Housatonic Heritage
Du Bois NHS is a project of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area (or, for short, Housatonic Heritage). www.HousatonicHeritage.org/
Housatonic Heritage, in partnership with the National Parks Service, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the cultural, historical, and natural resources of the Upper Housatonic Valley region.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts, Amherst is the custodian of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite in Great Barrington. Du Bois’s personal and professional papers are housed in the Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Massachusetts Libraries.
Also, the W.E.B. Du Bois Center, at UMass, supports ongoing scholarship emanating from the life and teachings of Du Bois.
Friends of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite
Friends of the Du Bois Homesite is the local, community-based organization that supports the restoration, maintenance, stewardship and awareness of the W.E.B. Du Bois National Historic Site as a public memorial to the Great Barrington native who became a leading scholar and activist in the civil rights movement in the United States and around the world.
The Friends organize annual programs and in addition work within guidelines established by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to serve as the university’s stewards of the W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite.
The Friends’ founding leadership represents Great Barrington institutions with long-standing interests in promoting the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois in the town and region.
Founding Organizations
- Clinton A. M. E. Zion Church (Clinton Church Restoration)
- 1968 Du Bois Memorial Committee
- Great Barrington Historical Society
- W.E.B. Du Bois River Park, River Walk
- Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail
Founding Leadership
Bernard Drew
Rachel Fletcher
Elaine Gunn
Wray Gunn
Frances Jones-Sneed
Cora Portnoff
African American Heritage Trail
The Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail encompasses twenty-nine Massachusetts and Connecticut towns in the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, and celebrates African Americans in the region who played pivotal roles in key national and international events, as well as “everyday people” of achievement. The W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite is an anchor site along the African American Heritage Trail. www.africanamericantrail.org/