‘Orange Is The New Black’ Sets Up Real Fund To Honor Beloved Character – Deadline
The character was fictional but the fundraiser is not: the producers of Netflix‘s Orange is the new black have established The Poussey Washington Fund, an initiative to raise funds for a selection of nonprofit advocacy groups focused on criminal justice reform, protecting immigrant rights, ending mass incarceration and supporting women in prison. were affected.
The fonds is named after a now deceased character from the series played by the actress Samira wiley. In a memorable 2016 episode, the character, an inmate, was pinned to the ground by a correctional officer and, unable to breathe, died. The fictional incident recalled the actual death in 2014 of Eric Garner from Staten Island.
In the next season of the Netflix series – which launches Friday, July 26 – the character of Taystee (Danielle Brooks) sets up a fictional version of a Poussey Washington fund by offering micro-loans to women released from prison.
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Real Life Fund creator Jenji Kohan said, “Thanks to the Poussey Washington Fund, our characters can live on and continue to have an impact after the series ends. Taystee recognized an opportunity to make a difference for his fellow inmates, and we saw no reason why we couldn’t launch our own initiative to make a difference in the real world.
The initiative will benefit the following eight nonprofits: 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, Project unPrison, Association of Women’s Prisons.
The Poussey Washington Fund is supported by GoFundMe.org, and donations will be distributed equitably among organizations.
The initiative was to be announced tonight at the show’s Season 7 premiere in New York City by Kohan and executive producer Tara Herrmann via the following video: