Great Barrington Prepares for Monumental Tribute to W. E. B. Du Bois on July 19
Years in the making, Great Barrington finally ready to honor W. E. B. De Bois in bronze.
a rendering of the W.E.B. Du Bois statue to be unvailed this week.
After generations of grappling with the words and identity of its most historically significant native son, on Saturday, July 19 at 2pm, Great Barrington will unveil a life‑size bronze statue of W. E. B. Du Bois, poised on a curved Sheffield‑marble bench in front of the Mason Public Library.
The statue, sculpted by award‑winning artist Richard Blake, is the culmination of a three‑year effort by an independent local citizens’ group—the W. E. B. Du Bois Sculpture Project—to raise funds for the work and restore the library plaza’s steps, turning them into a destination for those looking to honor the impactful sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist.
The project began in earnest three years ago, when volunteers secured early grants—including $10,000 each from Berkshire Bank, the Whitehead Foundation, and Housatonic Heritage, plus $15,000 from Adams Community Bank—to launch their mission of erecting a permanent monument honoring Du Bois and revitalizing the public space. With the statue now installed and the bench completed, the town is ready to formally, finally honor Du Bois, who’s writing and actions promoting racial equality made him a controversial figure nationally, and here, from the 19th to 21st century.
Sculpter Richard Blake with an early version of the original clay sculpture, off of which the bronze cast was made.
Saturday’s ceremony will feature remarks from former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and Du Bois biographer David Levering Lewis. It will also include a musical tribute featuring Wanda Houston, Gina Coleman, and the Randall Martin Band performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” an anthem of the Civil Rights movement. The statue’s central placement and accessible bench seating is intended to invite visitors to engage with Du Bois directly—an intentional choice to make him part of everyday public life in Great Barrington.
The commemoration is bookended by a series of related events: three days earlier, on Wednesday, July 16 at 3pm, a Smithsonian co-presented ceremony titled “Democracy in Bronze,” at Lee Premium Outlets, will preview the upcoming unveiling and include a symbolic postal stamp dedication. On Thursday evening from 5 to 7pm, donors and press are invited to a private cocktail party at the Mason Library for a behind‑the‑scenes reveal. The following day, Friday, July 18, Blake will present “The Creation and Casting of the Du Bois Statue” from 5 to 6:30pm at Chesterwood in Stockbridge. Also on Friday, twice—at 4pm and 7 pm—the Jacob’s Pillow campus in Becket will host the Fourth Annual Du Bois Forum, featuring a roundtable of writers and artists, a performance by Red Clay Dance Company, and a private dinner by chef Bryant Terry. After the unveiling, on Sunday, July 20 at 1pm, a concluding panel at Chesterwood will explore Du Bois’s legacy through the lenses of scholarship and activism, featuring Blake alongside scholars including Dr. Chad Williams and Dr. Frances Jones Sneed.
The statue itself was chosen after a year‑long community‑driven competition in August 2023, when Blake—known for sculptures of Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks—was commissioned from among three finalists. Blake, award winner of the National Sculpture Society’s Medal of Honor for his work in social‑justice commemoration, created a seated figure of Du Bois with an outstretched hand, a gesture intended to evoke Aberham Lincoln’s humility and invite public interaction.
A consept drawing of the new Du Bois Plaza at the library.
The effort to create the statue was not without past challenges: earlier proposals to memorialize Du Bois in Great Barrington faced resistance during the 1960s and again in recent years, due to a lingering discomfort with his socialist politics. Yet the Sculpture Project’s volunteers persisted, ultimately raising over $350,000, contributing not just to the statues creation but also to renovation efforts at the Library plaza.
With the unveiling, Great Barrington adds a visually striking anchor to its ongoing efforts to honor Du Bois—notably following the recent renamings of the middle school in his honor, the installation of the “Du Bois Alley” mural, and the establishment of the Du Bois Freedom Center in the former Clinton AME Zion Church.
For full event details—including timing, speakers, accessibility, and ways to contribute—visit webduboissculpture.org
