Grass Roots Democracy

Du Bois' campaigns for democracy were not always popular, even with those who shared his goals. In 1951, at the height of the Cold War, the United States government alleged that the 83-year-old scholar was an unregistered foreign agent for his advocacy of international cooperation for nuclear disarmament. The Justice Department indicted him, lifted his passport, and placed him under surveillance. Even though the government failed to prove its case, for many, Du Bois' reputation had become tarnished. In 1961, Du Bois accepted president Kwame Nkrumah’s invitation to live and work in Ghana. Du Bois never renounced his American citizenship, and that same year applied to join the Communist Party USA because of its stand against racial discrimination and exploitation. The combination of these actions all but erased the public memory of his earlier achievements. But not everyone forgot the power of Du Bois' insights and the scope of his accomplishments. Three years after Du Bois' death, Berkshire-area residents Dr. Edmund Gordon and Walter Wilson purchased the site in Great Barrington where Du Bois' house had stood. They bought an additional four acres in order to create a memorial park. The Du Bois National Memorial Foundation formed to support their efforts. In October 1969, under surveillance by the FBI, 800 men and women from across America attended the dedication the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Park and the commemorative boulder you see here. The Foundation obtained National Historic Landmark designation for the property in 1979, and donated it to the University of Massachusetts in 1987.

Great Barrington, Massachusetts · United States