Actress from ‘Scandal’ and ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ stops in Richmond, surprises girls group
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Bouncing on the balls of their feet and clapping in sync, the girls each shouted "My girl power!" in a call-and-response type fashion led by a woman named, "Coach Nicky." "My girl power! My girl power! My girl power! My girl power! My girl power! My girl power... looks like confidence, bravery, ambition, clarity." And when a woman, inconspicuously clad in an oversized sweatshirt and baggy jeans, with hair pulled into a long, curly ponytail joined the circle, she shouted that her girl power looks like peace. PREVIOUSLY: Virginia youth advocate’s documentary on daughters and their incarcerated fathers scores Netflix deal Her youthful appearance obscuring the glow of celebrity, the teenage girls slowly started using a language of elbow pointing and darting eyeballs to signal they knew exactly who was now standing before them. Kerry Washington was in the building. Or rather, underneath the tent outside the home of the non-profit Girls for a Change (GFAC) on Buford Road in the Midlothian area of Chesterfield County. "I’m so excited to see your space," Washington said. "I feel like what you have created in the world, in this program, when you’ve been together and what has been documented in the film 'Daughters,' I know is only the tip of the iceberg of who you are." "Daughters" is an award-winning film co-directed by Girls for a Change co-founder Angela Patton that can be found on Netflix. Washington joined the project as an executive producer earlier this year. In doing so, she has helped elevate the profile of the work of Girls for a Change, which is featured in the documentary. The documentary follows four young girls and their fathers as they prepare to see each other at a father-daughter dance inside a jail in Washington, D.C. The program started in Richmond when several GFAC girls were bold enough to write a letter to then-Sheriff C. T. Woody and request that he host the dance. During her visit to Chesterfield, Washington fielded several questions from the girls and implored those old enough to vote to do so. She also told those who are too young to encourage those around them to vote in ways that advance the issues important to their lives. "When we step into our power, in all kinds of ways, the ways you learn to do here every day, voting is a part of stepping into that power," said Washington. "Because it’s how we love ourselves and love our community when it comes to the people who make big decisions about how we live our lives."
VENN
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Bouncing on the balls of their feet and clapping in sync, the girls each shouted "My girl power!" in a call-and-response type fashion led by a woman named, "Coach Nicky."
"My girl power! My girl power! My girl power! My girl power! My girl power! My girl power... looks like confidence, bravery, ambition, clarity."
And when a woman, inconspicuously clad in an oversized sweatshirt and baggy jeans, with hair pulled into a long, curly ponytail joined the circle, she shouted that her girl power looks like peace.
Her youthful appearance obscuring the glow of celebrity, the teenage girls slowly started using a language of elbow pointing and darting eyeballs to signal they knew exactly who was now standing before them.
Kerry Washington was in the building. Or rather, underneath the tent outside the home of the non-profit Girls for a Change (GFAC) on Buford Road in the Midlothian area of Chesterfield County.
"I’m so excited to see your space," Washington said. "I feel like what you have created in the world, in this program, when you’ve been together and what has been documented in the film 'Daughters,' I know is only the tip of the iceberg of who you are."
"Daughters" is an award-winning film co-directed by Girls for a Change co-founder Angela Patton that can be found on Netflix. Washington joined the project as an executive producer earlier this year.
In doing so, she has helped elevate the profile of the work of Girls for a Change, which is featured in the documentary. The documentary follows four young girls and their fathers as they prepare to see each other at a father-daughter dance inside a jail in Washington, D.C.
The program started in Richmond when several GFAC girls were bold enough to write a letter to then-Sheriff C. T. Woody and request that he host the dance.
During her visit to Chesterfield, Washington fielded several questions from the girls and implored those old enough to vote to do so. She also told those who are too young to encourage those around them to vote in ways that advance the issues important to their lives.
"When we step into our power, in all kinds of ways, the ways you learn to do here every day, voting is a part of stepping into that power," said Washington. "Because it’s how we love ourselves and love our community when it comes to the people who make big decisions about how we live our lives."
