In today’s edition of why teenagers are the future … meet Taylor Richardson.
The 14-year-old has raised over $20,000 in hopes of sending hundreds of young girls to see the upcoming sci-fi film A Wrinkle in Time because “representation matters,” she says.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Richardson said: “I wanted all girls, especially girls of color, to know that they can be whatever they wanna be when they grow up. That they can struggle and have flaws, but still be successful in life.”
Richardson is no stranger to fundraising. Over a year ago, she did a similar fundraiser, raising over $18,000 to send 100 girls to see Hidden Figures.
When she began her campaign for A Wrinkle in Time, starring African-American actress Storm Reid, her original goal was $15,000 for movie tickets. She wants as many young girls to see this movie as possible, so they can see someone like themselves in a strong leading sci-fi role. As of yesterday morning, she had already raised over $20,000.
On her fundraising page, Richardson writes, “It has a female protagonist in a science fiction film. A brown girl front and center who looks like me in the role of Meg, a girl traveling to different planets and encountering beings and situations that I’d never seen a girl of color in. Most impressively and importantly, it’s a fantasy film that’s not about some white boys fighting evil but about a black girl overcoming it.”
The teen shares that after the tickets are purchased, any extra money will be used to buy 100 copies of the book for young girls, then the rest will go toward the Astronaut StarBright Space Camp scholarship. You go, girl.
