Redford Center presents Art of Activism with Rosario Dawson

Actress, activist and Voto Latino Co-founder Rosario Dawson will be celebrated, together with two Bay Area leaders, at the Redford Center's June 9 Art of Activism program.

Ms. Dawson will discuss the motivations and strategies behind her efforts to fight for voter engagement and education, to support disaster relief and refugees, and to use her voice to battle poverty, violence, and AIDS. The evening's program includes a moderated, action-oriented discussion between Ms. Dawson, Redford Center Executive Director Lee Bycel, the audience, and selected Art of Activism Honorees.

The Redford Center's Art of Activism series aims to engage, provoke, and inspire activism by celebrating the work of individuals who are having a significant impact in people's lives. The Center kicked off the series with a sold-out event in February of this year, featuring actor Robert Redford and local activists Victor Diaz and Avery Hale.

In 2004, Ms. Dawson co-founded Voto Latino, a non-partisan, non-profit organization aimed at increasing American Latino youth civic participation through greater voter turnout and political involvement. The organization's work ranges from on the ground voter registration to engaging with youth through pop culture and multimedia awareness campaigns, and has been instrumental in getting Latinos to register to vote since its inception. The organization's latest initiative promotes Latino involvement in the 2010 US Census.

Among the many organizations she has lent her support to are Amnesty International, Charity: Water, Declare Yourself, Global Cool, International Rescue Committee, Lower East Side Girls Club, ONE Campaign, Oxfam, Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Twenty Women For Darfur, VDay, and Youth AIDS.