Kerry Washington Puts ACLU Center Stage in The Fight

With the recent double whammy loss of two civil rights icons (Representative John Lewis and Rev. C.T. Vivian) and a pathologically lying Commander-In-Chief wilding out on Twitter organizations like the ACLU will become even more necessary and prolific.  What is the ACLU? With more than 1.5 million members, nearly 300 staff attorneys, thousands of volunteer attorneys, and offices throughout the nation, the American Civil Liberties Union fights against government abuse and vigorously defends individual freedoms including speech and religion, a woman’s right to choose, the right to due process, citizens’ rights to privacy and much more.

Directed by Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres, The Fight chronicles the journey of four highly competent lawyers whose work has been under the radar are now grabbing the spotlight with four legal battles magnified and challenged under the Trump Administration.  One of the most heart stopping moments was watching Lee Gerlernt, prior to a NBC News appearance where he was preparing to discuss DACA, had to pivot on a dime to speak about Trump’s transgender military ban is the stuff a great documentary is made of.  To date, the ACLU has more than 110 lawsuits against the Trump Administration.

Most importantly, the audience witnesses first hand what huge, vulnerable hearts these legal eagles possess under what the pressure of doggedly fighting against one of the worst administrations in American history.  Their raw emotion laid upon their hearts, all in the name of justice, will give one a very different definition of shark images usually associated with lawyers and desires to win at all costs.  Gerlernt, Dale Ho, Brigitte Amiri and Chase Strangio deserve to be lauded for the mental and physical abuse they endure all for the sake of their clients.  Nameless, faceless Americans who all just want one thing…justice with respect.

As with their award-winning documentary “Weiner,” this trio for filmmakers takes real life issues and humanizes it within an inch of its life. For Americans, freedom and justice for all is a right that many have been fighting for and against for decades.  Now, we are battling a very different fight with COVID-19, which has presented citizens with challenges one could never imagine.  Hopefully with the American Civil Liberties Union our basic civil rights will always be spoken and fought for by some of the very best.  Produced by Kerry Washington and Magnolia Pictures, The Fight drops on July 31st.