Event celebrates preview of W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite renovations in Great Barrington

Campus officials and the Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite in Great Barrington hosted a special preview of the site on July 24. The special event, featuring plans to develop a memorial to the life of W.E.B. Du Bois at his boyhood homesite, was scheduled for outgoing Interim Chancellor Thomas W. Cole, Jr. and showcased recent improvements, including a parking lot, signage and a pathway to a memorial boulder installed in 1969.

The program began at the Clinton African American Episcopal Zion Church, and the day's events featured speakers that included scholar Edmund Gordon, Elaine Gunn of the 1969 Du Bois Memorial Committee and Cole.

The W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite is a National Historic Landmark owned and maintained by UMass Amherst. The Friends of the Du Bois Homesite is a community-based organization that supports the restoration, maintenance, stewardship and awareness of the W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite. The friends work within guidelines established by the campus and serve as the University’s stewards of the homesite. The homesite is an anchor site on the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail.

July 24, 2008.

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