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Fox’s Empire will soon wrap its final season which was cut short due to Coronavirus. But this hasn’t slowed down Taraji P. Henson. Taraji is geared up to take on a new role that is different from acting but close to her heart, mental health. Taraji will be hosting a Facebook talk show with her best friend, Tracie Jade Jenkins, called Peace of Mind with Taraji, which will focus on mental wellness.
Taraji has been a mental health advocate for the Black community for quite some time. In 2018, she founded the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation which provides resources to people struggling with mental health concerns. according to Taraji, Peace of Mind with Taraji will “shine a spotlight on the challenging mental health issues facing us today – particularly of those in the Black community.” Here is more on the show via EW:
Peace of Mind with Taraji will “shine a spotlight on the challenging mental health issues facing us today – particularly of those in the Black community,” according to the press release. Each episode will be focused on a unique topic and will feature personal interviews with celebrities, mental health experts, and normal people to “provide support, bring awareness, and help eliminate the stigmas of mental health issues.” New content will debut multiple times throughout the week.
“I’ve long been a mental health advocate for the Black community and created the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in 2018 that has provided resources to thousands of people who are struggling,” Henson says in a statement. “I’m looking forward to bringing this new talk series to Facebook Watch, where I can continue to create conversation around an issue that is near and dear to my heart.”
Speaking with EW back in 2019, Henson, who is developing an Empire spinoff, revealed she loved how the hit Fox series was handling her character’s mental health journey as Cookie went to therapy. “In the African-American community, we don’t speak about it, so much so that I started a foundation because it’s something that needs to be addressed,” she said. “And I just love that our show has always dealt with it, with Andre [Trai Byers] from season 1 all the way to Cookie now.”
I am advocate for self-care through yoga and meditation. We need more mental health awareness in BIPOC communities. I am loving how all of these Black celebrities are openly discussing mental health within the Black community where the topic is STILL taboo. I know that Taraji will also be working on an Empire spin-off. (Even though I’d like to see more of her, I don’t wish to see more of Empire honestly.)
Taraji will be quite busy with the spinoff and this project. I am happy that she is tackling mental health awareness in such a profound way. I appreciate anyone with a large platform who advocates for mental health fitness and awareness. Since Taraji plans to speak with other celebrities and experts, I may need to tune in. Any information I can gather to make sure I am happy, healthy, and sound is appreciated.
Despite my feelings about Facebook, I think it is the perfect platform for this. The older generations tend to avoid the topic of self-care and mental health and they all seem to hang out on Facebook so Taraji will definitely get their attention. With that being said, I wish Taraji good luck with the project. It is indeed a big undertaking but I think the woman who plays Cookie Lyon can handle it.
Way to go, Taraji! Anyway to destigmatize minorities seeking mental health treatment is so needed.
I think this is so important, especially right now. I‘ve had diagnosed mental health issues for a decade now but I’m seeing so many friends slip into depression as a result of Covid but because they don’t have preexisting issues they feel guilty or shameful or like they’re failing. I feel like this could speak to a great many people.
This will sound weird, coming from me, because I am hellbent on privacy, but Facebook might have saved my health and therefore my job when I ran into some health issues that the doctors were not able to treat successfully. The self help groups on facebook have made all the difference.
Other than that: this is good news. We need as much mental health support as we all can get.
So nasty judgement on my part: my initial reaction to the title was “why the hell is she using FB? That’s for has beens who can’t find work anymore. She’s a diverse in demand actress.” Then I checked myself. FB Watch is actually the perfect place for this. It doesn’t need a million ppl to produce and won’t have a live audience. That kind of intimacy is really important when you need people to really open up about mental health and other personal struggles. I’m also glad she’s having professionals on. I feel like that’s part of the problem in our community. Too many people are relying solely on gurus, crystals, incense, and sage for self care without getting an evaluation from a licensed professional.
I’m one of those #DeleteFacebook people b/c I think FB is dangerous. But it seems FB just keeps finding ways to make itself more and more enmeshed in our lives. So, people will still use it, and Zuckerberg will keep abusing it. Hopefully we will get better regulations and laws about social media in the future since it appears boycott pressure is useless.