Heather Bellow | Berkshire Eagle

GREAT BARRINGTON — They packed the alley for the native son.

At the downtown unveiling of a new mural honoring W.E.B. Du Bois, around 100 people came for the big impact of a little mural in a small-town alley — now known as Du Bois Alley.

The mural and local celebration of the Du Bois' legacy is "long overdue," said Monument Mountain High senior Theresa Russell, who introduced the mural honoring the African-American scholar, author and civil rights activist who was a founder of the NAACP.

Guided by Ari Cameron, a special projects coordinator at Railroad Street Youth Project, about 20 young people spent the last year planning, discussing, seeking approvals and painting the mural depicting William Edward Burghardt Du Bois in the place he loved most, and with two people he loved — his wife Nina and infant son Burghardt, who would die young because white doctors would not treat him.

Monument seniors Zufan Bazzano and Sophie Shron also led the mural team, which found guidance from artists Massimo Mongiardo, Brian Cartier, and Multicultural BRIDGE youth coordinator JV Hampton-VanSant.

Heather Bellow | Berkshire Eagle

GREAT BARRINGTON — When W.E.B. Du Bois is on the agenda, it's a happy night at Town Hall.

Anticipation met excitement, and expressions of gratitude were abundant as a local group organizing a long festival for William Edward Burghardt Du Bois' 150th birthday celebration got permission from the town Selectboard on Monday to hang banners in his honor, in the town where he was born and raised.

Those will go up soon in the downtown area and near his Boyhood Homesite off Route 23.

The approval was just one step in the kickoff for a festival that will run from Jan. 15 to Feb. 23 to honor the African-American scholar, civil rights leader and author.

Led by festival committee co-chairs Randy Weinstein and Gwendolyn Hampton-VanSant, the committee has arranged a rich assortment of events in town during the week that begins Jan. 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and will extend to Jan. 18.