Taraji P. Henson Launches Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation

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Taraji P. Henson Launches Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation

Taraji P. Henson is doing her part to erase the stigmas surrounding black people and mental health.

The actress has launched her Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after her late father. The foundation was announced over the weekend during a fundraiser.

Variety spoke with Taraji during the event and she revealed that her inspiration came from her son who battled mental health issues when his father was murdered and then again, when his grandfather, her father, died two years later.

Her son’s mental health struggles caused her to seek a psychiatrist but unfortunately, it was hard for her to find someone her child could relate to.

She told Variety that she was seeking;

“Someone that he could trust, someone that looks like him and could understand his struggle,” she said it was very difficult because “they wouldn’t be African American and it wouldn’t get anything accomplished because he felt guilty for the things he was saying.

“It was like looking for a unicorn, and the reason that happens is because we don’t talk about it in our community; it’s taboo, it’s looked upon as a weakness or we’re demonized for expressing rage for traumas we’ve been through,

Taraji also revealed that she sees a psychiatrist despite being a celebrity because she “suffers too.”

Kudos to Taraji for starting this foundation, it’s refreshing to see yet another black celeb actively speaking on mental health.