Town of Great Barrington honors W.E.B. Du Bois

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W. E. B. Du Bois was born 154 years ago on Feb. 23, in the town of Great Barrington.

Du Bois was a civil rights leader who co-founded the NAACP.

When you travel around Great Barrington, you’ll see pictures and paintings of Du Bois. Du Bois was a writer, a teacher and a sociologist. Du Bois went to Fisk University and became the first African American to earn a P.H.D from Harvard.

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Jeffrey Peck is a great-grandson of Du Bois. He is honored to carry on the legacy of his great-grandfather.

Since Du Bois is from Great Barrington, the town for the last few years has recognized his birthday as a holiday. Gwendolyn VanSant is the vice chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois legacy committee in Great Barrington. She says Du Bois was a remarkable man because of his fight for racial justice.