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UMass Amherst holds preview of W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite renovations
NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 7/24/08
CONTACT: LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATION ASST., (413) 545-0162
UMASS AMHERST HOLDS PREVIEW
OF W.E.B. DU BOIS HOMESITE RENOVATIONS
Amherst, MA – The University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Friends of the Du Bois Homesite are working together to develop a memorial to the life and works of W.E.B. Du Bois at the Du Bois Boyhood Homesite in Great Barrington. A preview of the site for outgoing Chancellor Thomas W. Cole, Jr. was held on July 24, 2008, at the Homesite. Recent improvements include a parking lot, signage, and a pathway to a memorial boulder installed in 1969.
The event started at the Clinton African American Episcopal Zion Church, in Great Barrington, Mass., with a program of speakers and then continued to the Homesite. The speakers included scholar Dr. Edmund Gordon (Du Bois Memorial Committee, 1969); Elaine Gunn (Chair, Du Bois Homesite Steering Committee); and UMass Amherst Chancellor Thomas W. Cole, Jr.
During the program, Director of UMass Amherst Libraries, Jay Schafer, announced the recent awarding of grants from the UMass President’s Office Creative Economy Fund, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The grants will help support a planning charrette to create a master plan for the Homesite and planning for heritage tourism programs at the Homesite.
The W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is a National Historic Landmark owned and maintained by the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Friends of the Du Bois Homesite is a community-based organization that supports the restoration, maintenance, stewardship, and awareness of the W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite. The Friends work within guidelines established by UMass Amherst and serve as the university's stewards of the Homesite. The Homesite is an anchor site on the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail.
Last Edited: 2 January 2009
