After Prince passed away in 2016, many previously unknown details about his private life surfaced. One such detail highlights how the music icon helped a grief-stricken family after an unjust tragedy, which is unfortunately still plaguing our African American community to this day- as we’ve seen with the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd (and sadly, far too many more) at the hands of police officers. Prince’s ex-wife and Rev. Al Sharpton gave refreshing insight into who Prince really was. Check out what Prince did for the family of the late Trayvon Martin and others below…
HOW PRINCE HELPED TRAYVON’S FAMILY IN MIDST OF TRAGEDY
Rev. Al Sharpton revealed, to NYDaily News, what Prince did in 2012 after unarmed, Trayvon Martin (17), was fatally shot by George Zimmerman- the son of a Caucasian retired Supreme Court magistrate, who got off without any legal ramifications for the killing. Soon after Zimmerman brutally took Trayvon’s life, Sharpton was surprised when Prince called to tell him he wanted to help Trayvon’s family. However, the Purple Rain star wanted to remain anonymous, which is why he needed Sharpton’s help…
Al Sharpton: “I will never forget when he [Prince] called me and said he had some funds he wanted to give to Trayvon Martin’s family… Just out of the blue. Just out of the clear blue. He didn’t want anybody to know. He didn’t even want Trayvon Martin’s family to know where the funds came from.”
It seems that Trayvon Martin’s family probably didn’t find out that the donator was Prince until after Prince’s passing…wow. But wait…there’s more…
PRINCE’S EX-WIFE TELLS HOW HE HELPED EVERY INNER CITY HE PERFORMED IN
Although they amicably divorced in 2006, after 5 years of marriage, Prince’s second wife (now Eric Benet’s wife), Manuela Testolini, remained active in several of Prince’s philanthropic/humanitarian efforts. After Prince’s passing, Manuela did an interview with Rolling Stone and recalled the various ways Prince helped others. Prior to their romantic relationship, Manuela worked for Prince’s philanthropic organization, Love 4 One Another:
http://gty.im/74713174
Testolini sought a position at Love 4 One Another because she liked how the organization operated. “They were doing projects ranging from building community gardens to helping domestic shelters. […] When Prince would visit different cities for a concert, he would have work going on to complement the places he visited.” If Prince had a Philadelphia show in the middle of winter, his organization would do a coat drive or a food drive nearby. “You can imagine calling a food bank, saying, ‘You need to come here tomorrow with lots of trucks to pick up bins and bins of food,'” she says with a laugh. “It was a very effective, quick food drive and an easy way to make an impact. It was mobilizing people who were already interested and giving them a little way to impact their community.”
Prince’s ex also explained how he’d always help families he’d see on television, that were in need…
Manuela Testolini: “He wanted to be a catalyst for other people,” she says. “He would see a family on TV that was having trouble – they didn’t have health insurance and had trouble meeting the needs of a sick child – and instead of saying, ‘Wow, that’s really sad,’ he would leave a note on my desk saying, ‘Call this TV station and find out where these people are so we can help them.’ It was ongoing.”
PRINCE’S EX-WIFE BUILT AFRICAN SCHOOLS IN PRINCE’S HONOR
Today, Manuela Testolini follows in her ex-husband’s philanthropic footsteps. She’s launched TWO SCHOOLS in Africa, in honor of Prince (one of them is named after him). She said Prince always wanted to start a school of his own. After his passing, she made it finally happen in October 2016 through her organization, In A Perfect World (a philanthropic organization Prince helped her to start and created the logo for).
Incredible! Prince is a great example of what it looks like when the seeds one plants while they’re here, continue to flourish and positively affect others…even in death.
