Tyler Perry buried bibles underneath sound stages at Atlanta studios

It may sound unconventional to some, but the reasoning behind it makes complete sense.

Most of us remember when the big news hit – Tyler Perry bought a 330-acre lot for his Tyler Perry Studios. Tyler Perry Studios serves as a home for hundreds of films, television shows and other content under his production house. We may have seen several, if not all, of the productions coming out of TP Studios, but Perry recently said something many of us didn’t know about his compound – under each sound stage, he buried a bible. “The land itself was once a Confederate Army base, which meant there were people here fighting to keep my ancestors enslaved,” Perry said. “From the moment I walked onto the property, I was haunted by it. So, as we built each of the 12 soundstages, we buried Bibles underneath them, as a way of refocusing the spirit of the place. I wanted this to be a place where everyone was welcome.”

The spirit of the place has definitely been refocused, as Perry has continued to put out content that has employed thousands – both on and off camera. Not to mention, he is giving people opportunities on the very land many of them would have been enslaved on. “Thousands of people come through the gate every day to work here. And it’s a beautiful thing. A lot of them are former prisoners who wouldn’t have had this shot,” Perry said.

Perry has continued to build his influence not only with the bible-blessed sound stages but also by teaming up with other heavy hitters, such as Oprah and her network OWN, to continue amplifying Black voices. “I brought scripted material to the network with the crime-drama series ‘The Haves and the Have Nots,’” Perry said. “It ran for eight seasons and is still the highest-rated show that was ever on the channel. For Oprah and me, it was important to show Black people that you can work together, that powers can come together and be successful.”

Check out a tour of Tyler Perry Studios from the man himself, below!