Taraji P. Henson Encourages Actors to Tell Their Truth at ABFF Honors: “If You Stay Quiet, Nothing Changes”

Brande Victorian
·6 min read
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Taraji P. Henson showed off one of her tattoos as she took to the stage at the American Black Film Festival Honors on Sunday night.

“I got this tattoo a year ago, ‘The truth,’” she said, raising her left arm to the crowd, “because at the end of the day, that’s all we have, our truth. And if you are alive and God blessed you with another day to live, it is your time to tell the truth. Because by you telling the truth, you’re setting yourself free and somebody else free. But if you stay quiet, nothing changes.”

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Henson was the female recipient of ABFF’s Excellence in the Arts Award, presented to her by longtime friend and Baby Boy co-star Tyrese. While on the promotional tour for The Color Purple at the end of last year, Henson spoke out about the pay disparity for Black actresses, which fellow entertainers Jada Pinkett Smith and Gabrielle Union have since co-signed.

“It’s a scary thing to tell you the truth because you just never know,” Henson continued in her acceptance speech, referencing her viral comments. “But at the end of the day, I know God’s got my back and when I’m speaking my truth, it is what it is. You can’t change it, it’s the truth. It’s mine, you can’t take that away from me, or you. So, if you have a story, you must tell it. And for God’s sake, please tell the truth. I know we have these trials and tribulations, and sometimes you feel like the work is to no avail, but it is. Even in those dark moments, your work matters.”

Henson was one of five honorees celebrated at the 6th annual ABFF Honors ceremony. The event, held at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, was hosted by comedian Tommy Davidson and executive produced by Jeff and Nicole Friday as an extension of the annual Miami Film Festival, founded by Jeff in 1997.

Best actor Academy Award nominee Jeffrey Wright was the male recipient of the Excellence in the Arts Award, presented to him by Wendell Pierce, who called the American Fiction star, “Par Excellence. Black excellence at his highest.”

“I don’t like much to be called a Black artist myself, or a Black actor. I’m a good actor,” Wright said during his speech. “But there are, in fact, significant ways in which we Black actors differ from other actors. No other group of American actors, with perhaps the exception of Native Americans, was so abused at the beginnings of American Cinema by the simplistic limited characterizations that very often passed for roles for Black folks.”

“But how far we have come,” Wright continued. “And we’ve come this far for me, personally, to the point at which I’m celebrated for a role that critiques and mocks the persistence of similar limitations in today’s culture because of those artists who came before us. Through their supreme talent and unconquerable persistence and grace, they won battles along the way for us, and in some ways have earned our freedom for us. If we only look back and learn from it and honor what they did. I have tried to do that. To add to the long and beautiful legacy bestowed to us by these artists and to pass it along in kind to the next wave, like my young friend Kelvin Harrison Jr.”

Harrison Jr., who most recently starred as Martin Luther King, Jr. in the National Geographic series Genius: MLK/X, was presented with the Rising Star Award by Issa Rae, who will serve as creative director of the 2024 American Black Film Festival. Joking about how he’s been named a “rising star” by several different entities over the past seven years, the actor turned serious for a brief moment as he relayed the dictionary definitions of the words “rising” and “star” and reflected on their deeper meanings.

“I’ve got my passion and my gift of storytelling is leading me to mature into becoming a luminous point in rooms, at times, filled with darkness,” Harrison Jr. said. “A rising star is a beacon of hope, a shining light that continues to guide the way. It is a symbol of positivity, happiness and renewal. So, ABFF, just to be clear by y’all giving me this award, y’all just said, ‘I’m a beacon of hope, a shining light that continues to guide the way,’ — your words not mine,” he added, feigning humility, “and that I’ll keep rising. I pray I can come back and get the same reward next year. Matter of fact, y’all are going to have to start a Rising Star 2.0 because I’m going to keep coming back.”

In accepting the Industry Visionary Award from presenter Gina Prince-Bythewood, screenwriter and producer Mara Brock Akil — who’s crafted more than 400 episodes of television with her creation of series such as Girlfriends, The Game and Being Mary Jane — issued a charge to the audience.

“We are still at war; that is nothing new to us as Black people,” said Akil. “My most recent work on Stamped from the Beginning refocused me of the importance of our images. We cannot afford to waste these opportunities to reflect back our community, our specific and collective humanity. For art is both a mirror and a portal to one’s own spirit. Art can unlock the truth within us, or it can be used as propaganda to further the lies about us and to keep us trapped in our victimization versus our growth and expansion.

“In this room of image makers and storytellers, whether we want to admit it or not, we are our biggest weapon in this war,” she continued. “Our images matter, how we execute them matters, for they will live longer than we do. We have to demand more of ourselves and the stories we tell about us.”

The final honor of the night went to Garrett Morris, who received the Hollywood Legacy Award. Morris, who was the first Black cast member of Saturday Night Live, was presented the award by fellow SNL alum Leslie Jones and comedian Lamorne Morris.

As the actor and comedian, who turned 87 on Feb. 1, talked about being raised by his grandparents in New Orleans in the ‘40s and ‘50s, he was brought to tears as reflected on how their guidance allowed him to withstand the racism and prejudices he was subjected to as a Black man and an entertainer.

“They were trying very hard to make people like me believe that they were less than inferior but because of Thomas Phillips and Gertrude Phillips I grew up with high self-esteem,” Garrett said. “I grew up believing in myself. Because of them, I’m here right now.”

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