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Award-winning actress Taraji P. Henson is on a mission to combat mental distress in the classroom with her new program that promotes mental health awareness and racial equality.
The new initiative, “The Unspoken Curriculum,” is a six-week program that helps Black students learn and identify racial bias while speaking openly about their mental health.
“We’re in a state of emergency right now,” Henson told People. “but it takes us to change it… we can’t hide the ugly; you’ve got to deal with the good and the bad if we want to see change.”
Henson launched the curriculum through her mental health non-profit, The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. The program runs through June 21 and includes virtual discussions from mental health experts and safe spaces moderated by therapists and teachers.
“We need more professionals in education to recognize children dealing with trauma and help them, not criminalize them,” she said, according to People. “The more we talk about it, and the more we educate ourselves, the more we know how to do better.”