Hale Aspacio Woodruff was an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

 known for his mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

s, paintings, and prints. One example of his work, the three-panel Amistad

Amistad

"Amistad" is a Spanish noun meaning "friendship". It may refer to:Ships* Amistad/Amitie, an 18th century schooner that transported Acadians from France to Louisiana....

 Mutiny murals (1938), can be found at Talladega College

Talladega College

- External Links :* -- Official web site*...

 in Talladega County, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. The murals, commissioned and painted during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, are entitled: The Revolt, The Court Scene, and Back to Africa, portraying events related to the slave revolt on the Amistad. Located in Savery Library, they depict events on the ship, the U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 trial, and the Mende

Mende people

The Mende people are one of the two largest and most dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone, along with the Temne. The Mende make up 30% of Sierra Leone's total population or 1,932,015 members...

 people's return to Africa.

The library also has a portrayal of the ship as part of the lobby floor. Local tradition at the college prohibits walking "on" the ship, despite its central location. In addition, the library has other Woodruff murals depicting other events from African-American history, including student registration at the college after the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Born in Cairo, Illinois

Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

, he studied at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and at Harvard University.

External links

• "Amistad Murals", Talladega College