William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) fought for democracy and freedom in a world of racial and economic injustice. Long before Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela, his writings, speeches, and organizational genius laid the foundation for civil rights movements in the U.S.A. and around the world. His pen and voice helped bring independence to the nations of Africa, and he rewrote American history to portray more truthfully the importance of African Americans in the country's growth and development. For Du Bois, the battle for civil rights and democracy went hand in hand. He proclaimed that democracy is a method of realizing the broadest measure of justice to all human beings. He first learned about democracy in the town meetings of Great Barrington, the place of his birth, and advocated it throughout his life. Great Barrington and his family homesite, which his family owned for 150 years, remained important to him until his death.

Photo: Steve Stoessel

Photo: Steve Stoessel

Photo: Cosmos Mariner

Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Mass. Amherst

Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Mass. Amherst

Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Mass. Amherst

Photo: Courtesy Library of Congress

Photo: Cosmos Mariner