Taraji P. Henson Says Black People Run Away When We Laugh ‘Because We Weren’t Allowed To Laugh On Those Plantations’: ‘This Is Stuff That Lives In Us’

Taraji P. Henson

Taraji P. Henson Says Black People Run Away When We Laugh ‘Because We Weren’t Allowed To Laugh On Those Plantations’: ‘This Is Stuff That Lives In Us’

Taraji P. Henson is sharing insight into the collective way Black people express humor.

During a recent appearance, the Oscar-nominated actress, 53, asked the audience,

“You know why Black people run away when we laugh?”

She explained,

“Because we weren’t allowed to laugh on those plantations. This is stuff that lives in us, y’all. This ain’t nothing new.”

She referenced the crowd’s surprised reaction and added,

“Yeah, it lives in us. It doesn’t just go away. And if we don’t start unpacking it seriously, it will also be the end of us.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by the Jasmine BRAND (@thejasminebrand)

The Think Like A Man star, hasn’t been afraid to speak her truth lately, and is urging her fellow Black creatives to do the same.

While accepting the Excellence in the Arts Award at the 2024 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Honors over the weekend, she referenced a tattoo on her left bicept that reads “The Truth.” She told attendees,

“If you are alive and God blessed you with another day to live, it is your job to tell your truth. Because by you telling your truth, you set yourself free and somebody else free. When we stay quiet, nothing changes. The squeaky wheel gets fixed.”

Adding;

“I am so grateful to have been in this industry for as long as I have because things have changed. This is what I dreamed of … a world where three or four or five Black women could be nominated for any award or be celebrated at the same time, because we coexist in this world together.”

Taraji P. Henson

The Howard University grad has also tackled pay disparity in Hollywood. While promoting the musical adaptation of The Color Purple last year (where she starred as Suge Avery), she told Gayle King in an emotional interview,

“I’m only human….It seems every time I do something, I break another glass ceiling when it’s time to renegotiate I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did and I’m just tired…It wears on  you…cause what does that mean? What does that tell me?…and if I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the f*ck am I doing?”

What are your thoughts on Taraji P. Henson’s latest revelation? Comment and let us know.