Troy native pays it forward
TROY, N. Y. » From a young age, Kevin Pryor knew he had the skills to be an advocate for youth.
“At age 17, a group of us started organizing van trips to amusement parks,” said Pryor. “That was the beginning of me starting to do what I love to do, which is to organize and help people.”
Pryor, 51, was born and raised on 9th Street, although he moved to Albany for part of his childhood and, later, adulthood. He is now a father of three children.
“I am the middle child out of seven,” he said. “My father passed away when I was turning 10, We had a close- knit family and we had a ‘ village’ where everybody in the community helped to raise your children. In that sense, we had somany people who watched over everybody in our community.”
Pryor said it was tough to lose his father at such a young age, but he did say his father instilled good morals in the family. After his father’s death, Pryor said he also he had good support from his mother’s boyfriend, as well as fromhis aunts, uncles and friends.
“I moved to Albany at age 10 for a little bit with my mother’s boyfriend,” said Pryor. “He was a great man. He worked for the [ Watervliet] Arsenal and he took us in as if we were his own children. If aman does that, then he’s a greatman.
“He didn’t play around. We had to have our bath done by 7: 30 p. m. and had to be in bed by 8: 30 p. m.”
Pryor also credited the Troy Boys and Girls Club as a place that helped to shape his life.
“If it wasn’t for the Troy Boys and Girls club, who knows how I would have turned out to be?” said Pryor.
As Pryor grew up in a life filled with ups and downs, he always knew he wanted to continue to help people. For many years, he has now been involved with many local organizations and has done some work on his own, as well. Pryor started amovement known
as Step it Up, Pull ’ em Up nine years ago, with the aim being to encourage young men not to wear their pants sagged down with their underwear showing.
“This movement, me and my daughter started because we would be driving and my daughter, who was like 6 at the time, would say, ‘ Oh, he’s sagging, Dad,’” explained Pryor. “It’s sickening that my daughter is 6 years old and she has to see aman’s underwear walking around.”
Pryor, who works for the Albany County Office of Weights and Measures, also helped to get a basketball court placed under the Hoosick Street Bridge, thanks to a donation from the Unity House, where Pryor also hosts a weekly anti- bullying and boxing program.
“I know that I am making a difference, and I think other people like me are also helping to make a difference in this community,” said Pryor. “As long as we are all on the same page, doing it for the same reasons, then we will get the true victory at the end.”
Pryor said he enjoys his work in the community and hopes to be able to continue to give back for as long as he can.
“Mymindset is to save as many people as I can and to try to change their mental thought,” said Pryor.