Taraji P. Henson Honored for Her Work in Fighting HIV/AIDS5 min read

Taraji P. Henson considers herself an ally in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The 47-year-old actress was among those honored for her work in battling the health epidemic during the Black AIDS Institute’s Heroes in the Struggle Awards gala in Los Angeles on Saturday (Sept. 16) alongside Alfre Woodard, Laverne Cox, Vanessa Williams, Gina Belafonte, daughter of Harry Belafonte, and AIDS activist Gina Brown, who was infected with HIV more than 20 years ago.

As a native of Washington D.C., a city with the highest HIV infection rate in the nation, Henson is determined to use her platform to raise awareness.

The Empire star told ET on the red carpet; “When you lose people that you love to something that’s preventable, or that can be cured, why wouldn’t you want to be apart of it? Why wouldn’t you want to help save lives?”
But when it comes to a virus that has infected more than 35 million worldwide, education is a key factor in ending the epidemic.

“The more we talk about it, the more awareness will be raised,” Henson explained. “We have to keep talking about it because when you don’t talk about it, shame comes in, and people who have shame make decisions out of fear and those usually aren’t healthy decisions.”

The night was a family affair for Henson, as she was presented her award by her TV husband, Terrence Howard, and director John Singleton. Howard and Singleton praised Henson’s tenacity and fearlessness in both acting and activism, as did her other Empire co-star, Jussie Smollett.

The awards ceremony was centered around “black men honoring black women,” an idea for which Smollett proudly took credit.

Though black women are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, black trans women have been virtually ignored, noted Laverne Cox.

Cox also pointed out that many trans women don’t “feel safe” going to healthcare providers for fear of discrimination.