They call us savages
They say we are only here to work
Make babies and do what we are told
Don’t speak
Don’t have an opinion
Work harder
Work harder
Worker harder!
WH-TCH!
In my mind
I am working harder
I’m tired
I’m Tired
I’M TIRED!
WH-TCH!
My opinion even inside my own brain
Doesn’t matter!
Keeping working
Keeping working
KEEP WORKING!
Maybe if we work hard enough they might not call us
Savages anymore.
Purvis Young was a native of Miami, Florida, who created a unique art environment in the neighborhood of Overtown. In 1971, Young decided to make a statement in his downtrodden neighborhood after being inspired by murals made by African-American activists in Chicago and Detroit. He decided to paint in a vacant alley of boarded up store fronts—a blank slate—with images that charted the challenges of this once-vibrant neighborhood. The Struggle is widely regarded as Young’s most powerful and significant work from this period.
