One thing is certain about Tyler Perry — he will always show up for his community.
The filmmaker is stepping up once again to pay the funeral costs of Rayshard Brooks, the man shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer Friday night, a lawyer for the victim’s family announced on Monday. People magazine also reports that Perry will pay for the college education of Brooks’ four children, 13-year-old Mekai, 8-year-old Blessing, 2-year-old Memory and 1-year-old Dream.
“It’s support like that and it’s people who are actually in this community, love this community, who want that healing, to step forward. And we want to thank him for such a generous move,” Attorney L. Chris Stewart said.
Atlanta police video, released Sunday, showed Brooks trying to reason with the officers outside of a local Wendy’s before being killed. Officers were called after the restaurant found Brooks asleep in his car.
Brooks’ killing at the hands of two White officers late Friday rekindled fiery protests in Atlanta, in which the Wendy’s was burnt to the ground, and prompted the police chief’s resignation.
Before Rashad’s story rocked the nation amidst existing George Floyd protests, Tyler spoke out about the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of coming together for change.
“I spent the past few days with an extremely heavy heart, having very high level conversations with people who don’t look like me, people who may not believe what I believe, people who don’t know what it’s like to be Black in America but were willing to listen…white people who are Republicans and Democrats, with different opinions, different views, and different ideas and strategies on how to stop this! White people with the power to have this go either way,” he wrote on Facebook earlier this month.
Perry is known for being philanthropic, especially in a time of crisis. He recently paid for the groceries of senior citizens shopping during designated senior hours at 44 Kroger locations throughout Atlanta, and days prior, left a $500 tip for each out-of-work server at Houston’s restaurant on Northside Parkway, totaling $21,000.
Source: Essence
