Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson is an actress most famous for her roles as NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson in Hidden Figures and queen bee Cookie in the television series Empire. Through her success as an actress, she has participated in many opportunities to speak out for causes close to her heart, such as animal advocacy, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial justice. In addition to these, one of the most important issues to Henson is mental wellness, especially as it pertains to African-American communities. This is what lead her to found The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation.
The foundation is named in honor of Henson’s father, an African American veteran who returned from Vietnam with new challenges to his mental health. However, he “received little to no physical and emotional support,” according to Henson, and he struggled alone without help. Her father’s experiences with mental health has been a great inspiration for her vision for the foundation. The main goal is “to eradicate the stigma around mental health issues in the African-American community… to provide support and bring awareness.”
One way she aims to accomplish this is by encouraging and supporting African-Americans who are pursuing careers in the mental health field. Henson noticed the disproportionate number of African-American therapists when she was first trying to find a therapist for her son. To remedy this, she created The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation Scholarship. One scholarship amounts to ten thousand dollars, and six are awarded annually to college undergraduate or graduate students.
Henson has personal experiences with mental health alongside her family history. She struggles with depression and anxiety from the attention and pressure that comes with fame. To cope, she stays in regular contact with her therapist and limits her exposure to social media. While Henson takes care of her own mental health, she also works toward bettering the mental health of her family and her community through her foundation, her scholarship, and her passionate voice.