February 23 is no ordinary day. It is the birthday of W.E.B. Du Bois, whose imprint on the Berkshires and the rest of the world is indelible.
His hometown of Great Barrington has a matchless museum of natural artifacts. Its collection includes Church Street where he was born; the First Congregational Church where he worshipped; the former AME Zion Church where he cut his writer’s teeth; the Housatonic and Green Rivers where he dreamed; the Mahaiwe Cemetery where he buried his family; and the Du Bois Homesite, which he said was “the first home that I can remember.” There are other tangible signs that Dr. Du Bois still walks among us: Road signs and pictures hanging in Town Hall and the town library introduce him to passersby; our middle school bears his name; and our library, where he studied, will soon be graced with a life-size sculpture honoring him.
W.E.B. Du Bois’ birthday is a special day in the life of our community because it represents triumph over adversity. For decades, Great Barrington struggled to embrace Dr. Du Bois—there were times when our community tripped up, times that separated us, infuriated us, and compromised our better angels. The plain truth is that Dr. Du Bois was largely whitewashed from our local history and classrooms, a victim of the same systematic racism he had exposed in “Black Reconstruction” and spent his life combatting.
Change was hard, yet change was inevitable. Refusing to turn back time, the Great Barrington Selectboard, community activists, and social justice organizations like BRIDGE and the Du Bois Center were committed to proving that the town’s historical cycle could be broken. I am always reminded of Maya Angelou’s words: “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” It took Angelou-like courage for Great Barrington to reckon with its complicated past, absorb its uncomfortable lessons, and never live it again. With the community’s support, the farsighted Selectboard formed a town-oversight committee, the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee, established Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and gave birth to W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Day, or Du Bois Day.
Four years ago, Great Barrington signed Du Bois Day into law. By unanimous vote, the Selectboard designated February 23, Dr. Du Bois’ birthday, an official day of community “reflection and celebration,” making Great Barrington the first municipality committed to protecting the legacy of a brilliant scholar and unrelenting activist for freedom. The unprecedented proclamation issued by the Selectboard reflected and celebrated our shared community values and aspirations. It declared:
Whereas, the Town of Great Barrington recognizes that W.E.B. Du Bois was born, raised, and educated in Great Barrington; and
Whereas, the Town of Great Barrington honors W.E.B. Du Bois via road signs proclaiming the ‘Birthplace of W.E.B. Du Bois,’ supporting the W.E.B. Du Bois Childhood Homesite, and the naming of the W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle
School; and
Whereas, the Town of Great Barrington’s stated mission is ‘to preserve and promote Great Barrington native W.E.B. Du Bois’s legacy as a scholar and activist for freedom, civil rights, progressive education, economic justice, and racial equality’; and
Whereas, the Town of Great Barrington recognizes February 23 as the birthday of W.E.B. Du Bois, the premier architect of the Civil Rights Movement;
Now Therefore, Be it Resolved by the Selectboard that the Town of Great Barrington shall also recognize W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Day (Du Bois Day), annually, on February 23. …
Be it Further Resolved, the Town of Great Barrington encourages businesses, organizations, and public entities to recognize Du Bois Day as a day of reflection and celebration.
In this gilded age of fake reality in which we struggle, where diversity, equity, and inclusionary practices are demonized and outlawed, what Dr. Du Bois believed in and fought for truly matters. Indeed, his example inspires us to continue to uphold his core values, which embrace the advancement of civil rights, progressive education, economic justice, and racial equality, not as mere window dressing or in-vogue words on banners lining Main Street, but as living, teachable values.
Dr. Du Bois is our North Star.
