WATCH: What Drew Kerry Washington To Her Role In 'Six Triple Eight'

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Tyler Perry’s groundbreaking film honors the unsung legacy of the all-Black female battalion in World War II, highlighting how Black women have long redefined excellence and innovation in America.

Transcript

00:00Carrie, what drew you to this project?

00:02Was there like a personal emotional connection

00:04that made you resonate with it on a deeper level?

00:06Like just sort of what, you know, what drew you to it?

00:09How could you not resonate with this story

00:12on a deeper level, right?

00:13Like these women were such heroes.

00:16They are such heroes.

00:18They are, I mean, I can't imagine hearing this story

00:22and not wanting to be a part of this project

00:25because it felt less like a job

00:28and more like an assignment, like a gift,

00:30like an honor, a privilege.

00:33I didn't know about the 6888 growing up.

00:36Neither of us learned about the 6888 in school.

00:38But imagine if we had.

00:39Imagine if we had.

00:40Imagine how much braver we would be today.

00:41Sorry, I say that.

00:42I think about that.

00:43No, I do think about that with my daughters.

00:44Like I'm so grateful that my daughters

00:46are getting to live in a world where they know this story

00:49from a much younger age.

00:50And I think about the impact that that has on them

00:53to understand, you know, when Tyler Perry showed the film

00:57to Miss Lena Derricott King,

00:58who Ebony plays so brilliantly in the film,

01:01he showed the film to her and she like cried and she laughed

01:05and she was saluting the iPad.

01:07But she also, she said,

01:08I wanna thank you for letting the world know

01:11that black women contributed.

01:13And that's just such an important thing for us to know,

01:16for our daughters to know,

01:17for our mothers to be celebrated for.

01:19We have contributed.

01:22We've been contributing.

01:23We continue to contribute.

01:24We continue to over-index in how we show up for this country

01:29despite how this country does or does not show up for us.

01:32And so I'm just really grateful to be part of a story

01:35that really lifts up these heroes,

01:38these examples of service.

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