Joe Wade Minter Sr born March 28 , is a retired construction worker and "outsider" artist who created his " African Village in America " at his home and an adjoining vacant lot at Nassau Street near Shadow Lawn Memorial Park in the Woodland Park neighborhood of Birmingham 's Titusville community. He attended Washington Elementary School for four years, then transferred to Center Street Elementary School , graduating from 8th grade in He married the former Hilda Jo Patrick on February 25 , and had two sons.
From there he was hired as a delivery worker at University Hospital , bringing warehouse supplies up to each department. He also filled in as an orderly in the emergency department.
In Minter was drafted into the U. He served in South Carolina, Missouri, and Texas and rose to the rank of Specialist 4 E4 before earning his discharge in After his return he worked as a fabricator and auto body repairer. He has also worked on road and construction crews.
He developed glaucoma from dusty conditions and had surgery on one eye. After his employer closed in he worked mainly odd jobs. Beginning that year he began writing down his personal meditations on spiritual matters and the African American experience. In , in response to a vision, Minter began working on his African Village in America. He turned to it full time after retiring from work in , partly motivated to tell stories that he thought might be overlooked by the development of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
The result, which is being continually enlarged, is a densely-packed art environment consisting of sculptures, monuments, signs, plantings and totems. The primary themes involve African-American history, particularly in Birmingham. He includes references to the spirits of African warriors looking over their descendants, and the achievements of African-Americans in numerous fields. Alongside the themes of achievement and loss are constant Biblical references and words of praise and thanks to God.
