The original 1969 homesite dedication was deemed so controversial, in part because of Du Bois' embrace of communism late in his life, that no town officials attended the event.
Taking its name from Du Bois poem “Children of the Moon,” which appeared in Du Bois’ book “Darkwater” in 1920, the event is part of a larger three-day program that brings students together for an exploration of Du Bois’ life, work and legacy.
The program will also honor Du Bois biographer David Levering Lewis, who will receive the town’s first W. E. B. Du Bois Legacy Award honoring recipients for “embodying and preserving W. E. B. Du Bois’ legacy as a scholar and activist for freedom.”
In her lecture, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor will give historical context to the Combahee River Collective’s groundbreaking work and how it informs present-day social movements such as Black Lives Matter.
Inspired by the exclusion of Du Bois from the region’s cultural history, 'Beyond the Veil' examines racism in the higher echelons of society and ponders what would happen if the racial veil were lifted and two iconoclasts could see each other clearly.
In Interfaith Celebration program will begin with a service opened by Rev. Cara Davis and officiated by Wray Gunn of the Legacy Festival and Clinton Church Restoration with a performance by Olga Dunn School of Dance and songs from local congregations.
Whitney Battle-Baptiste, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center and associate professor of anthropology at UMass Amherst, will be the keynote speaker at the fourth annual NAACP - Berkshire County Branch Freedom Awards dinner.
A discussion of African-Americans’ Berkshires history and culture as well as the stories and voices not being told or heard, 'Being Black in the Berkshires' will remember the past, assess the present and plan for the future.
The W.E.B. Du Bois Educational Series will offer “Honoring Du Bois,” which will feature a presentation by Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, of the State House resolution honoring Du Bois on the 150th anniversary of his Feb. 23, 1868, birth in Great Barrington.
The Four Freedom Coalition's 'Step Up: Empowering Ourselves' will focus on specific issues, how they affect the community, and what the public can do at the local level to address them.
Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant, who directs Multicultural BRIDGE and co-chairs the Du Bois 150th Committee, was in Town Hall Monday night with Randy Weinstein, founder and director of the Du Bois Center at Great Barrington, to gain approval to mount banners on utility poles in town and to report on the progress the committee had made on celebrating the birthday of iconic scholar and civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois.
The Urban Choral Arts Society is a combined choir of youth and adults dedicated to improving the achievement and esteem of Baltimore-area youth through music and cultural arts.
