Once best known for his role as Fez on That ‘70s Show, 40-year-old Wilmer Valderrama has more recently become very politically and socially active. Drawing on his own experience of living in Venezuela as a child and seeing how the narrative against immigrants and people of color was something he has the platform to potentially change, Wilmer has founded, participated and backs various organizations. Speaking about his new-found passion, Wilmer tells HOLA! USA: “You look at a lot of these organizations, and they do such incredible work on the ground and work that all of us won’t even comprehend. The way they organize; the way they mobilize, but also the lives they touch and the stories that they can tell. Diane [Guerrero] and I work on a multiple of them.”
Fellow actor and activist Diane Guerrero also has a personal connection with the plight of immigrants. She has written about her own story of her parents deportation back to Colombia when she was 14 and has been vested in using her platform to speak out on issues of injustice. “The reason why I gravitate toward these organizations is because they are not afraid to tell me the truth and how hard it is for a lot of marginalized groups out there, including some of the groups that I’m from,” she says of the highlighted organizations. “I just wanted to highlight them because I think that if more people paid attention to the people who are doing work that is valuable out there, then the better off we would be. These organizations continue to hold a place for me, hold the place for us where I can ask questions, and they are willing to educate freely. I appreciate that. These organizations are really doing the groundwork. If it weren’t for them, I don’t even know where we would be.”
Scroll through to learn more about the 10 people and philanthropies putting in the work to make this world a better place.
© GettyImagesHarness
Born out of a discussion between Wilmer, America Ferrera and her husband Ryan Piers Williams after the 2016 presidential election and in response to the shifting political climate, Harness was created in the hope of changing narratives. Bringing together artists, influencers and grassroots leaders they aim to move human rights higher up the political agenda. Harness just launched their 2020 Census campaign, #BeCounted, striving to raise awareness and promote participation so everyone is accurately counted. Keep reading for more about Harness here .
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© GettyImagesJustice for Migrant Women
Mónica Ramírez has been active for many years as an activist and civil rights attorny. She founded Justice for Migrant Women in 2014, focusing on advancing migrant women’s rights and justice. During the COVID-19 pandemic Mónica and her organization have been focusing on keeping workers safe and protecting their rights.
She was also instrumental in launching The Latinx House with Olga Segura and Alex Martinez Kondracke, which is a space to ignite change. “The coming together of all these people who are like minded, that‘s the accelerant for change,” she told us in January. “And I think that’s why it’s important for us also to make sure that what we’re doing is outward facing because we’re not about just being in a room for three days talking about things. We’re about changing things.” More from Mónica here.
© InstagramImmigrant Legal Resource Center
Founded in 1979 by law professor Bill Ong Hing, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center is a national nonprofit organization that provides legal trainings and educational materials to advance immigrant rights.
Diane acknowledges the work the ILRC has done. “I’ve been working with the ILRC since five, six years ago, when I first decided to share my immigration story.”
Read more here.
© GettyImagesFamilies Belong Together
Backed by celebrities such as Lin-Manuel Miranda , America Ferrera and Alicia Keys , Families Belong Together was created as a response to the detainment of children by the US government in 2018. “No one is breaking the law by showing up at our borders and seeking asylum,” said America. “So we must protect that process as Americans.”
For more on this organization, click here.
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© InstagramThis is about Humanity
This is about Humanity was founded in 2018 as a response to the heart-breaking images of families being separated at the US-Mexican border. Thanks to fundraising and information drives, they are helping to support families with living costs, access to legal services, mental wellness checkups and other shelter projects.
In 2016, Wilmer visted the Texas-Mexico border to meet local immigrants and said: “The most beautiful thing you can be is an immigrant.” He, himself, was born in the US but moved to his father’s native Venezuela for most of his childhood, returning to the States as a teenager.
Read all about This is About Humanity’s efforts during coronavirus here.
© InstagramBrown Issues
Brown Issues was founded by Kimberly Gudino in California, and its focus is on finding solutions for the problems that the Latinx community experiences in the US. Diane raved about her and what she is doing. “She‘s this young girl, who I really admire, and she does these blogs, these videos, these long videos about her community and she raises brown issues.”
More from Kimberly here.
© InstagramAlok Vaid-Menon
Wilmer and Diane aren’t just focusing on immigrant issues, however, with their support for LGBTQ community and trans youth. Diane has been especially paying close attention to author and performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon , who tirelessly challenges society’s expectations about gender norms. The OITNB star says, “Alok is doing work for trans youth and the LGBTQ community.”
© GettyImages#YouAreEssential
As the first openly trans person to run for state office in California, Ashlee Marie Preston is not afraid of a challenge. Having experienced homelessness and marginal work, she also understands how easy it is for vulnerable people to get left behind – not least in the midst of a pandemic. And so #YouAreEssential was launched, with the aim of combatting food insecurity, housing instability and barriers to access encountered by the elderly, disabled, immunocompromised and the deeply marginalized.
© InstagramVoto Latino
Founded in 2004, the raison d’être of this organization is to get Hispanic and Latino people to register to vote and become more politically involved. Voto Latino was was co-founded by Rosario Dawson and Phil Colon, with the current co-founding president and CEO being Maria Teresa Kumar.
Wilmer has been involved with the movement since its launch and was excited to see Latino voting participation leap massively in the 2018 mid-term elections, saying: “There is something happening.... It is really historic that the community is really rolling up their sleeves and having an opinion and voting.”
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© InstagramColor of Change
Founded in 2005 by James Rucker and Van Jones as a response to the devastation wrecked by Hurricane Katrina, Color of Change aims to embolder the political voice of African Americans by the use of online resources. Their Instagram account @colorofchange has become a means to give a voice to African Americans who wouldn’t normally be interviewed or heard on a national scale.
