When Neysa ( Neesha ) Scott walked into a room she neither sought nor shunned attention, yet it followed her like a shadow.
No one knew if it made her nervous or not, she simply handled it with grace. It was hard to ignore her bald head, coco brown skin, and perfectly made-up face, highlighted by colorful lips. She was often dressed in the clothes she designed; the perfect spokes-model for her wearable creations. She had come to her bald pate as a result of supporting a friend battling cancer many years before, cutting off the hair that women paid handsomely to have sewn in.
Born to Nelson and Alice Scott of Hyde Park in Chicago, she and her younger brother Kenyatta were raised surrounded by an exposure to opportunity and creativity. A close-knit family, Neysa would share with friends the stories of her father taking them to restaurants all over Chicago and collecting the menus for memorabilia.
Three years ago she posted a video that included her mom and brother. In the video her 40-something-year-old brother threatened to do the acrobatic flips from his youth, honed at the Sammy Dyer Dance Academy that both he and Neysa attended as children. In the video, Neysa and mother Alice can be heard giving him warning ( that he might be too old for this ), with dare and delight in their voices as he demonstrated the flips.
Her parents were avid patrons of African American artists such as Frank Frazier and emerging artist Najee Dorsey. They were active members in their collectors group, Diasporal Rhythms. Their apartment, which was more like a museum, was also a stop on the local art collector's tours. These 'salons' or gatherings, her parents held supported artists and welcomed others in the spirit of an Ernie Barnes painting; laughter, performance art, food and drinks were plenty. Perhaps it was here where Neysa fully embraced all aspects of her own creativity that needed no apologies or approval from European aesthetics.
During the year their place was often converted into a welcome home for out-of-town artists showing their wares at the Dixon Elementary School Art Festival in March or the African Festival of the Arts, at the end of summer in Washington Park, on Chicago's South Side. Her father's passion for art was so great, that he would bargain with artists for pieces that he fell in love with, hoping he wasn't mortgaging away his retirement and would have room to hang one more work on his wall.
Neysa designed garments in her head, bought fabric, grabbed a pair of sharp scissors and started to cut and pin. Her business, Neysa's Peaces, created art wear that often included painted hats and scarfs ( in a Jackson Pollack style ), eye-catching shoulder satchels and women's garments with butterfly wings. Her clients were world-renowned singers, pastor's wives, politicians and women who simply enjoyed dressing with an exclamation point. Eventually, she too became a fixture at the African Festival of the Arts, which often felt to her like a family reunion.
In 2004, Neysa joined the Drum Diva's, a group founded by a woman who would become one of her best friends, Yaounde Olu. The Drum Diva's was the perfect platform for Neysa. She would dance, sing and flaunt her wearable creations. Her personality often brought levity to the group during their extensive rehearsals. Yaounde and Neysa even partnered on a community radio show out of the University of Chicago, WHPK 88.5 FM every Tuesday where they played music, read poetry, told stories like two old friends and allowed the community to listen.
At least twice a year everyone on Neysa's contact list would receive a text announcing that she was taking a personal, spiritual retreat. She would not be answering the phone or being social, the text would announce. This was her moment of intense, focused prayer, self-reflection and cleansing. Her faith was her backbone.
A few years ago, Neysa was hit with the news that both of her parents were beginning to have major health challenges. While this news would destroy some people, she did not ask for sympathy but dug even deeper into her faith. The dutiful daughter gratefully supported her parents. She had been instrumental in helping to raise her nieces and nephews and now she would have to attend to her parents in the same spirit.
Neysa was on the younger end of a generation of friends who had witnessed so much in each other's lives. She was loyal beyond words. Person after person had stories of how she supported them in their time of need. The world of those she touched was shocked by her quick departure. She died Oct. 16 at age 51 of an aneurysm and a stroke, leaving behind those grappling to understand the mysteries of life and death.
In one of the final tributes to Neysa, DJ Wilma posted on YouTube the audio of Neysa reciting a poem, a prayer. Her words, her emotions and delivery felt like a final reading on a life well lived. ( www.youtube.com/watch ). RIP Ms Neysa Scott ).
A designer who did not sew and a woman who shared her story, performed from her heart, determined not to die with her creativity in her. Neysa lived out loud.
Also see www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/PASSAGES-Neysa-Scott/57062.html .
