Contributed by Jewell Hill
“Orange Is The New Black” is one of the “faves” on Netflix. The series’ creative team mentioned on Thursday that they have formed a fund that will support advocacy groups fighting for criminal justice reform and women re-entering society from prison, protect immigrants’ rights and end mass incarceration.
The fund is named after the show’s character, Poussey Washington. It will stretch every donation equally to eight existing nonprofit groups. The announcement was made on the eve of the show’s premiere which airs today. This will be the show’s seventh and final season.
Poussey Washington, an inmate portrayed by actress Samira Wiley, is a favorite character to fans. Her sudden death by the officers in the prison during the fourth season shocked many viewers and was a cinematic reflection of the recent cases about African-Americans being killed in police custody.
Wiley is reportedly honored to have the fund named after her character and is happy to have the show embrace real social responsibility.
PEOPLE mentions that the creator of the show, Jenji Kohan, shares her thoughts about the fund.
“Through the Poussey Washington Fund, our characters can live on and continue to make an impact after the show has come to an end,” Kohan says. “Taystee recognized an opportunity to make a difference for her fellow inmates, and we saw no reason why we couldn’t launch our own initiative to have an effect in the real world.”
This show follows an inmate Piper Chapman, played by actress Taylor Schilling, through her journey in prison. Along the way she meets with an interesting group of cellmates.
‘OITNB’ has received four People’s Choice Awards, a SAG Award, along with many other prestigious awards.
The Poussey Washington Fund will support A New Way of Life: Reentry Project, Anti Recidivism Coalition, College & Community Fellowship, Freedom For Immigrants, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Woman and Girls, unPrison Project and Women’s Prison Association. Donations to the fund will be evenly distributed between the organizations.
