From Africa to America

Panel01to08600
Title: From Africa to America
Artist: Wilfred Stroud
Date: 1988 – 1996
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

A musician, storyteller/oral historian, the traditional Griot was the product, or rather the embodiment of West African oral traditions. A native of Macon, Georgia, Wilfred R. Stroud embodies many of the qualities of the traditional West African Griot. But where the Griots of old preserved history through recitation and song, Stroud uses oil and acrylic paint on canvas to illustrate the history and contributions of African Americans in Macon and beyond.

Wilfred Stroud’s best-known work is the mural From Africa to America. Measuring 68 inches tall by 55 feet long, the work is installed on the first floor of the Tubman Museum. A signature piece in the Museum’s collection, the work was commissioned in 1988 with funds provided by the Macon Arts Alliance and the City of Macon. At the time of its creation, Stroud stated that, “The purpose of this mural is to present a visual history of the black man and woman from the earliest times in Africa to the present times in America. The panels focus attention upon the impact of outstanding persons, and events that made a change in the lives and conditions of black people in particular, and the world in general.”