Tyler Perry sure knows how to put his money to good use — particularly during Black History Month. A new report claims that the Hollywood filmmaker is donating a whopping $750,000 to senior citizens in Atlanta so that they wouldn’t be forced out of their homes. According to TMZ, these seniors, who reside near Tyler Perry Studios, have seen a drastic increase in their property taxes because of the land’s value increasing over the years, which is said to have made it much harder to stay on top with payments.
Given their low income, it’s proven to be impossible for the seniors to continue living under their roof unless they would be able to pay up. Fortunately for them, however, Perry wasted no time in trying to fix the issue by reportedly saying that he’s willing to cover the costs to make sure that the elderly people who have lived in the area for years won’t be made to move.
Per the aforementioned news publication, the “Madea” star reached out to ATL Mayor Andre Dickens to pledge the donation, which is estimated to cover about 300 homes for low-income seniors living near Tyler Perry Studios. But that’s not all. The money will also put a 20-year hold for up to 100 low-income seniors so that they won’t have to worry about their property taxes anytime soon. Perry also plans to donate $500k annually for the next four years to help other low-income residents with their taxes as well.
Elsewhere, back in June 2022, Perry opened up about the growth of his film studio and how he hopes for it to impact future generations. In a candid conversation with Gayle King, Perry explained, “To have me be the owner of that very land that people were plotting and planning on how to keep 3.9 million Negros enslaved on, be owned by one Black man,” Perry said, “I think about those people — the ancestors — and what they must think if they could know that. Like, what would that feel like?”
Tyler Perry Studios boasts 330 acres of land which was once used as an Army base that’d been built by slaves and even used by the Confederate government during the Civil War. There’s no doubt that with its extensive history, Perry is proud to call TPS his own.