Great Barrington — The W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee announces the eighth annual W.E.B. Legacy Festival to honor the birthday of Great Barrington native Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois.
This year, the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee and community partners invite participants to engage in a dynamic exploration of Black Reconstruction themes and the ongoing fight for civil rights and racial justice, which has been—and continues to be—critical to American democracy.
All events will be held in downtown Great Barrington, highlighting the importance of place, and the historically Black community that nurtured Du Bois’ development in his earliest years and to which he returned to repeatedly in his memoirs.
On Saturday, February 22, from 2 to 5 p.m., Jacob’s Pillow will present a movement workshop titled “Freedom Moves: Embodying the Legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois” at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington. Curated by Legacy Committee members Thasia Giles and Gwendolyn VanSant, the workshop will be led by dance artists Gesel Mason and Roxanne Young and “scholartist” Dr. Amma Y. Ghartey Tagoe-Kootin. Invoking the power of movement and storytelling, this dynamic and playful workshop will invite participants to explore and express the core values championed by W.E.B. Du Bois: freedom, civil rights, progressive education, economic justice, and racial equality. Walk-ups are welcome; however, space is limited and registration in advance is recommended. More information can be found here.
As part of the annual celebration tradition, on Dr. Du Bois’ birthday eve, join the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy for the opening reception of their field office and to meet their interim director, Dr. John Lloyd, at 309 Main Street, Great Barrington, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
On Sunday, February 23—Du Bois’ birthday and the official holiday observation of W.E.B. Du Bois Day in Great Barrington—Macedonia Baptist Church will have a special convocation honoring Dr. Du Bois’ birthday. Guest pastor Reverend Traci Jackson will deliver the convocation. Pastor Traci is the founder and lead pastor of Wellspring Global Fellowship Church and a longtime leader at Urban League in Boston. Pastor Traci Jackson serves as an international leader and speaker at the intersection of faith-based communities and domestic violence and sexual assault in communities of color. She will lead in celebrating Du Bois’ legacy across the Commonwealth.
Participants will join a processional Legacy Walk after the convocation, arriving for the birthday celebration, “Imagining Du Bois through the Arts: Past, Present, and Future,” at the Mason Library at 11 a.m. Novelist Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 novels, will read a selection from her newest work of fiction, “Harlem Rhapsody,” which will be released at a “tea & talk” event at Ventfort Hall later in the day, at 3 p.m. Gesel Mason of “Freedom Moves: the Embodiment of a Legacy” and Dr. Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin and Dr. Khalil Sullivan of the Buffalo Team will join the festival’s birthday celebration to honor the 90th anniversary year of “Black Reconstruction” and Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois. Dr. Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, a Ted Talk Fellow, will share her personal and professional ties to Dr. Du Bois.
Also joining the event on Sunday will be Legacy Committee member Ari Zorn with Julie Michaels as representatives of the W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project of Great Barrington. Legacy Committee Vice Chair Gwendolyn VanSant will serve as emcee and moderator. Legacy Committee member Leah Reed will welcome with song, and State Rep. Leigh Davis (D – 3rd Berkshire District) and members of the Great Barrington Selectboard will join for the celebration.
An artifact copy of “Black Reconstruction” from Du Bois’s personal library will be on view, courtesy of collector and Du Bois Legacy Committee co-chair Randy Weinstein.
For more information, visit W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Festival’s website and its Facebook event page.