African-American actress Amanda Stephen from the hit series Orange Is The New Black reveals more secrets about her character Alison Abdullah and the twists in Season 5.
Q Will the death of Poussey continue to affect the inmates in Season 5?
Throughout the whole season there’s unrest. The whole point or point of the riot was to get respect and acknowledgement for how Poussey Washington was killed. And it’s a way to heal, it’s a way to get the truth out, and a lot of people are still hurting in their own way. And this season they definitely hit it on the head as to how the families and friends and people affected by police brutalities in our society, how it affects them and not just, oh this is the news; oh “Black Lives Matter.”
It’s a life that just got taken. And what are we going to do about it if it’s not being represented or respected properly. So, that’s another part of taking over the prison. There is just a laundry list of things that just was not done right, and that was a way with the riot. One of the demands was to get Poussey’s name out there and to tell the truth.
Q What is it like to be on a show that isn’t afraid to tackle social issues head on?
That’s the beauty of working on “Orange is the New Black.” They reflect society and everything that’s going on. I think it’s extremely cathartic as an artist who wants to talk about it, who wants to write about it, who wants to put her art to show how she feels about certain things.
But definitely the viewers that watch OITB know this, and they know that they can relate to what’s going on in their world, what’s happening in a prison, in a women’s prison, right. As far as police brutality with the COs, with their power not respecting the inmates, having prejudices and being racist. There are different groups that are blatantly racist, right. And you find that in society. They may not be as overt as it is here because this is more of a tribal, survival thing here, but it’s out there in the world we live in as far as women’s rights and basic human civil liberties.
As far as getting tampons to not be taxed, we don’t even get them, right. And as a way to punish an inmate taking away their pads or tampons. Just as being a woman that’s a part of what we need but it’s not being seen or respected as such in the prison, and sometimes we are working on it, but out in the world we live in.
(Orange is the New Black airs every Saturday and Sunday at 5 pm on Colors Infinity!)
