W.E.B. Du Bois’s connection to rivers lends special meaning to his achievements in civil rights and social justice. His lifelong dedication to environmental justice and to rivers everywhere began when he was “born by a golden river,” as he declared, referring to the Housatonic River near his Great Barrington birthplace.
Our riverside celebration, which takes its name from Langston Hughes’s poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” will honor Du Bois with an afternoon of music, readings, and a ceremonial release of water carried from his resting place in Accra.
The event will begin with a program at the W.E.B. Du Bois River Garden Park and end with a reception on the lawn of the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church.
There will also be an optional walking tour of Du Bois-related sites between the locations.
Lead sponsors include the Great Barrington Land Conservancy/River Walk, the Du Bois Freedom Center (formerly Clinton Church Restoration), and the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP. For more details visit the River Walk website.
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