An Ode to Africa in the Americas Mural

The flow of the mural is a journey via the woven fabric and textile patterns featuring Bogolanfini mudcloth, hieroglyphic writing, Asante adinkra symbols, Yoruba adire indigo, Nsibidi writing, Kente cloth, Guatemalan, and Peruvian cultures. Which patterns or symbols catch your eye and why?

Within the textiles are examples of systems of writing and symbology from different cultures. The hieroglyphic text is taken from the cartouche of Kush Kingdom leader, King Aspelta, of which several of his artifacts during his reign are located at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and National Center of Afro-American Artists. These pieces of ancient text from Eastern Africa are evidence of the role African people played in developing societies “rich with timeless literature, architecture, infrastructure and cosmologies.” Adinkra and Nsibidi symbols were even incorporated into enslaved Africans’ quilts, potentially acting as messages to enslaved folks trying to liberate themselves.

Given that the mural was designed to enliven a place of learning, the many quotes, slogans, and inspirational moments captured within the mural were all incorporated with an educational perspective in mind. Which words caught your eye? An African-American inventor and their invention perhaps? Or a poem? See if you can spot all the writings listed below (ordered from left to right and top to bottom of the mural)!

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A reference to L’Merchie Frazier’s original art piece, The Holler, 2019, Frazier recalls the motif of the men at the base of the pyramids to anchor our presence geographically in Nubia and Kemet. The ancestors’ call is from our ancient beginnings - the call across the waters arcing millenia and our stories that reach from the east to the west. Their holler is for our redemption and our remembering from whence we came.

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The Black Power Fist is recognized as a symbol of resistance. Muralist Jonathan Innocent, who created the image, describes his reimagined Black Power Fist this way: “...The image of a hand reaching up from the ground signifies the birth of Black radical tradition. It is also an image that conveys the oppressed people of the earth rising to claim their liberation, and harkens back to the masses which Frantz Fanon calls ‘the wretched of the earth.’” The date palm tree within the open fist recalls the life sustaining attributes of the date palm itself and the Nile River by which it grows. Innocent adds that it is also “an homage to Haiti, the first [Black] nation to free itself from its colonizers, in 1804. A palm tree is featured prominently in the center of the Haitian flag, symbolizing national pride.”

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The protestors and protest signs are inspired by art related to social and political movements throughout the Black diaspora. The mural includes references to the struggle against South African Apartheid, African American labor struggles, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Dosha Ellis Beard, textile and mural artist, shares the historical significance of the schooner, Clotilda, and its relevance to her. Video coming soon!

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Natural indigo dyeing is a process associated with many traditional cultures, especially that of cloth production in West Africa. This practice of cloth production was relocated to the southern plantations and places as far as Brazil during the 18th and 19th centuries through the labor of enslaved people. The identifying marks of indigo cloth visible on the hands and skin of the dyers is the same blue that was seen in the surface of the soil where the cloth was hung to dry.

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The image of three generations of women braiding each other’s hair represents heritage, legacy, and survival. In discussing the center positioning of the braiding women, muralist Anna Francella Rodriguez explains that the art of braiding hair, “its impact, and its importance transcends the [African] diaspora”, finding reflection in the indigenous cultures of the Americas as well. Enslaved Africans would carry rice, grains, and other seeds in their braided hairstyles to nourish themselves on the horrific trans-Atlantic journey and to plant in the new land they would inhabit.

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In honor of the vibrant cultural carnival celebrations that occur within the diaspora, the Vejigante and Benin masks were included in the center of the mural to honor these fruitful celebrations. The Vejigante mask is a demon figure that is a staple of Puerto Rican and Dominican Carnival culture. The oba mask is worn in Benin in annual ceremonies of spiritual renewal and purification.

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Rooted in organized acts of rebellion against enslavement on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, Carnival today is a celebration of freedom throughout the Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora around the world. The mural features carnival characters playing ‘mas’, short for masquerade, in extravagant feathery costumes, chipping, marching and liming in pure jubilation. The drummer is a celebration of women djembe percussionists and performers who emanate from places like Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Atlanta, Georgia, wearing traditional African attire and are part of the relocation of music and culture synthesized in the Americas. The lacey textiles and patterns are applied on translucent paper to achieve the texture of African lace.

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The African continent is placed slightly right of center of the mural, underscoring Africa’s dynamic and ever evolving impact on the Americas. The size of the Cape Verde islands in relation to the contiguous African continent is purposely made larger to demonstrate the outsized influence of Cape Verde in Massachusetts, which holds the largest Cape Verdean population in the United States. Concentric circles over the outline of the African continent is a reference to both Anansi the Spider, a familiar trickster character from Ghanaian folktales who has made his way around the world, and to the concept of “the web of life,” which originates and continues to emanate from Africa. Within the web are proverbs and quotes and the names of African American inventors and their inventions, symbolizing the “webs” that Africa continues to weave beyond its borders. Take a look at the Quotes and Sayings section for more information.

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Four members of the mural collective photographed their own arms linked together to create this image. The mural team was drawn to numerous African symbols and proverbs expressing unity and collectivity, mirrored in the Pan Africanist philosophy of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu word loosely translated to mean “I am because we are.” One popular image for Ubuntu is one of four arms of different skin tones holding each other at the forearm or wrist.

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The African fish eagle is a reverential nod to the original "Africa to America" mural, which stood 4’ x 40’ on Guild Row in Nubian Square, Roxbury, from 2012–2018. It featured African flora and fauna and was painted by youths in a Madison Park Development Corporation summer program, directed by Roberto Chao and assisted by Aziza Robinson-Goodnight.

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Founded in 1966 by African-American activist Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1. The Seven Principles (“Nguzo Saba”) - Umoja/Unity, Kujichagulia/Self-determination, Ujima/Collective work and responsibility, Ujamaa/Cooperative economics, Nia/Purpose, Kuumba/Creativity, and Imani/Faith - are woven into the fabric of the kente cloth to compel mural visitors to consider how each of the values are represented within the green section.

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This market cornucopia shows the diversity of some of the fruits and vegetables indigenous to the African continent, such as okra, watermelon, kola nuts, ackee, yams, and rice (Oryza glaberrima). Through global trade routes, the forced migration journey, and the discovery of substitutes in the Americas, other crops, like sweet potatoes, mangoes, plantains, and scotch bonnet peppers, have become staples of African and African diasporic appetites. The market stall features this rich tapestry of foods while also highlighting their names in different African and African diasporic languages: ackee (“ankye” in Ghanian Twi), okra (“okuru” in Nigerian Igbo), plantain (“plátano” in Spanish), watermelon (“بطيخ” in Arabic), yam (“irui” in Nigerian female Ubang), sweet potato (“patat” in Haitian Creole), mango (“mangue” in French), rice (“ceebu” in Senegalese Wolof), scotch bonnet pepper (“peppa” in Jamaican English), and kola nuts (“noz di kola” in Cape Verdean Creole).

You will also notice that the table for the fruits and vegetables has a uniquely designed cloth. The cloth designer, artist Bosede Opetubo describes the cloth as a “homage to quilters and printmakers across time and continents, drawing inspiration from an actual quilt made by a member of the African American Quilt Guild in Durham, North Carolina. The vivid pattern, with batik and Ankara fabrics arranged in diagonal rows, evokes rushing water, blood vessels or rows of crops. In the quiltmaker’s own words, “my quilts represent the unspoken,” while capturing the essence of struggle, resilience and triumph.”

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African traditions and knowledge permanently shaped practices of agriculture, cooking, and eating across the American continent, from agricultural techniques like rice cultivation and animal herding, to cooking techniques like barbecuing meats, deep frying fish, and leaf-wrapped steaming. Hands preparing foods, from pounding fufu to cutting okra to cooking stews, highlight food historian Michael Twitty’s profound observation, “The food is an archive, a keeper of secrets.” Borne out of the horrific history of colonization, imperialistic trade, and trans-atlantic slavery is a tradition of resilience and adaptation that can be seen in the dishes of the African diaspora today.

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Dosha Ellis Beard is a multidisciplinary performing, fiber, and visual artist from Boston, Massachusetts. Watch her interview to learn more about the why she joined the mural project and its personal significance to her.