From Conehatta to Harlem: The Great Migration and Artistic Awakening

Overstreet's early years were shaped by both the Mississippi landscape and the hope of new possibilities. He was a part of the Great Migration, relocating to California in the 1940s with his family, where he was exposed to diverse communities and ideas. He developed his artistic skills at Contra Costa College, the California School of Fine Arts, and the California College of Arts and Crafts. His early work as an animator at Walt Disney Studios soon paled in comparison to the call of fine art, and by the late 1950s, Overstreet set out for New York City.

Confronting Racism Through Abstract Art: The 1960s Works

Immersed in the Harlem and Lower East Side art worlds, Overstreet confronted the crossroads of Black identity, abstraction, and activism. His paintings from the 1960s, such as "Strange Fruit"—a reference to Billie Holiday's anti-lynching anthem—and "The New Jemima," boldly confronted the wounds of racism through both abstract form and potent imagery.

"Art is about the development of the human spirit, the coming together of expression, cultures crossing," Overstreet once said about what his craft meant.

Revolutionary Flight Pattern Paintings: Redefining the Canvas

Overstreet's signature innovation came with the move to non-traditional materials and structures. By the 1970s, his "tent-like" or "flight pattern" paintings, tethered with ropes and suspended in space, rejected the conventional rectangular canvas and echoed his own nomadic experience.

"I was making nomadic art, and I could roll it up and travel," said Overstreet, who died in 2019. "I felt like a nomad myself, with all the insensitivity in America."

Kenkeleba House and Legacy: Championing Artists of Color

A fierce advocate, Overstreet co-founded Kenkeleba House in 1974 with his wife Corrine Jennings, establishing a vital platform for artists of color. His legacy lives on in leading museums nationwide—including the Brooklyn Museum.

"I paint things that I think about and feel," Overstreet once reflected. "Art is more than making something; it's a personal way to speak about everything I can feel."

In 2018, Overstreet received the Mississippi Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Arts, cementing his legacy as an innovator whose work continues to move, challenge, and uplift generations.