Tyler Perry accepted the honour of the TV Academy’s Governor’s Award at last night’s Emmys; with a heartfelt speech centring on a quilt his grandmother gave him when he was 19.
When he first saw the quilt, with its multi-coloured patches and patterns; he recalled, “it was something that I didn’t really care for. I was quite embarrassed by it”. He would use it for household chores, even as a rag when he changed the oil in his car. Later, when he noticed a similar quilt in an antique shop; he learned about its origins and had an epiphany about his grandmother’s gift.
Even though he considered himself proud of his heritage, Perry said he realized he “dismissed her work and her story because it didn’t look like what I thought it should.”
Expanding the metaphor, he said, “Whether we know it or not, we’re all sewing our own quilts with our behaviors, our experiences and our memories.”
Since leaving home as a teenager, of course, Perry has risen to the elite ranks of entertainment influencers, spanning many parts of the industry. Initially, he made his way as a writer and performer.
From his Madea plays, which spawned a $500 million film franchise, he went on to make a series of much bigger business moves.
He created a 300-acre production facility in Atlanta; partnering with Oprah Winfrey’s cable network OWN on a slate of scripted shows. Perry eventually moved his deal to Viacom and became a stakeholder in subscription streaming outlet BET+.
Emphasizing the many different walks of life participating in opportunities; he said everyone is coming together to “add patches to a quilt that is as diverse as it can be. Diversity at its best.”
Perry said in his grandmother’s quilt, “there are no patches with black people on television on it. But in my quilt, her grandson is being celebrated by the Television Academy.”
