THE CULTURE

The New Face of Activism in Hollywood

Sister Kerry Washington Rising

By Lorraine Jones

Actress and producer Kerry Washington is a reallife gladiator in a suit. This prominent star uses her reach to amplify the voices of political activists and shed a light on the causes she vehemently believes in. Washington utilizes her microphone in the most effective way she can, by handing it to political leaders, marginalized people and women. This Emmy Award-winning heroine uses her relevance to lend the spotlight to fellow activists, provide necessary funds, lend her high-profile resources and connections, and share her expertise in visual storytelling.

Washington uses her platform to give people like Stacey Abrams, a former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, and Tram Nguyen, a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the resonance they need to make a greater impact. Washington worked with Abrams in the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia and founded Influence Change, an initiative that partners with high-impact organizations to generate greater voter turnout. Washington is very vocal on the importance of voting. She asserts that the right to vote is central to having a voice and that by giving up that right, we are silencing our ability to have opinions.

Washington passed the spotlight to real-life heroes to save us from the chaos of the current political crisis. The world watched the network drama star of Scandal embody a real-life Olivia Pope after the 2016 election results were announced. Although she has been heavily involved in politics throughout her career, after that immense political divide, she truly embodied the hope and courage of the network character she plays. She spent two years actively doing on-the-ground activism and has partnered with several national organizations such as Black Voters Matter, We the People Michigan and New Virginia Majority.

Alongside other prominent figures such as Alfre Woodard and Forest Whitaker, Washington was appointed to former President Barack Obama’s President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. While on the committee, Washington was particularly

Photo credit: David Urbanke for Vanity Fair

hands-on with the education segment that focused on schools in poverty-stricken areas as she and Michelle Obama visited Savoy Elementary School in D.C. Washington also served as co-chair of Michelle Obama’s initiative When We All Vote.To help empower marginalized groups and grassroots organizations, she created the Vision Into Power Cohort, a program in partnership with the Movement Voter Project,. Through this organization, Washington assists democracybuilding organizations, including many that have appointed women, especially women of color, to major leadership positions. Through this two-year program, Washington has worked with Action St. Louis, a group that empowers the black community, and Advance Native Political Leadership, a womenled organization whose mission is to expand representation and equity for the Native community. Washington provides direct funding, storytelling and digital strategy workshops, and mentorship opportunities to these groups.

Washington calls on women to support each other. She gave a compelling speech at the 2017 Women’s March in Los Angeles and supports numerous female-led startup companies.

This influential activist is a cochair of the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, whose mission is to amplify clarion voices regarding racial justice and address structural and systemic racism in this country by supporting black leaders locally and nationally.

Washington is a founder of Time’s Up, a movement that began in 2018 when she stood alongside more than 300 influential women in the entertainment business and said, “Enough is enough.” The goal of this initiative is to connect those who experience sexual misconduct in the workplace and to provide equal representation to those who experience sexual harassment and assault survivors across all industries. The focus of this organization is to establish legislation on gender parity issues and increase opportunities for women in low-wage industries and women of color. In the workplace, women are often the only woman in the room, pitted against each other, harassed or discriminated against. Time’s Up is such a significant movement because it’s such a large display of women showing up for each other. The organization now has more than 700 attorneys in its network taking on cases and helping people understand their rights in a work environment.

Over the years, Time’s Up has evolved to fight for the wider mission of ending inequality and injustice in the workplace. In 2021, the organization pushed for reform of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association after it was revealed that out of 87 members, there was not a single black person in the group of journalists who determine who receives the Golden Globe awards. The organization had not appointed anyone from the black community since 1987. This extreme lack of diversity is apparent and directly reflected in the noticeable snubbing of top black-led films in best picture categories in previous years.

Washington also pushes for social justice through her body of work as an actress. When Scandal first aired on ABC in 2012, Washington was the first black woman to star in a network TV

Washington as political fixer Olivia Pope in the ABC drama series Scandal

Photo credit: Mitch Haaseth/ABC via Getty Images

drama in 38 years. In a pivotal episode, the series depicted the first on-air abortion procedure. This necessary representation normalized a woman’s ability to have control and total agency over her life and body. Washington helped change the narrative of a decision commonly associated with shame and secrecy in her storytelling. Washington also appeared in the 2012 blockbuster film Django Unchained, which depicts a freed slave who travels across America to free his wife from bondage on a plantation.

Washington established her own production company, Simpson Street, in 2016 to highlight the stories and perspectives of women of color. Simpson Street produced the moving 2016 film Confirmation, which follows the story of Anita Hill, whose testimony in 1991 gave a voice to victims of sexual harassment.

Washington’s dedication has not gone unnoticed. She has received five NAACP Image Awards, including the President’s Award in 2013, which recognizes her efforts in furthering civil rights and public service.

Although she portrayed a fictional fixer in film for several seasons, she knows that fixing the world in real time takes real gladiators showing up to do the hard work. And if there’s one thing about Washington that no one can deny, it’s this: She definitely shows up.