9:18 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020
The loss of community during Covid-19 is "tragic and traumatizing," says actress Taraji P. Henson
Actress Taraji P. Henson, known for her roles in "Empire" and "Hidden Figures," joined CNN's ongoing town hall to discuss the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the African American community.
"One of the things that is so destructive about this virus ... is the sense of community, a loss of a sense of being able to reach out and hold the hand of your grandmother or your mother or your best friend and just talk about what is going on," said CNN's Anderson Cooper.
"It is tragic and it is traumatizing," said Henson.
"We know that African Americans and people of color are disproportionately affected by not only the virus but the secondary mental health impacts associated with the virus," added psychologist and mental health researcher Alfiee Breland-Noble.
Some context: African Americans are dying at disproportionately higher rates compared to all other ethnicities.
As of May 11, 17,155 black Americans are known to have died due to Covid-19, according to an analysis from the
American Public Media (APM) Research Lab.
That's out of nearly 65,000 deaths for which race and ethnicity data was available. More than 80,000 people total had lost their lives to coronavirus at the time of the analysis.
A second trauma in the community: Henson also pointed to the trauma the black community is facing regarding the
death of George Floyd, which has sparked outrage and protests against police brutality across the country.
"At this point, it seems like we have to save ourselves because these issues keep coming up. Racism, police brutality, these are traumas that have been passed down through generations since slavery. We still have not dealt with that trauma. And here we are," she said.
Watch: