Actor and producer Kerry Washington covers the November 2017 issue of Allure magazine, styled by Hanna Kelifa in 'Kerry On'. Photographer Sharif Hamza flashes Washington with an accompanying interview by Judith Newman the day after Charlottesville.

The duo meet at the Hammer Museum in LA, where Washington wants to experience the Gamelatron Sanctuary. In an honest, on-the-spot assessment reality check Newman writes:

While she is peacing out, I notice looming nearby an electric sign by the artist Sam Durant. It reads, simply, “END WHITE SUPREMACY.” We are having this interview the day after Charlottesville, and now I am supposed to be talking to one of the leading African-American actresses of our time about, um, moisturizer. This is very awkward for one of us. That one is not Kerry. I mention this to her.

They do skip moisturizer and move to hair, a topic of critical importance to Washington, in a world where African American women are judged by their hair. “I like to wear my natural texture, especially now because I have children and I want them to know that their hair is perfect as it is. They don’t have to change it or straighten it. They can, but they don’t have to.”

Washington on Trump

Washington gave a very political speech when she accepted the Inspiration Award at the GLSEN Respect Awards on Friday night. GLSEN is devoted to celebrating the work of students, educators, individuals and corporations devoted to impacting the lives of LGBTQ youth.

Washington delivered a passionate speech describing the current political climate created by the Trump Administration to that of a "horrific dream" and a "communal nightmare."

"The flames of terror and exclusion are being ignited by some of our most powerful leaders," she continued as she called out President Trump and other political 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.”