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'Scandal' mirrors America's real-life issue of missing girls in Washington, D.C.

Kylie Mar
·Host & Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

Scandal used its platform this week to shine a very important and meaningful light on a real issue our country is facing.

Back in March, the issue of missing teenage African-American girls in Washington, D.C., went viral as celebrities such as Olivia Wilde,

It is deeply disturbing that the disappearance of dozens of young girls is "business as usual" in our nation's capital, my childhood home. The response that these numbers aren't any higher than normal should only make us more horrified. Kids of color have been unrecognized and uncared for by law enforcement, the education system (as a whole, not the heroic teachers working hard every day for far too little pay), and government in general, for far too long. It's a deeply rooted issue, ingrained in our sadly flawed social fabric, but it is within our power to CHANGE IT. It starts with us demanding justice, demanding equal media coverage, and voting with vulnerable kids in mind, instead of dollar signs and fear. #findourgirls

A post shared by Olivia Wilde (@oliviawilde) on Mar 25, 2017 at 7:10am PDT

Taraji P. Henson,

#Repost @fabulouslyfaithful_ ・・・ #missing #amberalert #missingblackgirls #dc #reportourownnews

A post shared by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on Mar 24, 2017 at 6:26am PDT

and Viola Davis took to social media using the hashtag #MissingDCGirls and #FindOurGirls.

The goal was to draw widespread attention, and on Scandal’s “Lost Girls” episode, Fitz was trying to do the same with his new institute project. “Hundreds of teenage girls no one’s looking for because of the color of their skin,” Fitz told Olivia after he awkwardly watched her make out with her new boy toy, Curtis Pryce, from her front door.

Later, during a guest appearance on that boy toy’s talk show, Fitz stated, “It’s an unfortunate truth that girls of color, like Zoe, go missing every day in this country. Girls who aren’t just slipping through the cracks. They’re being ignored and forgotten outright.” He continued, “Girls like Zoe aren’t just being ignored by the justice system. They’re being ignored by the press.”

Also back in March, lawmakers asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and now former FBI director James Comey to “devote the resources necessary to determine whether these developments are an anomaly or whether they are indicative of an underlying trend that must be addressed.” And on Scandal, that’s exactly what Olivia did. “The Justice Department, as ordered by the president and the attorney general, are setting up a special division within the FBI to focus on missing persons of color,” Olivia told Quinn Perkins and her associates. “I handpicked the chief investigator to lead it off. It will be well-funded and made a top priority.”

And at the end of the episode, Scandal aired this public service announcement by Kerry Washington, which was also shared by creator and writer Shonda Rhimes’s @ShondalandTV on Twitter.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of Scandal free on Yahoo View.

Check out Scandal tackling the issue of recent statue removals and protests:

Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment:

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