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Purvis Young the Storyteller For Black History Month Mr. Purvis Young, the storyteller was invited to Overtown Youth Center to talk to the students about his contribution to the Overtown community. Your question may be who is Purvis Young? If you are not over 40 and a long time resident of Overtown you would think that he is just another person. Posters were displayed in the entrance of the building announcing Purvis Young’s debut at the Center. In the crowd of people coming to see Mr. Young there was this old black man who arrived who wore dark shades, dressed in shabby clothes and was escorted by a white man. There were so many people following him with cameras and recorders. These individuals held onto his every word and listened intently. The children were very inquisitive as well as they followed him into the auditorium. One of the gentlemen introduced Mr. Young and the children and myself looked around the room waiting for Mr. Young to make an appearance. To our surprise the storyteller was the old black gentleman with the dark shades. We were shown a documentary of the life of Mr. Purvis Young a resident of Overtown. Mr. Young lived and worked in Overtown. His home is located in the neighborhood on the other side of the highway. It also showed how Mr. Young is currently known in the art world outside of Miami. He has researched art history avidly, studied other artists work and spent many years in libraries that have supported his work. His creative style or one might say his imagery was chosen by the images that he sees every day in Overtown. His art represents the story of his own life and memories of the past as well. This documentary of Mr. Young’s life became very emotional for me, as well as, the children who sat on the floor with their eyes stretched wide. They were amazed to realize that a famous man lives in the very same neighborhood that they were growing up in. The children were very elated and you could see from their reactions how proud they were of Mr. Young. As the night ended the children showed no hesitation to ask question, some even said, they remembered seeing Mr. Young riding his bike through the neighborhood and seeing some of his art in the as well. One particular painting that all the children remembered seeing was the mural on The Culmer Public Library wall. I asked the children which one of our standards would best fit this event and the stated, “standard number five”. In unison they said, “In OYC we treasure our rich culture and we hold the cultures of all people in high regards”. This event left an imprint on not only the lives of the children, but the staff as well. As one child stated, “it made me feel very proud to see someone that is part of Overtown history”. He then walked to Mr. Purvis Young, shook his hand and said thank you. |
