The Ruderman Family Foundation, an international leader in disability inclusion with an operation in Israel, announced this week that actress, filmmaker, activist and entrepreneur Taraji P. Henson will be the recipient of its Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion, citing her "advocacy and leadership in addressing mental health."
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According to a statement from the organization, "Henson has been open and outspoken about her own mental health living with depression and anxiety. In 2018, she founded the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after her father who experienced mental health issues after serving in Vietnam, to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness in the African American community."
Henson reacted to the decision, saying, "I am so honored to receive the 2020 Morton E. Ruderman Award from the Ruderman Family Foundation, who are leaders in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities across society. Like the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, they also recognize the impact that mental illness can have on a person, on a family, on a community. Together, we will work to create change, one heart, one mind at a time."
The foundation praised Henson's work for "addressing the intersection between disability inclusion and other areas of civil rights and social justice."
Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, said: "As society continues to navigate through an incredibly tumultuous 2020, with a global pandemic and continued racial inequality issues, the conversation around mental health has arguably not been more important in decades... When role models and influencers like Taraji are so vocal about their own experiences with mental illness, it has the potential to inspire millions of people to accept their own mental health issues and find healthy ways to address them. But it hasn't just been words with Taraji, she took action. The work that her Foundation undergoes is tremendously important. We need more people like Taraji to continue to eliminate the stigma around mental health across all our communities in America and we're honored to be awarding her our Morton E. Ruderman Award this year."
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