However Far the Stream Flows, It Never Forgets Its Source is a three-story mural created in 1991 by Baltimore artist Tom Miller at the corner of North Avenue and Harford Road in Baltimore, Maryland. This mural was Tom Miller’s first public mural in Baltimore and was commissioned by the City of Baltimore through the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Art and Culture as part of a citywide initiative to promote literacy.

The mural depicts a Black male figure seated on a beach holding an open book. The book bears an African proverb, often attributed to Yoruba tradition: “However far the stream flows, it never forgets its source,” emphasizing the importance of remembering one’s origins and heritage. Measuring approximately 40 x 40 feet, the mural is one of six public murals Miller created in Baltimore between 1991 and 1998, three of which remain today.

The Stream mural was first restored in 2003 through the Baltimore Mural Program. That restoration was led by Baltimore artists Spoon Popkin and Dan Van Allen, with collaboration from Pablo Fiasco, all of whom had worked closely with Miller. The project was supported by J4P Associates, owner of the Eastside State Complex across from the murals, and funded through the City’s Office of Promotion and the Arts. As part of the effort, a five-year agreement was established to provide nighttime lighting for the murals.

A second restoration took place in 2008, led by Spoon Popkin and Emily CD, to address continued weathering and preservation needs.

Across the street from the Stream mural is a second, long-format mural created in 1992, making it Tom Miller’s second mural in Baltimore. Due to Miller’s declining health at the time, the mural was redesigned and executed by Dan Van Allen and Spoon Popkin with Miller’s consent in 1996. The mural features scenes of Baltimore life, including youth playing under the watchful eye of elders, and reflects Miller’s recurring visual themes of community, heritage, and place.

In 2017, the lower mural was restored by The Joint Youth Movement. The restoration was led by Juansebastián Serrano, a former Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance Urban Arts Leadership Program Fellow and Maryland Institute College of Art alum, with artist Sam Rietenbach, and was funded by J4P Associates.

Today, these two murals stand together as foundational works in Tom Miller’s public art legacy and as enduring cultural landmarks within Baltimore’s mural landscape.