Any Daddy’s girls out there? Y’all gonna love this one.
In between planning a wedding and portraying fierce Cookie Lyon on Empire, our girl Taraji created a foundation that will address mental health issues in the Black community.
The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation will provide scholarships to students majoring in mental health field; offer mental health counseling services in urban schools; and help to decrease prison recidivism rates.
The Foundation is named after her late Dad because of his complete devotion to her she told People
I named the organization after my father because of his complete and unconditional love for me; his unabashed ability to tell the truth, even if it hurt; and his strength to push through his own battles with mental health issues.
If you thumbed through Taraji’s 2016 memoir, Around the Way Girl, (I did!) you will remember she recounted her dad’s struggles to re-enter society after coming back from Vietnam. She says the Foundation is the best way to be a helping hand to those currently struggling.
My dad fought in the Vietnam War for our country, returned broken, and received little to no physical and emotional support. I stand now in his absence, committed to offering support to African Americans who face trauma daily, simply because they are black.
The Foundation will officially launch on September 22nd.
Let’s hope Taraji’s effort will create a big crack in mental health stigma in the Black community.