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October 26. 2011
‘House of Payne’ Filmmaker Answers Critics
Honored for creating
shows on his own terms
(AP) — Tyler Perry has got
ten plenty of criticism from those
who feel his popular movies like
"Madea's Family Reunion" bor
der on buffoonery and don't re
flect well on the black com mu
nity.
But last week, the filmmaker
was honored by the Rev. A1
Sharpton's National Action Net
work. The civil rights leader
lashed out at Perry's black de
tractors, calling them "proper
Negroes" who don't understand
regular black folk.
"This man never apologized
for who we were," said Sharpton,
at his second annual Triumph
Awards.
Sharpton said Perry has given
work to many black actors who
have been ignored by Hollywood,
and has created an empire on his
own terms: "The ultimate pride
is where you don’t have to bend
and adjust for others to accept
y o u .... He didn't go mainstream,
he brought mainstream to us."
Perry writes, directs and pro
duces his films and sometimes
stars in them; he's best known
lor his Madea character, the
fo u l-m o u th ed , sassy g ra n d
mother who has appeared in
many of his movies.
He is also responsible for the
TBS comedy show "House of
Payne."
But Perry's films rarely get
critical acclaim, and some in the
black community have accused
him of perpetuating stereotypes,
"When you start out and you're
doing things and you're trying to
do the right things, and you find
these attacks happening, and you
try and figure out, 'Hew do you
handle this? How do you deal
with this? How do you go there?'
So to have someone like you
who has done all that you have
done ... and have inspired and
encouraged and fought for so
many people, to stand here and
to give me this award, this is
really, really awesome," Perry
said.
Perry said black people first
gave him success, and he has
sought to tell his community's
stories. He accused his critics of
trying to rem ove them selves
from their roots.
Tyler Perry
"I stayed with who we are,
and what I wish I could get us
Perry acknowledged his de to understand as a people is
tractors as he thanked Sharpton that instead o f getting your
for the award.
education and running from us,
Margaret Carter Building Dedicated
continued
from page 11
land campus, greeted the audi
ence to a “momentous occa
sion” in the renaming of the
Technical Education Building to
the Margaret Carter Technol
ogy Education Building.
As the first African-Ameri
can woman elected to Oregon
Legislature, Carter has remained
a tireless advocate for higher
e d u c a tio n
am ong
underrepresented communities
in north and northeast Portland.
Gleaming in a cerulean blue
dress, the g randm other and
great-grandmother listened on
stage as special guests spoke to
her esteemed honor.
A performance of “You raise
me up,” by three former PCC
students underscored the re-•
tired senator’s lifelong efforts
to “lift up” local residents by
ensuring funds for the commu
nity college.
Rev. Dr. T. Allen Bethel be
gan the story of her remarkable
journey in 1967 as she stepped
off a bus in northeast Portland
from native Louisiana, fleeing
an abusive relationship with five
young daughters in tow.
With nowhere to stay, no
friends, and no more than a
hundred dollars to her name,
Carter went on to graduate from
Oregon State University and
began a life-long relationship
with PCC Cascade as an intern
in 1973. She was hired a year
later as a counselor and psy
chology teacher.
Gov. John Kitzhaber remem
bered the h istorical session
Carter was elected to the Or
egon House in 1984 as one of
his favorites. He commended
Carter for a strong ethic that
reminded lawmakers to be in
clusive to all Oregonians, not
just their political parties.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer
recognized the large “rainbow
audience” attending the dedica
tion, and how such a crowd
could only turn out to see the
woman who represents it. Many
politicians cited Carter’s per
sistent, even occasionally “an
noying” advocacy to ensure leg
islative funding for her educa
tion programs.
T am iko P hillips, C a rte r’s
granddaughter and a PCC Mar
garet Carter Skills Center gradu
ate, said that her grandmother
was the root from which edu
cation in her family was pro
moted, as a path to economic
and social success. As a single
parent, Phillips will graduate
with a M aster’s degree in Psy
chology.
When it was her turn to speak,
Carter thanked family, friends,
fans and the college, “I accept
with grace, the grace of my
mother, and education for lift
ing one se lf u p ,” she said.
“These young people are work
ing hard and studying hard and
keeping the dreams alive through
you need to ground and root
y ourself in who we are. Every
other culture in this country
know s the value o f us as black
people but we don't know it
ourselves," he said.
"Somebody said to me about
the 'House of Payne,' 'Why do
you have fat black people on
television?' Because there are
fat black people in the world. It's
not a stereotype. This is who we
are, we need to stop running
from our parents and our grand
parents and our uncles, we need
to stop running from them and
embrace them."
Perry said his Madea charac
ter is silly, but said his films have
important messages.
After his speech, Sharpton
announced that Perry had given
the National Action Network a
$200,000 donation, to which
Sharpton exclaim ed M adea's
familiar phrase: "Hallelujer!"
institutions like PCC.”
Then, embodying the persis
tence admired by colleagues,
Carter said the scholarship to
be left in her name was a few
dollars short. Like an auction
eer she enlivened the crowd
with a spontaneous pledge drive,
and asked for donations from
everyone, from those wearing
grand suits to student chaper
ones.
Fam ily m em bers, friends,
b u sin e ss p a rtn e rs , ch u rch
preachers, and even college stu
dents stood up and offered $50
to $500 as C arter’s granddaugh
ter jotted down pledges’ names.
Before long, over $10,000
dollars had been raised, “How
many families do we have to
care for?” asked Carter. “This
will afford some of these people
to go to school.”
Joyce Washington
Born: 1937 - 1996
Joyce Washington Believed in this Community
and all those that made this Community Great.
Keep Reading the Portland Observer.
Your Story is important to our Communitv.
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