Trendsetters-Rev Corey Brooks+Tyler Perry Good Deeds On TJMS

 
A South Side pastor who has spent more than three months living in a tent on the roof of a Park Manor motel says he will end his vigil today, thanks to a promise of $98,000 from movie mogul Tyler Perry that will allow the pastor to buy and demolish the motel to make way for a community center.

The Rev. Corey Brooks moved into a tent on the roof of the motel Nov. 22 and has spent 94 days on his third-story perch in an effort to bring attention to gun violence that plagues the area. He had said he wouldn’t come down until he raised the $450,000 to buy the former motel, which he said was a drug den, and raze it.

Brooks said Perry promised to make the donation while being interviewed today on "The Tom Joyner Morning Show," a syndicated radio program. Perry stars in and directed “Good Deeds,” a movie that opens today.

“I guess he thought it would be good to do a great deed on the day that his movie is coming out, so we got a commitment,” Brooks said. “The check is not in our hands, but Tyler Perry’s word is good.”

Perry’s donation will put Brooks about $13,000 over his target. Brooks said he will use the money -- plus a promise of $85,000 from a Christian businessman in Chicago who wants to remain anonymous that was also received today – for the community center that he hopes will serve as a peaceful gathering place for the neighborhood’s residents. Brooks estimates that the full cost for the center will be about $15 million.

Brooks said he will probably leave his rooftop home about 5 p.m. today so his friends and family and members of his church can join in the celebration. Then, he said, he’s going to take a hot shower, shave and take a group of people to see Perry’s movie.

The lonely nights spent in a chilly tent heated only by kerosene and electric heaters will be worth it when neighborhood residents see the motel torn down and the community center begin to rise in its place, Brooks said.

“When they see this community center being built, they’re going to be reminded that one person can change things,” he said. “One person can make things better. And hopefully it’s going to inspire people to continue.”
@chicagotribune