Hamin Melvin has lived his whole life in a corner row home tucked away on Willow Street between State and Union in West Philadelphia.
Melvin, though, has seen the world, having worked for his father, the late legendary singer Harold Melvin of
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes fame. Just last week he was in Baltimore and San Francisco, serving as road manager for Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, the
touring act that has performed his father's music since his death in 1997.
At home, Melvin has seen a lot as well. He got mixed up in drugs and gangs at a young age. He saw many meet untimely or tragic deaths. He saw what it means to lose a neighborhood.
Melvin has worked over the last few months to complete his own mural project, just across the narrow street from his home near the elbow of Willow, that will memorialize at least 65 residents who have helped positively shape the Black Bottom community.
The mural is simple and, to be kind, rustic. But make no mistake, Melvin proved that anyone can produce their own mural in Philadelphia. With a little help from neighbor
People's Emergency Center (PEC) to purchase paint and property owner approval, Melvin painted the mural, which features stage curtains, a heart and local street signs, mostly himself. He even has some battle scars -- he fell off a ladder and broke his elbow in August.
It was a small price to play for the entertainer-turned-community activist.
"It should be acknowledged and exposed to the younger generation," Melvin says. "We want formal recognition.
"I'm proud of my heritage and culture."
Melvin's mother moved to the only house he has ever known, which sits squarely in what is now known as Saunders Park, when she was 14 and gave birth to Hamin a year later. Melvin's father lived in West Philadelphia until he had his first big hit and moved to Mt. Airy in the 1960s.
Melvin, among other, was raised in large part by the community, and there were many who fought to help keep children and families safe and productive.
"There were parents, grandparents, neighborhs and friends who guided us in the right direction," says Melvin, an impressive singer in his own right and a member of the Philadelphia Masjid mosque on 47th and Wyalusing. "Even though we strayed the wrong way, they'd steer us back in the right direction.
"They made us know that we'd get a better quality of live by giving."
Nowadays, Melvin is among many who are working to strengthen and honor the Blackbottom community. There are no fewer than three organizations -- Market St. Black Bottom Association, Black Bottom Association and New Generation Black Bottom Association. Melvin works with some in these groups, including well-known youth mentor and basketball coach Tony Black from the Market St. group.
They have different methods and interests but have been communicating in an effort to better organize. Blackbottom residents of all ages still gather in front of The Please Touch Museum every summer in Fairmount Park for an annual celebration.
Melvin, who can often be seen walking up and down Lancaster Ave. in a Kangol hat checking in elderly residents and business owners, threw a barbecue himself on his tiny street in late July to celebrate his mural, and about two dozen people who grew up on his block or nearby showed up to remember.
Melvin is planning on attending the Zoning Code Training Series offered by the Citizens Planning Institute to learn more about changing his small swath of the Black Bottom. He wants to make Willow Triangle, a tiny community garden, safer and more inviting to locals. He wants to address other ugly walls and vacant lots in his neighborhood, which has plenty.
Melvin's mural is not the only public commemoration of the Black Bottom. There's also
a memorial wall at the southeast corner of University City High School near 36th and Filbert.
Melvin's mural, though, is all heart.
"The Black Bottom should be acknowledged and exposed to a younger generation," Melvins says.
Source: Hamin Melvin
Writer: Joe Petrucci