Why you should stop hating Tyler Perry

Imagine an old juke joint in the Deep South. Black folks playing jump blues, drinking whiskey, shaking their hips and their butts to the music, while laughing loudly and proudly. Enjoying themselves. Being themselves. Now, imagine a white man suddenly walks through the door.

How do those black people react? How should they react? Does the music stop? Do they stop behaving so “loosely” for fear of what he may think of them? Will he go back and tell other white people what he saw? How can a people ever truly be spiritually and psychologically free if the perceptions of others dictates so much of how they see themselves?

I often wonder if there were jazz aficionados in the 1950s who scoffed at Jimmy Reed or T-Bone Walker. Did the cosmopolitan black folks of the day abandon the blues because they became ashamed of it? Was it just unrefined sharecropper music to some of them?

So much of our disdain for certain facets of Black art/entertainment is rooted in the notion of “making us look bad.” Even with an Obama, an Oprah, a LeBron, a Beyonce, a Gabby, a Will Smith and God-knows how many other examples of black excellence all around us—we’re still afraid to let our full selves be seen for fear of someone else deeming us less than. We never seem to realize that bigots aren’t interested in changing their minds. They don’t care about facts. They will cling to stereotypes no matter how many times you prove their prejudices to be unfounded.

So Black people should stop being preoccupied with the perceptions of those bigots.

In the 1980s, Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston and Lionel Richie  dominated the pop charts. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Bo Jackson were excelling in pro sports. Oprah was the queen of daytime TV and Arsenio Hall was the new king of late night. Eddie Murphy was one of the top grossing box office stars and Spike Lee was the hot, young director.

And they still shot Yusef Hawkins like a dog in Bensonhurst. They still criminalized and incarcerated the “Central Park 5” and they still beat down Rodney King.

All while “The Cosby Show” was the biggest show on TV.

All that Black excellence didn’t change the way bigots saw Black people.

So, at this point, maybe it’s time for Black people to focus a little more on building our own. On investing in ourselves and supporting each other. Maybe we should take a look at what Tyler Perry has done and emulate it. Instead of seeking to erase his god-awful films from cinematic existence. Perhaps we should work on creating more Tyler Perrys. Turn Dee Rees (Pariah) and Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty) into the next Tyler Perrys; i.e. Black filmmakers who’s Black audiences are so devoted to their art and their brand that they are able to build and sustain that brand with or without white faces filling up theater seats.

To be clear, this is not about supporting Tyler Perry’s movies just because he’s black and successful. You don’t like the films? Fine. Neither do I. He has a devoted following and doesn’t need my support. I’m completely okay with that. But I don’t disregard the people that love his movies as if I’m somehow more equipped to dictate what should or shouldn’t be on the screen.

If Perry’s work isn’t representative of you, find a director whose work is and champion the hell out of them. Stop being afraid to be you when white people are watching.  Stop being ashamed of your cousins and their culture. Because they are a part of the rich palette of American blackness, as well. We all have our stories and perspectives. They all deserve to be heard.