About Us
The all-volunteer W.E.B. Du Bois National Historic
Site Working Committee, together with four partner organizations, plans
programming and on-site interpretation in Great Barrington, and coordinates
fundraising throughout the United States. A team of distinguished advisors
is guiding the development of the organization, providing leadership in our
current effort to raise $500,000 to build the organizational capacity of the
National Historic Site.
Housatonic Heritage currently serves as the fiscal
agent for the W.E.B. Du Bois National Historic Site. Creating an independent
501(c)(3) non-profit organization is a priority for the Working Committee in
the next 12 months.
Partner Organizations
Housatonic Heritage
Du Bois NHS is a project of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area (or, for short, Housatonic Heritage). www.upperhousatonicheritage.org/
Housatonic Heritage, in partnership with the National Parks Service, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the cultural, historical, and natural resources of the Upper Housatonic Valley region.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts, Amherst is the custodian of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite in Great Barrington. Du Bois’s personal and professional papers are housed in the Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Massachusetts Libraries. www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/dubois/
Also, the W.E.B. Du Bois Center, at UMass, supports ongoing scholarship emanating from the life and teachings of Du Bois. www.thewebduboiscenter.com/w-e-b-du-bois-center
Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite
The Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite organize annual programs, and have spearheaded a number of grassroots efforts in Great Barrington to honor Du Bois. The Friends’ leadership represents Great Barrington institutions with long-standing interests in promoting the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois in the town and region. www.duboishomesite.org/
African American Heritage Trail
The Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail encompasses twenty-nine Massachusetts and Connecticut towns in the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, and celebrates African Americans in the region who played pivotal roles in key national and international events, as well as “everyday people” of achievement. The W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite is an anchor site along the African American Heritage Trail. www.africanamericantrail.org/
National Advisors
Bettina Aptheker
Professor of Feminist Studies, University of California at Santa Cruz
Dan Bolognani
Executive Director, Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area
Thomas W. Cole, Jr.
President Emeritus, Clark Atlanta University
Interim Chancellor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Edmund W. Gordon
John M. Musser Professor of Psychology, Emeritus - Yale University
Richard March Hoe Professor of Psychology and Education, Emeritus - Teachers College, Columbia University
Cofounder, W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Park
Frances Jones-Sneed
Professor of History, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Co-Director, Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail
Odell Murry
President, MAI Financial Services, Inc.
Board Chair, W.E.B. Du Bois Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Trustee of the Du Bois Trust
Jay Schafer
Director, University of Massachusetts Libraries, Amherst
Working Committee
Whitney Battle-Baptiste
Professor of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Bernard A. Drew
Local Historian, Great Barrington
Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite
Rachel Fletcher
Director, Housatonic River Walk
Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite
David Glassberg
Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Wray Gunn
Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite
Elaine Gunn
1968 W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Committee
Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite
Robert Paynter
Professor of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Cora Portnoff
Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite
Dolores Root
Consultant, Program and Organizational Development, Shelburne Falls, MA
Adjunct Lecturer in Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst