Celebrities and multi-ethnic cast in youth organization project

November 14, 2004

At the age of 19, Los Angeles resident and director Taron Lexton has completed a brand new educational tool – a music video that tells a moving tale of children fighting for their rights.

A rare fusion of hip-hop edge and a powerful human rights message, UNITED has already proved immensely popular with young and old alike.

The 5-minute film also features cameo appearances from a host of celebrities: soul legend Isaac Hayes, movie actress Erika Christensen ("Traffic") and TV actresses Catherine Bell ("JAG"), Jenna Elfman ("Dharma and Greg"), and Lynsey Bartilson ("Grounded for Life").

Lexton crossed 14 countries to obtain footage for UNITED, from Japan to India to South Africa to Venezuela. Because everyone involved donated their time and talents, including the entire multi-ethnic cast and crew, the production was executed at minimal expense, with more than 2,000 people volunteering for the cause of human rights education.

“People are incredibly willing to contribute to this kind of project,” said Lexton, “Human rights are more important to people than you might think.”

The music video has also won praise from United Nations officials. Mr. Craig Mokhiber, Deputy Director of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations in New York, described the work as "brilliant. An important contribution to human rights education." The Mayor of Los Angeles, James Hahn, declared the film “praiseworthy.”

According to civil rights leaders, the video has the potential to dramatically curb youth violence. In California alone, the Department of Justice estimates there are 300,000 gang members. Six thousand young people in the state are hospitalized each year for some form of violent injury.

Lexton utilized the full facilities of his production company, TXL films, to create the music video as a project for Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI), an organization that teaches kids human rights and encourages youth-to-youth mentorship. Lexton received support in all phases of production from both YHRI and the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International. At the UNITED Premier event in New York City, Lexton earned the prestigious “Outstanding Youth Humanitarian Award” award from YHRI.

The song, “UNITED,” on which the video is based, was written by up-and-coming artists Charles Gee and Chris Thomas, with additional lyrics by 14-year-old female rapper Lai Lai. It was produced by Hiroko Hayata and award-winning musician Geoff Levin.

YHRI, founded in 2001 by Scientologist and educator Mary Shuttleworth, is making the work available to schools, youth organizations, and others concerned to advance human rights for youth.

Shuttleworth, Director of Youth for Human Rights International, sees UNITED as “a musical enactment of how to apply Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares that all human beings are born free and equal and should act towards another in a spirit of brotherhood."

International distribution is now underway. With tens of thousands of copies in circulation in 15 languages, UNITED is already generating an international grass roots movement for human rights.

>>Click HERE to see the video