W.E.B. Du Bois: Born by a Golden River
Special Event: Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 2:00 PM
W.E.B. Du Bois River Park, Church & River Sts., Great Barrington
W. E. B. Du Bois’s special connection to rivers offers a unique lens through which to view his more well-known accomplishments. His publication of Langston Hughes’s The Negro Speaks of Rivers, his 1930 speech on the Housatonic River, and his activism surrounding the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927—all speak to his lifelong dedication to environmental justice and to rivers everywhere.
Organizations throughout Berkshire County will honor this Great Barrington native with readings and musical offerings. These include a musical interpretation by MaryNell Morgan-Brown of the “Sorrow Songs” from Du Bois’s classic work, The Souls of Black Folk, and a “musical libation” introduced by jazz specialist James Browne and performed by Ghanian Master Drummer Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng and American Saxophonist Antoine Roney, in tribute to Du Bois’s African and American duality.
The event will be followed by a walking tour of sites in Great Barrington that helped to shape the town’s iconic native son, including Du Bois’s Birth Site, First Congregational Church, and the Warren Davis Home. The walk will conclude at the former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, 9 Elm Court, with a reception and refreshments. In the event of rain, the program will be held at First Congregational Church on Main Street.
W. E. B. Du Bois: Born by a Golden River will be held on the anniversary of the first Niagara Movement Conference in 1905 and will take place at the Housatonic River Walk’s W. E. B. Du Bois River Park at Church and River Streets, Great Barrington. The Great Barrington native often wrote that he was “born by a golden river,” referring to this spot. The Great Barrington Land Conservancy dedicated the park in 2002 to honor his love of the Housatonic River and his campaign for the restoration of rivers around the world. The park is a site on the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail.
RSVP or write for details: river@gbriverwalk.org
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Lead sponsors: Great Barrington Land Conservancy and Clinton Church Restoration. Additional Co-sponsors: Housatonic Heritage, NAACP Berkshire County Branch, UMass Amherst Public History Program, W.E.B. Du Bois Educational Series, Great Barrington Historical Society and Museum, Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail, and the W.E.B. Du Bois National Historic Site. The participation of musicians Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng and Antoine Roney is made possible through a generous grant from the Cheswatyr Foundation.
