Roll Call: Two Hundred Years of Black American Art

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Roll Call: Two Hundred Years of Black American Art affirms the presence, impact, and legacy of Black artists within the Birmingham Museum of Art’s collection. Spanning two centuries, the exhibition brings together works by artists of the African diaspora to tell a larger story about artistic excellence, community advocacy, and the significance of the Museum’s collection.

Organized into four thematic sections, Roll Call draws on the Museum’s permanent collection to reflect on its past and present.

The Ground We Stand On centers foundational moments in the Museum’s history, highlighting early and consequential commitments to collecting Black artists. This section includes the first work of art by an African American artist donated to the Museum, a work by Henry Ossawa Tanner, as well as early acquisitions of work by living Black artists, including David Driskell. These works serve as touchstones, reminding visitors that today’s collection is built upon deliberate choices made over time.

Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility, named for the third principle of Kwanzaa, foregrounds the power of community advocacy. This section highlights moments when community members and supporters worked alongside curators and the Museum to identify gaps in the collection and collaboratively address them. Works by artists such as Emma Amos and Belkis Ayón exemplify how collective action, through gifts, fundraising, and targeted acquisitions, has strengthened the Museum’s holdings and expanded its narratives.

What Freedom Feels Like brings together works that explore everyday life, abstraction, and political resistance. Through varied visual languages, artists including Mary Whitfield and Noah Jemisin reflect on lived experience and self-expression, offering deeply personal yet broadly resonant perspectives.

In the Heart of It All highlights works inspired by Alabama. Featuring photographs by artists such as Carrie Mae Weems and Dawoud Bey, this section underscores the significance of place, particularly Birmingham, as both subject and context, grounding the exhibition in the region it calls home.

Together, these works tell a story, not only of Black American art, but of the Birmingham Museum of Art itself. Roll Call: Two Hundred Years of Black American Art invites visitors to consider how a collection is shaped by artists, communities, and shared responsibility, and why stewarding this history matters in Birmingham, across the South, and within the broader American narrative.