Kerry Washington on Recent Violence: My Life Matters, Your Life Matters

Kerry Washington is encouraging her fans to stand up against the violence around the world and declare that our lives matter.

“There are no words that can encapsulate the pain of our bleeding hearts,” the 39-year-old Scandal actress wrote in an open letter on her Instagram account.

“Today, again, I am called to put my hand on my heart and affirm that: I matter. MY life matters. As a human, my life matters. As a woman, my life matters. As a Black person, my life matters. My life matters. And yours does too. Whoever you are,” Kerry added. “As you read this, as you tread through whatever pain you are traversing, know that no matter how much sickness lives in the hearts of those who are afraid of your humanity, YOUR LIFE MATTERS. We must stand up and have the courage and the freedom to say: I matter. And then we must have hearts big enough to say that YOU matter too. Our differences do not give us the right to devalue the worth of another human being.”

“The violence must stop. We must do better,” Kerry concluded. “I pray today for the healing of our hearts and the healing of our society.”