Upcoming Events

The Board of The W. E. B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy has selected the theme of Reflections on Democracy for its 2024 season.

We invite you to read and reflect on the following passage from Dr. Du Bois:

"...I dream of a world of infinitive and valuable variety; not in the laws of gravity or atomic weights, but in human variety in height and weight, color and skin, hair and nose and lip. But more especially and far above and beyond this, is a realm of true freedom: in thought and dream, fantasy and imagination; in gift, aptitude, and genius — all possible manner of difference, topped with freedom of soul to do and be, and freedom of thought to give to a world and build into it, all wealth of inborn individuality. Each effort to stop this freedom of being is a blow at democracy—that real democracy which is reservoir and opportunity . . . There can be no perfect democracy curtailed by color, race, or poverty. But with all we accomplish all, even Peace.”

~ Excerpt from The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part Which Africa Has Played in World History, 1947.

Share your reflections with us by clicking this link.

Past Events

As a part of our Reflections on Democracy series Democracy and the Arts we co-hosted a free poetry reading and book signing with the Clark Art Institute. The event was moderated by former Du Bois Freedom Center board president Chris Himes, and featured poets Iain Haley Pollock and Nathan McClain. Pollock read from his most recent book, Ghost, Like a Place, and from a forthcoming collection. McClain, whose poetry has been described as “no-nonsense, meat and potatoes, good gotdam poetry,” also read from his work. The two poets then discuss their stylistic differences and conceptual overlap when it comes to poetry, language, race, and W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness. A video of the event will be available to watch in a couple of weeks!

Iain Haley Pollock is the author of three poetry collections including and the forthcoming All the Possible Bodies (Alice James, September 2025). His poems have appeared in numerous other publications, ranging from American Poetry Review and The Kenyon Review to The New York Times Magazine and The Progressive. Pollock has received several honors for his work including the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, a 2023 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Poetry, the Bim Ramke Prize for Poetry from Denver Quarterly, and a nomination for an NAACP Image Award. He directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Manhattanville University in Purchase, New York.

Nathan McClain is the author of two collections of poetry, Previously Owned (Four Way Books, 2022), longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award, and Scale (Four Way Books, 2017). McClain is a recipient of fellowships from The Frost Place, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference; he is also a Cave Canem fellow. His poems and prose have appeared in The Hopkins Review, Plume Poetry 10, The Common, Guesthouse, and Poetry Northwest, among others. McClain received his MFA from Warren Wilson College. He now teaches at Hampshire College and serves as poetry editor of the Massachusetts Review.

July 11, 2024 — 6:00pm
Reflections on Democracy: An Evening with Dr. Marvin Carr The Du Bois Freedom Center hosted the second conversation in the Reflections on Democracy series. We explored the topic of Philanthropy. On July 11th, The Du Bois Freedom Center welcomed Dr. Marvin Carr, Fellow of the Council on Foundations and Director of The Center for Racial Equity at Walmart, who was in conversation with our Visiting Scholar on Democracy, The Honorable Michael Blake.

June 19, 2024 — 6:00pm
Reflections on Democracy: Juneteenth Conversation with Congresswoman Williams The Du Bois Freedom Center hosted the first conversation in the Reflections on Democracy series. In recognition of Juneteenth, the Visiting Scholar Michael Blake and United States Congresswoman Nikema Williams, discussed how we can all "Walk in the interconnected footsteps of Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois and Congressman John Lewis" as well as the importance of civic leadership at this time in our democracy.

February 22, 2024
Reflections Reception
The W. E. B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy unveiled its “Reflections on Democracy” theme for 2024 and announced plans to host a series of educational events and public programs that will ask featured scholars, elected officials, students, artists, musicians, philanthropists, and the community, to share their reflections on our democracy and hopes for 2024. Watch highlights from the reception here.

July 7, 2023 — 4:30-5:30pm PillowTalk, 7:30pm Dinner 
Legacies of the Black Berkshires: An Evening in Honor of David Levering Lewis
The Du Bois Freedom Center and the Du Bois Forum hosted an evening in honor of Pulitzer Prize-winning Du Bois biographer and historian David Levering Lewis at Jacob’s Pillow. Scholars, writers, musicians, and artists reflected upon the impact of Dr. Lewis' scholarship and public engagement. James Beard Award-winning chef Bryant Terry, author of Black Food, created a Du Bois-inspired menu for dinner under the stars. The event also featured a performance by Lecolion Washington and staff/faculty at Community Music Center of Boston, the largest outside provider of arts education to the Boston Public Schools.

April 15, 2023 — 1 p.m.
A Tribute to Dr. May Edward Chinn, a pioneering physician born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on April 15, 1896, was honored on the 127th anniversary of her birthday with a program of music, poetry and history. Although classically trained as a pianist (she was once an accompanist to Paul Robeson) Chin became a medical doctor with many notable professional accomplishments. Her father was a member of the A.M.E. Zion Society, later renamed Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church. This free, in-person program was held at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington.

February 22, 2023 — 6 p.m.
The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War, a talk by historian Chad Williams. For nearly two decades, W. E. B. Du Bois attempted to write what he believed would be the definitive history of the African American experience in World War I. In this talk, Dr. Williams explored Du Bois's complex relationship with the history and legacy of World War I and what it reveals about the struggle for democracy, racial justice, and peace in the 20th century. A recording of this virtual talk is available on our YouTube channel.

February 5, 2023 — 4:00 p.m.
The Distinguished Lecture Series at the Lenox Library hosted Dr. Kendra Field, who discussed W. E. B. Du Bois and the establishment of the Berkshires' new Du Bois Freedom Center. This in-person talk was not recorded.

January 27, 2023 — 5 p.m.
A Lecture on Black New England by Dr. Kerri Greenidge, who discussed her new book, The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family, and the history of the African Diaspora in New England. A recording of this virtual talk is available on our YouTube channel.

November 16, 2022 — 6-7 p.m.
Genealogy Pop-up: Community members, including former parishioners and descendants of the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, brought their own African American genealogical and family history interests to this conversation with Dr. Kendra Field and professional genealogist Connie Reik. This was the second of a two-part series on African American family history and genealogy within and beyond the Berkshires.

November 9, 2022 — 6-7 p.m.
W.E.B. Du Bois and the Work of Family History, a talk by Historian-in-Residence Dr. Kendra Field about Du Bois’ little-known work as a family historian and genealogist, and his efforts to document and memorialize his known and unknown ancestors. This was the first of a two-part series on African American family history and genealogy within and beyond the Berkshires.

October 20, 2022 — 7 p.m.
Exploring Black Roots Music with Jake Blount, a benefit concert for the Du Bois Freedom Center, took place at Dewey Hall in Sheffield. A powerfully gifted musician and scholar of Black American music, Blount speaks ardently about the African roots of the banjo and the subtle, yet profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined the amorphous categories of roots music and Americana. His 2020 album Spider Tales — named one of the year’s best albums by NPR and The New Yorker — highlighted the Black and Indigenous histories of popular American folk tunes. His latest album, The New Faith, tells an Afrofuturist story set in a future world devastated by climate change.

October 9, 2022 — 10:30 a.m.
Guided tour of African American heritage sites in downtown Great Barrington, beginning at the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church at 9 Elm Court.

August 27, 2022 — 2-5 p.m.
W.E.B. Du Bois: I've Known Rivers
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, named for Langston Hughes’s poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” honored Du Bois with an afternoon of music, readings, and a ceremonial release of water carried from his resting place in Accra. The event began with a program at the W.E.B. Du Bois River Garden Park and ended with a reception on the lawn of the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church. Photos of the event, sponsored by the Great Barrington Land Conservancy/River Walk, the Du Bois Freedom Center, and the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP may be seen on our events photos page; more photos and the program have been shared on the Great Barrington RiverWalk website.

August 20, 2022 — 10:30 a.m.
Guided tour of African American heritage sites in downtown Great Barrington, beginning at the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church at 9 Elm Court.

August 19, 2022 — 4 p.m.
Elizabeth Freeman and the Telling of Black Stories
A roundtable discussion on the life and legacy of Elizabeth Freeman, the first enslaved African American to successfully sue for her freedom in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, took place at Dewey Hall in Sheffield. Four historians — Du Bois Freedom Center scholars Dr. Kerri Greenidge, Dr. Kendra T. Field, and Dr. Frances Jones Sneed, and guest scholar Dr. Sari Edelstein — engaged with the realities of Freeman’s complex story and used it as an entryway into a larger conversation about stories, silences, and the ethics of African American public history. This was the first in a series of weekend events in Sheffield honoring Elizabeth Freeman’s journey to freedom. A recording of the program may be found on our YouTube channel.

July 23, 2022 — 10:30 a.m.
Guided tour of downtown African American heritage sites and the W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite, Great Barrington.

July 10, 2022 — 4 p.m.
W.E.B. Du Bois and the Black Berkshires: Writers, scholars, and artists reflect on Du Bois’ legacy at a special PillowTalk in celebration of the new Du Bois Freedom Center. Held at Jacob's Pillow in Becket, a recording of the program is available here.

June 19, 2022 — 12 p.m.
Juneteenth Celebration: Music, food, and community at Durant Park, Pittsfield. Schedule of events.

June 10, 2022 — 12 p.m.
Naming Celebration: We celebrated the naming of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy on the lawn of the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church with distinguished guests, friends, and supporters. See photos here.