W.E.B. Du Bois: I’ve Known Rivers
“W.E.B. Du Bois: I’ve Known Rivers” was held on August 27, 2022—the anniversary of Du Bois’s passing in Accra, Ghana, and the eve of the seminal March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A group of local organizations gathered at River Walk’s W.E.B. Du Bois River Park to honor Great Barrington’s iconic native son with an afternoon of readings and musical offerings.
FOR MORE…
W.E.B. Du Bois often wrote that he was “born by a golden river,” referring to his birthplace by the Housatonic River in downtown Great Barrington. His lifelong connection to rivers lends special meaning to his more well‐known achievements in social justice and civil rights. The title of our riverside celebration—“I’ve Known Rivers”—was from Langston Hughes’s poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” first
published by Du Bois in the June 1921 issue of The Crisis, and presented for our program by Delano Burrowes.
All photographs by David R. Edgecomb © 2022
Du Bois’s 1930 speech on the Housatonic River, delivered by leaders in the Berkshire community working to secure the Du Bois legacy, spoke to his lifelong dedication to environmental justice and to rivers everywhere.
Berkshire NAACP president Dennis L. Powell, having carried water from the Housatonic River to Du Bois’s resting place in Accra, released water he collected from Last Bath River in Accra into the “golden river” where Du Bois was born nearby.
Dr. MaryNell Morgan‐Brown interpreted sacred and secular songs about rivers from Chapter 14, “The Sorrow Songs” in Du Bois’s classic work, The Souls of Black Folk, as well as songs she had written.
From New York, jazz specialist James Browne brought cornetist/trumpeter Graham Haynes, son of the legendary jazz drummer Roy Haynes, for a special tribute.
The event was followed by a walking tour of sites in downtown Great Barrington that helped to shape the town’s iconic native son, and concluded at the Du Bois Freedom Center, located at the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, with a reception and refreshments on the lawn.
All photographs by David R. Edgecomb © 2022
CLICK for the full proceedings.
CLICK for Berkshire Eagle coverage.
CLICK for Berkshire Edge coverage
CLICK for one hour video from the Berkshire Edge