Great Barrington — The unveiling of a statue of W.E.B. Du Bois at the Mason Public Library is tentatively set for the spring, according to W.E.B. Du Bois Project Co-Chair Julie Michaels.
During the Monday, December 2, Selectboard meeting, Michaels told the board the unveiling would be scheduled for May 17. After some discussion between the Selectboard and Michaels, however, it was decided to hold off on announcing a definitive date until a future Selectboard meeting.
Selectboard members, including Chair Stephen Bannon and Vice Chair Leigh Davis, said that they were concerned that the May 17 date would conflict with college graduations and other various spring events.
As indicated by Michaels during the meeting, the work to construct a statue of Du Bois and a new plaza at the library is several months away from completion.
Du Bois was born in Great Barrington on February 23, 1868, and was a civil rights activist, historian, and sociologist. Among his many accomplishments, Du Bois was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 and was also the editor of the NAACP’s journal, The Crisis.
The Sculpture Project group, which consists of local residents, formed back in May 2022. According to the group’s website, a statue of Du Bois was previously suggested by resident Freke Vuijst, who died in September 2020. The town’s Library Board of Trustees eventually approved the project, and the Sculpture Project group took on the responsibilities of fundraising for the project, along with recruiting and choosing a sculptor.
According to the project’s website, the life-size bronze sculpture of Du Bois will be part of a new plaza in front of the library. As part of the project, repairs are also currently being conducted to the front steps of the library. Banisters, lighting, and new benches will eventually be installed in front of the library as well.
“We have a pretty set vision of a realistic sculpture of W.E.B. Du Bois,” Michaels said in an interview with The Berkshire Edge in December 2022. “We have always envisioned the sculpture as realistic, but other than that you have to leave it to the creativity of the sculptor. The sculpture will have Du Bois look out towards the former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church.” The historic church building, which was one of the first Black churches in Berkshire County and was the church where Du Bois attended services, is now the W.E.B. Du Bois Freedom Center.
After a process of selecting a sculptor, in August 2023, the group chose Pennsylvania-based sculptor Richard Blake to design the sculpture of Du Bois.
In early September, the Massachusetts Office of Economic Development awarded $50,000 to the Sculpture Project for the completion of the statue. Meanwhile, the Sculpture Project reported that it has raised $290,000 for the statue from foundations and private donors.
In late October, the Sculpture Project announced that it was partnering with nonprofit organization Embrace Boston. The organization is responsible for “The Embrace” sculpture honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, which is located at the Boston Common. Through Embrace Boston, the W.E.B. Du Bois Project received a $150,000 Destination Development grant from the state’s Department of Travel and Tourism in support of the sculpture project.
At the Selectboard meeting on November 4, Michaels spoke to the board about the progress of the project. “I’m very excited about the direction we’ve gone in,” Michaels told the board. “I also want you to know that we are reaching out to major cultural institutions in Berkshire County and asking them to help welcome Du Bois to Berkshire County. As we expect, we are going to invite a new batch of tourists to Berkshire County, because we have a lot of African Americans here.”
At the December 2 Selectboard meeting, on behalf of the Sculpture Project, Michaels asked the board to approve a plan to install engraved bricks as part of the existing design of the project.
According to an email from Michaels included in the meeting’s informational packet, the Sculpture Project needs to raise another $100,000 for its completion. She suggested that bricks should be installed around the bench of the sculpture with the engraved names of major donors. She added that there are two options for the installation of the engraved bricks, including putting them on a wall or a brick apron surrounding the bench of the sculpture. Each brick would be engraved with the name of a donor for $5,000 each. “We’ve had about eight to 10 [interested donors] already,” Michaels said at the December 2 Selectboard meeting. “We’d like to have more businesses to donate [to the project]. I really believe that this is going to make a difference in tourism, and it will attract new visitors to town.”
Bannon told Michaels that he is concerned with the amount of engraved bricks around the sculpture, stating, “I don’t want to see 200 bricks with names on it all over the place.”
Selectboard member Ben Elliott said he is in favor of the plan, but that, as part of any approved motion, the Sculpture Project should come back to the town with drawn plans for where the bricks would go.
The Selectboard eventually unanimously approved the motion to allow for the installation of the engraved bricks around the sculpture.
