For so long, Taraji P. Henson has been shedding light on the mental health crisis in the black community. On Friday June 7^th, she appeared during the Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce forum on suicide among black youth, and mental health.

In her opening remarks, Henson stated that she came to Capital Hill out of “necessity.” She went on to open up about the trauma experienced from losing her father, Boris Lawrence Henson, in 2006, and the father of her son, who was murdered in her hometown of Washington D.C., two years earlier.

“We, in the African-American community, we don’t deal with mental health issues. We don’t even talk about it. We’ve been taught to pray our problems away,” said Henson. “We’ve been demonized for coming out and saying we have [mental health] issues and trust issues. I need the person sitting opposite from me, when I go seek [mental] help, to be culturally competent. If you’re not culturally competent how can I trust you with my deepest secrets and my vulnerability?”