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What is Souls to the Polls? Tyler Perry called a 'sick man' over old TV show as he funds Black voters' campaign

The Internet ridiculed Perry for his past television show ‘If Loving You Is Wrong’ saying that the writer-director made a show that mocked the feelings of Black female protagonists

Multi-faceted film personality Tyler Perry has teamed up with a massive campaign targeting 25 counties and 250k Black residents in Florida to ensure that they vote in the 2020 presidential elections. The actor-director-producer has joined forces with a Black-led nonpartisan group called Equal Ground Education Fund on its half a million-dollar initiative ‘Souls to the Polls: Park and Praise’. 

Perry has initiated to help the campaign by funding it. The campaign has been dubbed as bringing "Souls to the Polls" -- to increase Black voter engagement and turnout in the state. Equal Ground reportedly mentioned that its mission is to fight Florida’s long history of voter disenfranchisement and help stem Black political power. The non-profit's founder, Jasmine Burney-Clark, said as reported by TMZ, "Our work is to provide robust voter education and ensure that accurate information reaches our communities is the highest priority and is exactly what this partnership with Tyler Perry is going to do."

Burney-Clark also spoke to the Miami Herald saying, “A national pandemic, racial tensions, blatant disregard for black bodies and a presidential election that can’t be won without the votes of Black folks have shaped the way we connect with voters.”

Souls to the Polls: Park and Praise campaign

'Souls to the Polls' will be a combination of what the fund is calling ‘Park & Praise’. Equal Ground has events planned for Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and 23 other Florida counties which it described as “a massive socially-distanced ‘Souls to the Polls’ effort to educate and turnout Black voters across the state. The events earlier mostly centered around urban centers but have been expanded in their reach this year under the banner ‘Souls to the Polls: Park and Praise Edition campaign’.

The official site of the campaign states that churches will be used as “mobilization centers in their effort to equip African Americans with political information and the frame of mind needed for political change. When combining the various roles of the Black churchgoers, over time, the church has gained leverage within the community and this leverage has translated into the church having political power.” 
 
The campaign will be held within CDC guidelines where attendees will be able to participate in the events from the comfort of their own vehicles. They just have to drop off their vote by mail ballot at some event locations while they hear from local faith and community leaders, musical entertainment and candidate drop-ins are welcome, the site reported.

Internet mocks Perry over viral video

As soon as Perry's link in galvanizing Black voters was made known, the Internet ridiculed him for his past television show ‘If Loving You Is Wrong’. The soap opera was created, executive produced, written and directed by Perry. It revolved around couples and friends who belong to middle-class communities and go through challenges that life throws at them like heartbreak, affairs, and deceit.
 
The Internet shared a clip that went viral showing Kelly (Edwina Dickerson) a character in the show who was apparently betrayed by her crush who just sees her as a friend. The Internet felt that Perry made a show that disparaged the feelings of Black female protagonists and so were doubtful if his campaign will do any good for the Black community. An angry social media user tweeted: “Tyler Perry is a sick man.” Another was of the view that he makes Black women protagonists suffer in his works, “One thing about Tyler Perry? He's going to make Black women suffer!” Another concurred, “If Tyler Perry does one thing, it’s stressing a Black woman out.” 

A user lashed at Perry, “To hell with Tyler Perry and his wack ass movies and plays. Those movies were not meant to empower Black women AT ALL and I hate my family wasted their time eating his shit up. He’s really a sell-out.” A user mocked Perry’s writing credits, “Rare video of Tyler Perry writing for a new movie.” A user wrote, “Can we talk about how a Constant Trope in Tyler Perry movies is ‘a dark skin woman is struggling because of a dark skin man and then a light skin man comes to save her from her struggles’ Or is it just me?” 

These allegations were made by the internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.