Spanish and English, the ACLU's signs cover Times Square, as well as 30 bus stops in Washington, D.C. and a large spot in Los Angeles.
As part of their "We the People" campaign, the nationwide billboards spell out the language of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
ACLU's Stacy Sullivan spoke about the project with Huffington Post, saying, "Trump came to power on a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, and it was particularly bad when it came to Muslims. It's a way for us to state our solidarity with those communities under threat and to say what [Trump is] doing is really un-American."
\u201cWe launched #WeThePeople to remind the public of its First Amendment rights & reassure immigrants they too are protected by the Constitution\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1491324601
The advocacy organization chose to run the signs in Spanish and Arabic, as well as English, because Muslim and Latinx groups are especially under threat in Trump's America. They also shared a video to accompany the signs with future plans to spread the campaign to more cities and in more languages.
