Just days after news that Community will get a reunion movie on Peacock, one of that series stars — geek royalty Yvette Nicole Brown — has recorded a public service announcement urging citizens in the U.S. state of Georgia to check their voter registration status after thousands have been challenged or purged from the voter rolls. The “purge” comes as a result of a move by Governor Brian Kemp to crack down on alleged voter fraud by allowing any Georgian to challenge anyone else’s ability to vote. In the public service announcement, which promotes the upcoming film Vigilante by investigative journalist Greg Palast, Brown relates the story of just two people who have used the new system to challenge the votes of 36,000 of their fellow Georgians. She and Palast previously collaborated on a Get Out the Vote short film in 2020.
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Vigilante, which questions the ethics and legality of Kemp’s push to limit voting rights, will be narrated by Star Wars and Marvel star Rosario Dawson. It draws its name from one of the aforementioned two “vote challengers,” who cosplays as Doc Holliday throughout his interviews in the film.
“I read Greg’s book, on all of the things we can do to try and save our vote,” Brown told ComicBook.com in 2020. “And so he reached out this year and said, ‘Do you want to do this short with me?’ and I said yes, and he said ‘do you want to narrate it?’ and I said ‘absolutely.’ It’s really important for everybody to vote for everybody to know that it’s their right, it kind of feels like watching the news that it’s a privilege or gift that someone gives us. But no, it’s a right. So I wanted to take part and make sure a lot of people fight for their rights and they have the same government.”
“Yvette and Rosario have been incredible, lending not only their voice, but their time and energy to this cause,” Palast told ComicBook.com. “As Yvette’s beloved character in one of our team’s favorite shows Community always said, ‘That’s nice.’”
You can see the video below.
Palast and his nonprofit the Palast Investigative Fund have previously made documentaries on topics ranging from Hurricane Katrina to Hugo Chavez, as well as writing books and comics on a wide range of topics. Since 2001, Palast has been primarily focused on voting rights and the ways in which both the Republican and Democratic parties often work to disenfranchise voters they imagine to be threats.
“Working with Rosario is a dream because she is so passionate and incredibly talented,” director David Ambrose told us. “Her voice brought this film to life and gave it power. This year we did another PSA with Yvette Nicole Brown to raise awareness for Georgian’s to make sure their vote hasn’t been challenged or purged. She is so driven when it comes to protecting voting rights, she inspires me. Yvette speaks with authority and I know people will listen. We are extremely grateful to work with such talented and generous women to get this message out to a larger audience and expose these vote suppression tactics.”
Vigilante is going to be screened theatrically in a number of cities in the coming weeks, beginning today in Atlanta. It will be available digitally here. You can see if there’s a screening in your area at the screening website, where you can also pre-order a signed DVD of the film if that’s more your speed.
