Pariah's Kim Wayans and Dee
Rees, the film's star and writer-director, respectively, have
recorded an ad for the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) Americans for
Marriage Equality campaign.
“Nothing says family like marriage,
and everyone should be able to marry the person that they love and to
protect the family that they care about,” Wayans says in the video.
“Lesbian and gay couples' stories are
just as real, and just as romantic, and deserve to be told,” Rees
adds. (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Pariah tells the story of Alike
(played by Adepero Oduye), an African-American teen living with her
conservative parents and sister in Brooklyn as she begins to affirm
her identity as a lesbian. Wayans plays Alike's overbearing mother
who is opposed to her daughter's sexuality.
Similar HRC campaigns have focused on
winning marriage equality in a specific state, previously New York
and currently Maryland.
(Related: Cleveland
Browns linebacker Scott Fujita urges Americans to support gay
marriage.)
Americans for Marriage Equality places
the campaign on a national stage and includes videos from the
Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign.
Recent contributors include Precious
star Mo'Nique,
The Good Wife's Josh
Charles, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon
Ayanbedejo and Julian
Bond, chairman emeritus of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).