Friday’s black-tie benefit dinner kicked off the two-day event dedicated to supporting African Americans who want to seek therapy but may not be able to for financial reasons.

Charlamagne Tha God, Morris Chestnut, Traci Braxton, Roz White, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, and BLHF Youth Ambassador Isan Elba were on hand while Grammy winner Lalah Hathaway performed an acapella version of “A Song for You,” which was also recorded by her father, the late Donny Hathaway.

Jan Desper Peters, Executive Director of the Black Mental Health Alliance, introduced the evening’s keynote speaker, Dr. Altha J. Stewart, the first African American and first woman to be named President of the American Psychiatric Association.

BET attended the spectacular event and spoke with several guests. Charlamagne Tha God explained why it was important to attend, “When I started talking about my struggles with mental health and my journey of going through therapy to deal with my anxiety and I put out my book Shook Ones: Anxiety Playing Tricks On Me, when [Taraji P. Henson] launched her foundation, that was around the same time.”

He continued, “it all helped to elevate the conversation and I just believe in God’s divine timing and him bringing things together the right way so you couldn’t script that no better.”

During a quick discussion with Taraji, we asked why her Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation largely targets children’s mental health issues.

“When I heard that children at five years old were contemplating on taking their own lives that disturbs me,” she said. “At five, you shouldn’t even understand what the word suicide means, that word shouldn’t even be in your vocabulary, so I felt compelled to do something. Growing up in the ‘hood and in the community, I know that we don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about mental illness, it’s taboo, it’s a weakness, and it’s just not true.”

See photos of what went down below.