Tyler Perry calls airport racial profiling allegations an 'affront to our dignity'

Tyler Perry called the alleged racial profiling of his friends at an airport “an attack on our dignity.”

A lawsuit was filed by comedians Eric André and Clayton English earlier this year, after both were arrested by authorities at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.

Several A-list actors, including 54-year-old “Madea” star Perry, filed a friend-of-the-court brief as part of their suit alleging racial discrimination. “Fall For Your Type” singer Jamie Foxx Empire star Taraji P Henson, Atlas actor Sterling K Brown and The Bridgerton ChroniclesRegé-Jean Page of , also contributed to the trial.

“André and English were targeted and arrested by Clayton County Police Department (CCPD) officers, several months apart, on jet bridges at the Atlanta Airport while they were just a few not board their flights,” Perry wrote in a column for The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Although both men were cleared by TSA security, Perry claimed they were approached and targeted because of the “color of their skin.” He cited several statistics on racial disparities in security screenings from André and the English team at New York University Law School's Policing Project, as well as from Jones Day, Lawrence & Bundy, and Canfield Law.

Perry commented on the broader issue of racism in America by adding that “law enforcement engaging in racial profiling and trying to hide the truth about it is nothing new in this country.”

Although he acknowledged the incident was not unique, Perry highlighted the impact on the black community each time an allegedly discriminatory event was made public.

“Yet every time this happens, we are reminded that as Black people, we are viewed – even by our own government – ​​as less worthy of respect and constitutional protection than our white friends, neighbors and colleagues.

“And when we are targeted by police, the same officials who are sworn to protect us, we face the very real horrors of what can, and too often, go wrong when police officers interact with Black people. »

He added: “Any act of racial discrimination is a broken promise, an affront to our dignity, an insult to Atlanta's history, and a vestige of a history that America must leave behind.” »

“When racial discrimination goes unchecked, it threatens this growth,” Perry wrote. “Black people must have the freedom to travel without fear of arrest because of the color of their skin. »