Taraji P. Henson has long been an advocate for the empowerment of women and black people in Hollywood (opens in new tab); the Empire actress has consistently used her social platforms (opens in new tab) to speak out against racial injustice, and she has been a vocal advocate for the deaths of George Floyd (opens in new tab), Breanna Taylor (opens in new tab), (opens in new tab), and countless others (opens in new tab) have made their stance even clearer following their deaths at the hands of police officers. Henson has made it clear in everything he does that he is proud to be black and will not be silenced.

On Monday, Henson posted a series of photos showing off his bold and beautiful red afro with the caption: "Hair that defies gravity! Hair that reaches toward the heavens." She hashtagged them: #BlackandProud (opens in new tab) #BlackLivesMatter (opens in new tab) #RockYourFro (opens in new tab) #PickoutYourFro (opens in new tab) ThrowUpYourFist (opens in a new tab).

As a follow-up to her stunning selfie, Henson posted a video of herself picking out her bright red fro with James Brown's legendary song "Say It Loud-I'm Black and I'm Proud" in the background.

Earlier this year, the Oscar-nominated actress launched a hair care line tailored to natural hair and scalp care. Hair care has been important to Henson since college: "My little secret is that if I hadn't gone into acting, I would have gone into beauty," said Henson in an interview with ELLE earlier this year (opens in new tab).

Throughout her career, Henson has shown us the diversity of natural hair, from silk pressings to hair extensions and everything in between.

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter. (open in new tab) [11] [12