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Exhibit: “Legacy: W.E.B. Du Bois As Political Pioneer”
NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 11/07/08
CONTACT: LESLIE SCHALER, UMASS AMHERST LIBRARY, (413) 545-0162
UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES HOSTS
EXHIBIT: “LEGACY: W.E.B. DU BOIS AS POLITICAL PIONEER”
Amherst, MA - To commemorate the recent election of America’s first African-American president, the UMass Amherst Libraries honors the enduring legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois with an exhibit “Legacy: W.E.B. Du Bois As A Political Pioneer” through November 27 in Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), Floor 25, Du Bois Library. Drawing from the vast Du Bois collection held in SCUA, the exhibit features contributions Du Bois made in the realms of equality and social justice, both in the U.S. and around the world
“Legacy: W.E.B. Du Bois as a Political Pioneer” includes materials relating to Du Bois’s efforts to change the political system for the better, from founding documents of the Niagara Movement and the Pan-African movement, to materials relating to his unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate and his work for world peace.
A pioneering sociologist, historian, novelist, playwright, and cultural critic, Du Bois committed his life to ending racial and social injustice. Without ever seeking a mass following, he was a peerless organizer who helped found both the Niagara Movement and the NAACP, and was a key Pan-African theorist. For many years, he was editor of The Crisis and other progressive journals, and an international spokesperson for peace and the rights of oppressed minorities. Through relentless struggle, Du Bois set the stage for the civil rights activists to follow.
For more information, contact Danielle Kovacs at 545-2784, or dkovacs@library.umass.edu.
Last Edited: 2 January 2009
