Mass. town makes peace with Du Bois, a native son

[zippy890]

Source: AP




He's the most famous son of this quiet mountain hamlet in western Massachusetts. But until recently, people looking for signs of W.E.B. Du Bois' life and legacy in Great Barrington would have had a hard time finding them.

For decades since Du Bois' death in Ghana in 1963, the civil rights activist and scholar has drawn praise for his writings but scorn from residents upset that he joined the Communist Party, became a citizen of Ghana and often criticized the U.S. over race relations.

FBI agents and riot police guarded a park dedication to him more than 40 years ago. Efforts to name a school after him were blocked. Some residents saw him the father figure of black radicalism, and they remained conflicted over his legacy and his relationship with the largely white town he often romanticized in writings.

But now, as Great Barrington readies to celebrate its 250th birthday, supporters say Du Bois is finally getting his due.

His image will be featured in many of the town's birthday events, a portion of the River Walk has been named in his honor, and the University of Massachusetts is embarking on a major restoration project of his boyhood homesite. In each case, the recent Du Bois honors came with no resistance.



Read more: http://www.salon.com/wires/us/2010/11/07/D9JBD1M80_us_du_bois_reconsidered/index.html

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Not far from where I grew up. A great American, in the true sense.

[tishaLA]

1. DuBois was a great, great man

If anyone hasn't read The Souls of Black Folks, or hasn't read it recently, should. David Levering Lewis also wrote an amazing 2 volume biography of DuBois (and edited a pretty great DuBois reader).

[wysi]

2. A major indictment of the treatment of this great American

I grew up in Pittsfield MA, just 30 minutes north of Great Barrington, and although we "learned about" W.E.B. DuBois in school in the 70s and 80s, I had no idea he was from Great Barrington until TODAY. That's very shameful.

[zippy890]

6. I grew up outside of Pittsfield - its not surprising we weren't taught about him

in high school.
Have a memory of knowing he lived in western Mass.
from college days at UMASS Amherst
but forgot about it till I noticed this article.

glad the town is honoring him now.

:hi:

[starroute]

3. Good for them

A bunch of my husband's ancestors lived in Great Barrington, so I've read a lot about the town's history. Of particular interest is the extraordinary woman W.E.B. Du Bois claimed as his great-grandmother:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Freeman_%28Mum_Bett%29

Elizabeth Freeman (c.1742 - 1829), in early life known as "Bett" and later "Mum Bett", was among the first black slaves in United States history to be awarded her freedom in court based on the illegality of slavery. Her county court case was cited as a precedent in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case of Quock Walker which is considered to have abolished slavery in the state. . . .

Freeman was born into slavery at the farm of Pieter Hogeboom in Claverack, New York where she was given the name, Bett. In her early teens she was given to John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts, the husband of Pieter's daughter, Hannah. . . . John Ashley was a Yale-educated lawyer, wealthy landowner, businessman and leader in the community. His house was the site of many political discussions and the probable location of the signing of the Sheffield Resolves which predated the Declaration of Independence. Thus Elizabeth was regularly exposed to sophisticated political and philosophical thinking and argument. When Massachusetts' new constitution was adopted in 1780 she would have heard it read in the public square. . . .

After this reading Freeman sought the counsel of Theodore Sedgwick, an abolitionist-minded lawyer, to help her sue for her freedom in court, telling him "I heard that paper read yesterday, that says, all men are created equal, and that every man has a right to freedom. I'm not a dumb critter; won't the law give me my freedom?" Sedgwick willingly accepted her case, as well as that of a man named Brom who was another of Ashley's slaves, and enlisted the aid of Tapping Reeve, the founder of America's first law school. The case of Brom and Bett vs. Ashley was heard in August 1781 before the County Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington. Sedgwick and Reeve asserted that the constitutional provision that "all men are born free and equal" abolished slavery in the state. When the jury ruled in Freeman's favor she became the first African American woman to be set free under the Massachusetts constitution. . . .

After the ruling, John Ashley asked her to return to his house and work for wages. Instead, she changed her name to Elizabeth Freeman and went to work in Sedgwick's household. She worked for Sedgwick's family until 1808 as senior servant and governess to the Sedgwick children (including Catharine Sedgwick who became a well known author) who called her Mum Bett. From the time she gained her freedom, she became widely recognized and in demand for her skills as a healer, midwife and nurse.

[Proletariatprincess]

5. Thank you for that, starroute....

I find that history very interesting and enlightening. Good post.

[justinaforjustice]

7. Thanks for Reporting This Fascinating History of Elizabeth Freeman. n/t.

[jonthebru]

4. Maturity is a great thing. Communities can do it too!!

[eggplant]

8. And yet there is no mention of Simon's Rock...

...the college *IN* Great Barrington, that has studied the life and times of WEB Du Bois for decades.

http://simons-rock.edu/newsroom/media-coverage-and-publications/dubois-journey/?searchterm=w.e.b. dubois