Black History Month: Drawing on Past Experiences

Drawing of Claudette Colvin by Neveah Williams.

“Resemblance,” Nevaeh Williams, fifth grader from Brandon Elementary, said when asked why she drew a picture of Claudette Colvin, the American pioneer of the 1950’s civil rights movement.

“She was before Rosa Parks,” Nevaeh said. “She was 15 years old.”

According to www.rosaparksbiography.org, Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white person on the bus. She was arrested and later only convicted of assaulting the officer who arrested her. Rosa Parks became very interested in the young Claudette and would have her repeat her story at gatherings. According to the site, “Colvin would become one of the plaintiffs on the federal case, Browder v Gayle, filed in February 1956 during the boycott which ultimately led to the desegregation of Montgomery’s buses.”

Ashley Dimery, a paraprofessional at Brandon Elementary found out about the drawing when asking Nevaeh to draw a famous character from Black History month.

“She and her dad had a conversation about her drawing someone for Black History to be showcased at the Angelina Art Alliance,” Dimery said. “I stopped her and asked her how long does it take for her to draw a picture, not knowing that she had already drawn something. She said, ‘it just depends on the person.’

So, I asked her if she could draw Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks. That’s when she told me that she had already drawn Claudette Colvin. I was very excited. She showed me her drawing, and I was in awe of how amazing it was.”

Dimery took the drawing and enlarged it to surprise Nevaeh with a poster-size picture of her drawing.

“She asked me numerous times about her drawing, I kept it as a surprise until the Black History program,” said Dimery.

When Nevaeh was asked who taught her how to draw. She answered, “I taught myself.”

Sounds like she has more in common with Claudette Colvin than just looks, that independent spirit will take her far.