Kerry Washington might feel like she’s living in a “nightmare” under President Donald Trump’s administration, but she thinks hope for a better future lies in younger generations.
The actress was honored at the GLSEN Respect Awards on Friday night in Beverly Hills, where she accepted the GLSEN Inspiration Award in front of the community of LGBTQ youth leaders and champions.
She used her moment on the podium to call out Trump and his policies of division.
“Sometimes I feel as if we are living through a horrific dream,” she said. “It is a communal nightmare. The flames of terror and exclusion are being ignited by some of our most powerful ‘leaders.’ These people who have been entrusted with the protection of our rights ― the rights of all of us, of we the people ― have chosen instead to traffic in hate.”
“We’ve gone from a White House lit in all the colors of pride to a White House that literally preaches division and discrimination,” she continued. “And so sometimes I worry because the stakes are high and fear is rampant.”
Washington, a Hillary Clinton supporter and mom to son Caleb and daughter Isabelle, does have hope, however. And that hope lies in the young people who have the power to change the world.
“Children are not born to be molded and perfected by their parents,” she said. “Children are born to us because we need to grow and be made more perfect than them. Basically what I’m saying to the young people here tonight is ― don’t get it twisted ― we don’t raise you, you raise us ... You are inspiring that change. In your work, you are collectively helping our country to become a more perfect union, and not just for some of us, but for all of us. All of ‘we the people.’”
GLSEN, otherwise known as the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, is a group founded in 1990 to promote inclusivity for LGBTQ students.
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