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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14

LAST NIGHT
THE ACLU AND NYCLU HONORED
PEPPERMINT
AT THE 21ST ANNUAL
“SING OUT FOR FREEDOM”
BENEFIT CONCERT

HOSTED BY
TONY AND EMMY AWARD-NOMINATED WRITER AND TV HOST
AMBER RUFFIN

PERFORMANCES AND APPEARANCES BY
MICHELLE BUTEAU, HAYLEY KIYOKO, CHEYENNE JACKSON,
TAYLOR IMAN JONES, PIA TOSCANO, VINCINT, ERICH BERGEN, AND MORE

DOWNLOAD PHOTOS FROM THE CONCERT HERE

New York, NY (November 14, 2023) –The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) held their 21^st Annual “Sing Out For Freedom” benefit concert last night at the NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place), where they honored entertainer and recording artist Peppermint (Hulu’s Fire Island, OUTtv’s “Call Me Mother”), who received The Michael Friedman Freedom Award. Tony and Emmy Award-nominated writer and TV host Amber Ruffin (Some Like It Hot, Peacock’s “The Amber Ruffin Show”) hosted the evening’s festivities.

The evening featured a star-studded list of performers and presenters including Peppermint, Michelle Buteau, Alexis Michelle, Hayley Kiyoko, Cheyenne Jackson, Taylor Iman Jones, Michelle Buteau, Pia Toscano, VINCINT, Liana Stampur, Erich Bergen, and more.

To download photos from the evening, please click HERE.

“Sing Out For Freedom” was established to shine a light on social injustices and civil rights issues through an unforgettable, curated night, featuring song, spoken word, and other performing arts.

This year’s theme was “Sing Out for Freedom: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Fabulous” and highlighted the NYCLU’s work to protect all New Yorkers from discrimination, including working with New Yorkers for Equal Rights to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and work with the ACLU Drag Defense Fund to defend LGBTQ+ Rights.

“Sing Out for Freedom reminds us that music, theatre, and the arts are powerful tools for change — they inspire, change hearts, drive people to action, and help bring us together as a community. New Yorkers, artists, and activists came together as part of a vibrant ACLU community to support civil liberties and create a line of defense against the wave of assaults we’ve seen across the country on our most basic democratic values, including free speech,” said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. “The NYCLU and the ACLU are thrilled to, once again, uplift what we’ve achieved together and energize our supporters as we continue our work to advance equality, protect abortion, and fight back against anti-LGBTQ laws.”

The “Sing Out For Freedom” concert event was created to highlight social injustices and civil rights issues through song, spoken word, and other performing arts. Each year, artists illuminate the NYCLU and the ACLU’s wins for civil rights and liberties and the struggles that must continue. Past participants have included Tom Hanks, Patti Smith, Padma Lakshmi, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Tony Kushner, Laura Benanti, Kelli O’Hara, Phillipa Soo, Michael Friedman, Ben Platt, Tonya Pinkins, Lindsay Mendez, Lena Hall, Gavin Creel, Ruthie Ann Miles, and Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner Benj Pasek.

“Sing Out For Freedom” was co-founded by Liana Stampur and Erich Bergen along with NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the work of the NYCLU and the ACLU to promote and protect civil rights and liberties in New York and across the country. For more information, visit www.singoutforfreedom.com.

The 21^st Annual “Sing Out for Freedom” benefit concert was Produced by 6W Entertainment and Executive Produced by Ari Conte, with Direction by Erich Bergen and Musical Direction by Emmy Winner and Grammy Nominee, Michael J. Moritz Jr.

ABOUT THE MICHAEL FRIEDMAN FREEDOM AWARD
The NYCLU inaugurated the Freedom Award in 2017 to recognize an individual(s) and/or organizations for exceptional contributions as humanitarians, artists and activists. In 2019, the award was renamed the Michael Friedman Freedom Award in memory of the brilliant theater composer who was deeply committed to civil liberties and civil rights. Past recipients include Harry Belafonte, Alan Cumming, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Broadway For Racial Justice

ABOUT THE NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION AND SING OUT FOR FREEDOM
The New York Civil Liberties Union is one of the nation’s foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, the NYCLU is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization with nine offices, including seven regional offices and members across the state. We work to ensure that the core values and principles of equality, liberty and due process are more fully and consistently realized in the lives of all New Yorkers. In pursuit of these principles, we fight for the dignity of all people, with particular attention to the pervasive and persistent harms of racism.

ABOUT NYU SKIRBALL
NYU Skirball is located in the heart of Greenwich Village, historically a center of resistance, dissent and free thinking. NYU Skirball’s programing reflects this history and embraces today’s renegade artists and companies, presenting works that aim to engage, provoke and inspire audiences. NYU Skirball is NYC’s home for cutting-edge performance, artistic research, and discourse, holding close to James Baldwin’s dictum that “artists are here to disturb the peace.” The 800-seat theater provides a home for internationally renowned artists, innovators, and thinkers and presents ground-breaking events ranging from re-inventions of the classics to cutting-edge premieres, in genres ranging from dance, theater and performance arts to comedy, music and film.

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www.singoutforfreedom.com/
www.instagram.com/artists4nyclu/
https://nyuskirball.org/about/

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