*Kerry Washington opens up in the latest issue of Glamour magazine about the importance of black women in television.
In an interview for the publication, the actress talks about the significance of race in ABC’s hit series “Scandal.” She notes that it was as if her character Olivia Pope was “raceless” during the first season. But later in the series, creator/producer Shonda Rhimes decided to actually write and show Pope as a black woman.
“[Since then] the writers have become more and more willing to deal with race,” the 40-year-old actress said. “When Olivia was kidnapped, it was not lost on me that the fictional president of the United States was willing to go to war to save one black woman at a time when hundreds of black women were missing in Nigeria and we were begging the world to pay attention. Shonda was saying, ‘The life of a black woman matters.’”
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The change was evident in certain scenes, such as during season three when Olivia’s dad gave her the memorable “you have to be better than THEM” speech. And during season four, writers explored police brutality in the Black Lives Matter-inspired episode “The Lawn Chair.”
Washington also admits that she’s not sure of how much longer she’ll be in what she calls her “most transformative role,” as she wants to turn her focus to more behind-the-camera work with her new company.
“The charge of my production company, Simpson Street, is to tell stories that are about people, places and situations that may not always be considered by the mainstream,” she said. “Inclusivity is not about, you know, creating a world where straight white men have no voice; it’s about creating a world where we all have a voice. So I’m excited to start that new journey, as a producer.”
Check out Kerry’s Glamour cover below:
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