This year, on April 12, Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), will honour Tyler Perry with the President’s Award at the Keepers of the Dream Awards. Tyler Perry will receive the President’s Award.
Both Perry’s career in entertainment and his involvement in the humanitarian sector have had a significant influence. During the pandemic caused by the 2020 COVID-19 virus, Tyler took it upon himself to assist those who were suffering, doing things such as purchasing groceries for the elderly in Georgia and Louisiana, purchasing grocery store gift cards for police to hand out to Atlanta communities that were in need, donating $100,000 to the legal defence fund of Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, paying for the funeral expenses of Rayshard Brooks and Secoriea Turner, a young girl killed in Atlanta, and covering travel expenses for George Floyd The aid that he provided to the Floyd family is representative of his constant support for NAN, which began almost 20 years ago, when he participated in a march in Louisiana in favour of the Jena Six.
“Tyler Perry is the epitome of what it means to live the American Dream. According to Reverend Al Sharpton, “He is a Black man who took his gift with the pen and turned it into a commercial empire the likes of which we’ve never seen before.” “Tyler has also come to embody the finest of what corporate America has to offer by utilising his personal success to elevate others up to the same level as him. He has raised the voices of black people and the stories of black people on both sides of the camera, not to mention on the front lines in the battle for social justice. The President’s Award will acknowledge the work that he has already done, but we are well aware that this is but a prelude to the legacy that Tyler Perry will leave behind on our country.
The annual Keepers of the Dream event will take place on the first night of the NAN Convention, which will take place in New York City from April 12 through April 15 this year. These awards are presented on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in order to celebrate those individuals who have kept his dream alive by utilising their platforms and positions in order to advance civil rights. The honour for this year will be presented to Perry by Rev. Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of the NAN.