Tyler Perry to receive award from Rev. Al Sharpton
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Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), will honor Tyler Perry with the President’s Award at the Keepers of the Dream Awards this year on April 12.
Perry’s humanitarian work has been just as impactful as his career in entertainment. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Tyler stepped in to help those in need, including purchasing groceries for the elderly in Georgia and Louisiana, purchasing grocery store gift cards for police to hand out to Atlanta communities in need, donating $100K to the legal defense fund of Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, paying for funeral expenses for Rayshard Brooks and Secoriea Turner, a young girl killed in Atlanta, and covering travel expenses for George Floyd’s family for his funeral services. The assistance he showed towards the Floyd family represents his unwavering support for NAN that began nearly 20 years ago, when he marched in Louisiana for the Jena Six.
“Tyler Perry embodies what the American Dream should be. This is a Black man who took his skill with the pen and turned it into a business empire the likes of which we’ve never seen,” said Sharpton. “Tyler has come to also represent the best of corporate America by using his personal success to bring others up with him. He has elevated Black voices and Black stories on both sides of the camera – not to mention on the front lines in the fight for social justice. The President’s Award will recognize the work he’s already done, but we know this is just the overture for the impact Tyler Perry will leave on this nation.”
Keepers of the Dream is held on the first night of the annual NAN Convention, which will be held in New York City from April 12 through April 15. The awards are given each year to mark the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. to recognize those who have kept his dream alive by using their platforms and positions to improve civil rights. Rev. Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and NAN Chairman Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson will present Perry with this year’s award.
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