Taraji P. Henson Tackles Black Mental Health With Conference

Taraji P. Henson has become a community crusader of sorts. She ended Mental Health Awareness Month this past May with the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation’s annual Can We Talk? Symposium conference in her hometown, Washington, D.C.. The actress established the foundation in 2018 in honor of her father, Boris Henson, who struggled with mental health issues upon returning from the Vietnam War. Henson said his condition went untreated, so now she fights to erase the stigma around mental health in the Black community and increase accessibility to mental health services for those who need help. “Art is much bigger than us as humans,” Henson told attendees at the Gaylord National Resort about starting the foundation. “I feel like the art is supposed to be used to inspire and help other people.” SEE ALSO: Taraji P. Henson Readies Release of First Children’s Book

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The 2-day conference was meant to help people learn, grow and connect. This year’s theme, Radical Attunement, provided opportunities for transformation. Radical Attunement is a philosophy that emphasizes deep listening, empathic understanding and authentic connection. It invites you to create spaces where you can be your true self without judgment. Videos across Instagram giving a look at what panelists and attendees took away from the symposium. A special emphasis was placed on the relationship black men have with mental health or the lack thereof. Former NFL player Dr. Jay Barnett spoke on one panel where he shared his reasoning for becoming a therapist. “I have to not only break this cycle,” he said. “But, I said I have to be a voice because these brothers have to be transformed here [the mind]. All this talking does nothing. You have to transform the mind.”   As much as the conference was an introspective look at how people view mental health, there was also time for some fun as well. Henson’s foundation wanted to ensure attendees feel they belong and hosted a 90’s themed party dubbed Bobo’s Joy Joint to end the conference on a high note. “I wouldn’t attach my name to anything just to say I had a charity,” Henson said. “This one was very near and dear to me because it came out of my own necessity.”

1. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: (L-R) Executive Director for The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Tracie Jade, Council Member District 8, Edward Burroughs III and Taraji P. Henson attend The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

2. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: Founder of The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Taraji P. Henson (C) and Council Member District 8, Edward Burroughs III (R) pose with student attendees during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

3. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: (L-R) Tracie Jade, Dr. Lamman Rucker, Taraji P. Henson, Dr. Anita Phillips, Dr. Tony Lee and Dr. Jay Barnett participate in Healing the Family Tree: Generational Trauma, Religion/Spirituality, and Mental Health in BIPOC Communities panel during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

4. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: Tracie Jade (6L) and Taraji P. Henson (5L) moderate Reversing the Tide: BIPOC Organizations and the Vanishing Support for Economic Empowerment panel with (L-R) Taryn Bird, Leslie Hardy, Ramcess Jean-Louis and John Burns during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

5. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: (L-R) Taryn Bird, Leslie Hardy, Ramcess Jean-Louis, John Burns, Taraji P. Henson and Tracie Jade participate in Reversing the Tide: BIPOC Organizations and the Vanishing Support for Economic Empowerment panel during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

6. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: (L-R) Executive Director for The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Tracie Jade and Founder of The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Taraji P. Henson strike a pose to showcase the 80s/’90s theme during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

7. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: Executive Director for The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Tracie Jade (L) and Taraji P. Henson (R) pose with Council Member District 8, Edward Burroughs III (C) after receiving the key to Prince George’s County during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

8. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: Founder of The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Taraji P. Henson speaks onstage during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images) 

9. 2024 Can We Talk? Symposium

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MAY 31: (L-R) Tracie Jade moderates Healing the Family Tree: Generational Trauma, Religion/Spirituality, and Mental Health in BIPOC Communities panel with Dr. Lamman Rucker, Taraji P. Henson, Dr. Anita Phillips, Dr. Tony Lee and Dr. Jay Barnett during The Can We Talk? Symposium hosted by Taraji P. Henson and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation at Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on May 31, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images)