Honoring the Life & Legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois
Through BRIDGE’s tenure, we have honored the life and work of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois. In 2018, BRIDGE was commissioned by the town of Great Barrington to curate and co-sponsor--alongside Du Bois Center of Great Barrington--the Town's 150th Birthday celebration of W.E.B. Du Bois, a native of Berkshire county born on February 23, 1868.
The major thinker, writer, scholar, and civil rights activist was born and raised in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a town he wrote about lovingly and eloquently in his memoirs. For the past five years we have supported (through our organizing, staff expertise and giving the Town of Great Barrington Du Bois Legacy Festival to steward, support and uplight our native Civil Rights icon–father of sociology, first Black Harvard PhD graduate, founder of the NAACP, co-founder of the Crisis magazine, and the Niagara Movement to the world we know today in Civil Rights and academia. Within our commitment to racial justice, equity and reparations, to honor his memory, celebrate his ongoing legacy and repair a local history of struggle with Dr. Du Bois, BRIDGE sustains it mission and core values by continuing to activate community action, education and engagement with the life and work of Dr. Du Bois. |
|
Carrying Forward Du Bois' Life & Legacy in 2022 and Beyond: Celebrate and Honor a Family’s Contributions to our Nation’s Path to Healing
Yolande “Du Bois” Williams Irvin Memorial
Great Barrington, MA
Feb 18 & 19, 2022
Great Barrington, MA
Feb 18 & 19, 2022
“I plan to be with you for a very long time and hope that all of you will join me in life’s journey to the end of our fantastic road!” ~Dr. Yolande “Du Bois” Williams Irvin
This year is a special Festival year because BRIDGE has been asked to organize the burial of Dr. Du Bois' granddaughter, Yolande "Du Bois" Williams Irvin, who passed away in November of 2021. This is a special reparations moment in our racial justice organizing. Dr. Williams Irvin was exceptionally inspired by our work within this community to rightfully honor Dr. W.E.B Du Bois in his hometown. Last year, she decided that when it was her time, she would want to be laid to rest at the Du Bois family graveyard site at the Mahaiwe Cemetery in Great Barrington, where Dr. Du Bois buried his wife, son, and daughter (Dr. Williams Irvin’s mother.)
Dr. Yolande "Du Bois" Williams Irvin asked her son, Jeff Peck, one of the great grandsons of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, to make these arrangements, and BRIDGE is honored to be invited to participate. BRIDGE’s CEO, Gwendolyn VanSant, spent the last couple of months learning a great deal about the more human side of the Du Bois family, looking at family photos and speaking to Dr. Williams Irvin's colleagues and closest friends alongside Jeff, so we may appropriately honor Dr. Williams Irvin in her final homecoming.
BRIDGE is honored to present the Memorial program as part of the Fifth Annual Legacy Festival.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
COVID safety protocols observed
Friday, February 18
Jeff Peck visits Du Bois middle school for the day, hosted by Principal Ben Doren & Du Bois Students
COVID safety protocols observed
Friday, February 18
Jeff Peck visits Du Bois middle school for the day, hosted by Principal Ben Doren & Du Bois Students
Friday, February 18th 7pm.
Play: Knock Me A Kiss Co-produced by BRIDGE and Shakespeare & Co, directed by Regge Life, and featuring a introductory talks about the women in Dr. Du Bois' life, intermission performance and talk-back. Tickets are available at Shakespeare.org (the event is free and open to the public; donations are gratefully accepted). Please review the COVID policy, posted on Shake & Co's site. Inspired by true events, Knock Me a Kiss tells the story of the 1928 marriage of W.E.B. Du Bois' daughter Yolande to one of the great poets of the Harlem Renaissance, Countee Cullen. This union between the daughter of one of the country’s most well-known black intellectuals and a poet and leader of the New Negro movement begins with great pomp and circumstance, but Countee is soon to leave Yolande for a new life – and partner – in Paris. Jazz band-leader Jimmy Lunceford was Yolande’s first love, but upon returning to seek his affections she finds he, too, has moved on. |
Saturday, February 19, 11AM
Memorial Service for Dr. Yolande Du Bois Williams Irvin
First Congregational Church in Great Barrington
Bishop Dr. James Dixon
Saturday, February 19th, 2:30PM
Honoring and Unveiling Service (Mahaiwe Cemetery)
Wednesday, February 23rd, 7PM
Town of Great Barrington Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois Day
Highlights from Legacy Festival at Mahaiwe Theatre for Du Bois Memorial and Legacy Festival Guests (limited space)
See the full schedule of events here, along with more information about Yolande “Du Bois” Williams Irvin’s life including excerpts from an Obituary by MaryNell Morgan-Brown, PhD. with Eloise Doxie-Dixon, Gloria Vando Hickok and Jeffrey Peck, Sr.
SUPPORT THIS WORK: Text “Justice” to 1-844-3-UNITY-1 to contribute to the Du Bois Memorial Campaign, or donate online here. Send all pledges to [email protected] with note Du Bois Memorial
Sponsorship levels
This event is presented by BRIDGE as part of the 5th annual Town of Great Barrington Du Bois Legacy Festival.
In collaboration with First Congregational Church in Great Barrington, Community of Faith Church, Du Bois Center, Town of Great Barrington - Mahaiwe Cemetery, Shakespeare & Co., and NAACP-Houston, Finnerty and Stevens
Sponsors to date:
Impact: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Josie and Glen Greene and Greylock Federal Credit Union
Legacy: NAACP-Berkshires, Janet Elsbach and Joan Hunt
BRIDGE: Builders: Clinton Church Restoration
Abolitionists Match: BRIDGE donors
Stay tuned for Bios and Details....
Sponsorship levels
- Bridge-Builders: $500
- Legacy: $1,000
- Changemaker: $2,500
- Impact: $5,000
- Match challenge for Abolitionists: $5,000
This event is presented by BRIDGE as part of the 5th annual Town of Great Barrington Du Bois Legacy Festival.
In collaboration with First Congregational Church in Great Barrington, Community of Faith Church, Du Bois Center, Town of Great Barrington - Mahaiwe Cemetery, Shakespeare & Co., and NAACP-Houston, Finnerty and Stevens
Sponsors to date:
Impact: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Josie and Glen Greene and Greylock Federal Credit Union
Legacy: NAACP-Berkshires, Janet Elsbach and Joan Hunt
BRIDGE: Builders: Clinton Church Restoration
Abolitionists Match: BRIDGE donors
Stay tuned for Bios and Details....
bridge_du_bois_feb_event_onepager_final-2.pdf |
As done by BRIDGE youth...
Lets go find Du Bois! A family-centered scavenger hunt put together by BRIDGE youth leaders...
Lets go find Du Bois! A family-centered scavenger hunt put together by BRIDGE youth leaders...
Du Bois legacy Festivals Prior
Events and updates on this year's Town of Great Barrington Du Bois Legacy Festival will be posted here when available.
Click here to access recordings from prior Du Bois festival events, including the inaugural 150th birthday celebration.
The Du Bois 150th.com website is hosted and powered by Multicultural BRIDGE. Please share news clippings, activities, events with [email protected] for posting on dubois150th.com.
Click here to access recordings from prior Du Bois festival events, including the inaugural 150th birthday celebration.
The Du Bois 150th.com website is hosted and powered by Multicultural BRIDGE. Please share news clippings, activities, events with [email protected] for posting on dubois150th.com.
Du Bois 154th Memorial Gallery
Photos from The Berkshire Eagle (below)
Photos by Edward Acker (below)
To purchase photos: Www.enjoyphotos.comUsername: Du Bois | PW:8291
To purchase photos: Www.enjoyphotos.comUsername: Du Bois | PW:8291