Local historian Bernard A. Drew will describe how stories of early African-American entrepreneurs in Berkshire emerge from documentary sources
On Saturday, February 18, at 3 p.m., Drew, whose latest Berkshire history focuses on three relatively unknown individuals of African descent, will explain how he reconstructed their lives through documentary research in a program at the W.E.B. Du Bois Center. The public is invited.
Drew’s new book chronicles the lives of a trio of men who broke racial barriers simply through their pursuit of a livelihood. REMARKABLE DEEDS (Attic Revivals Press, 2012, 104 pages, softcover, $17.50), the last of Drew’s trilogy of books concentrating on African-Americans in South Berkshire, profiles men, one each in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, who speculated in real estate — in a predominantly white real estate world.
The main sections are:
Cuffee Van Shaack & the Indian Town Trade • Accompanying New Yorker Elias Van Shaack to Stockbridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Cuffee Negro Man Servant (d. 1763) was deeded his freedom, traipsed wilderness trails, trapped, traded horses and goods, communicated with Dutch, English, Mohican and Mohawk neighbors, signed documents with the clan symbol of the heron, smooth-talked land from Indians ... and owned shares in the New Hampshire Grants!
Festus Campbell Esq. & the Night-Blooming Cereus • Louisiana runaway Festus (1822-1910) fled north to Massachusetts a decade before the Civil War, found refuge with Dr. Robert Campbell in Pittsfield, traveled overseas, mastered several languages, served tasty meals at his own restaurants, grew beautiful flowers at his Innisfallen greenhouse, collected coins, donated Egyptian artifacts that are now in the Berkshire Museum, threw his voice on God’s behalf, traded prime real state … and became an esquire!
Warren H. Davis & the Remarkable 5,000-Acre Bear Mountain Land Deal • North Carolinian Warren H. Davis (1884-1960) came to Great Barrington to handle horses for electrical inventor William Stanley, earned a certificate at Stockbridge Agricultural School, bought and sold building plots and wood lots, established a sawmill, smoked a pipe, gambled, pulled off South Berkshire’s largest real estate transaction in his day … and made civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois grumpy!
Drew, recipient of the 2010 Du Bois Center of Great Barrington Pioneer Award for Local History, has researched and written about the Berkshires since 1977. This is his 47th book. The Great Barrington resident’s other recent books are Bear Town Mountain and Burgoyne Pass: History Recovered (2011), Gibson’s Grove & Turner’s Landing: Lake Buel’s Century as a Summer Resort (2009) and Faded Tracks on Monument Mountain (2009). McFarland & Co. has just brought out his Henry Knox and the Revolutionary War Trail in Western Massachusetts. The author’s If They Close the Door on You, Go in the Window (2004) looks at the origins of the African American Community in Sheffield, Great Barrington and Stockbridge. His Dr. Du Bois Rebuilds His Dream House (2006) examines the social justice activist’s relationship with his hometown, Great Barrington.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Exhibition of Original Muppets Artwork
The WEB Du Bois Center at Great Barrington is hosting the exhibit, "Bein' Green: Why Every Color is Beautiful," featuring the fanciful artwork of Sesame Street and Muppets illustrator Joel Schick, December through February 2012. The illustrations and paintings of beloved characters such as Kermit the Frog, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and many others from the Muppet menagerie, will be on display throughout the Center, along with some of the finished books and toys for which the illustrations were created.
These paintings will naturally speak to children of all ages. But they also bring back wonderful memories and feelings in the adults who grew up with them. With all the racial unrest in this world, we also thought it was a good time for people to re-experience a childlike perspective. Someone green can still love someone blue, and someone turquoise can still play with someone red. The Muppets help to bridge the racial divide. They have spent years showing us that, regardless of color, we all sing and laugh and love. According to Joel, “the Muppets are, and have always been, about love and joy, accepting each other, appreciating each other, enjoying each other, treasuring each other.”
What makes this collection so unusual are some of the early pencil sketches, overlays, and notes, showing the progression of a piece as Joel created it. We also have some unpublished pieces that are stunning. This exhibit is a first of its kind, giving the public the opportunity to see around 100 original Muppet drawings. Because of Joel’s expertise in capturing the "essence" of each character, Sesame Street's corporate office eventually asked him to create the "how-to-draw" books that Muppet sketch artists continue to follow. An award-winning illustrator of 40 years, Joel also designed numerous Kurt Vonnegut and Barry Lopez books and provided the illustrations for dozens of children’s classics, including the “Magic School Bus” and “Wayside School” series.
The WEB Du Bois Center, located at 684 Main Street, Great Barrington, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the study of social justice. The exhibit will be open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm - 4pm, except for holidays, or by appointment. The $5 admission benefits Berkshire County Kids’ Place, an accredited non-profit Children’s Advocacy Center, provides services for child victims of abuse.
These paintings will naturally speak to children of all ages. But they also bring back wonderful memories and feelings in the adults who grew up with them. With all the racial unrest in this world, we also thought it was a good time for people to re-experience a childlike perspective. Someone green can still love someone blue, and someone turquoise can still play with someone red. The Muppets help to bridge the racial divide. They have spent years showing us that, regardless of color, we all sing and laugh and love. According to Joel, “the Muppets are, and have always been, about love and joy, accepting each other, appreciating each other, enjoying each other, treasuring each other.”
What makes this collection so unusual are some of the early pencil sketches, overlays, and notes, showing the progression of a piece as Joel created it. We also have some unpublished pieces that are stunning. This exhibit is a first of its kind, giving the public the opportunity to see around 100 original Muppet drawings. Because of Joel’s expertise in capturing the "essence" of each character, Sesame Street's corporate office eventually asked him to create the "how-to-draw" books that Muppet sketch artists continue to follow. An award-winning illustrator of 40 years, Joel also designed numerous Kurt Vonnegut and Barry Lopez books and provided the illustrations for dozens of children’s classics, including the “Magic School Bus” and “Wayside School” series.
The WEB Du Bois Center, located at 684 Main Street, Great Barrington, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the study of social justice. The exhibit will be open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm - 4pm, except for holidays, or by appointment. The $5 admission benefits Berkshire County Kids’ Place, an accredited non-profit Children’s Advocacy Center, provides services for child victims of abuse.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Our new Museum of Civil Rights Pioneers
The Du Bois Center's new Museum of Civil Rights Pioneers is the first museum in western Massachusetts devoted exclusively to the acquisition and preservation of historical artifacts germane to the African-American experience in Berkshire County and beyond. Highlights include:
“In Battle For Peace,” inscribed by W.E.B. Du Bois to Paul Robeson.
“God’s Trombones,” inscribed by James Weldon Johnson.
“The Souls of Black Folk,” signed by Du Bois.
“The Negro in the American Rebellion,” signed by William Wells Brown.
“In Battle For Peace,” inscribed by Du Bois to his daughter Yolande.
Unpublished letter by Peter Williams, Jr., a founding black manager of the American Antislavery Society.
Paul Robeson’s annotated Theatre Guild contract to play Othello on Broadway.
Document signed by Frederick Douglass as recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia.
“Black Reconstruction,” inscribed by Du Bois to John Hope, the president of Atlanta University.
“Where Do We Go From Here,” inscribed by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bible owned by Langston Hughes.
File of material on Du Bois compiled by the Committee of Un-American Activities.
Document by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew discussing the unequal pay of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, the first black regiment mustered in the North.
Books from the library of the Reverend Samuel Harrison, chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts and noted Pittsfield minister.
Unpublished sketch of the Appomattox Court House surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Grant.
Document signed by President Andrew Johnson, as well as by Charles Sumner and numerous other members of the Reconstruction Congresses, which passed significant civil rights legislation and, in fact, impeached and acquitted Johnson.
* Hours: weekends 11-4, weekdays by appointment or chance. Admission $5
“In Battle For Peace,” inscribed by W.E.B. Du Bois to Paul Robeson.
“God’s Trombones,” inscribed by James Weldon Johnson.
“The Souls of Black Folk,” signed by Du Bois.
“The Negro in the American Rebellion,” signed by William Wells Brown.
“In Battle For Peace,” inscribed by Du Bois to his daughter Yolande.
Unpublished letter by Peter Williams, Jr., a founding black manager of the American Antislavery Society.
Paul Robeson’s annotated Theatre Guild contract to play Othello on Broadway.
Document signed by Frederick Douglass as recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia.
“Black Reconstruction,” inscribed by Du Bois to John Hope, the president of Atlanta University.
“Where Do We Go From Here,” inscribed by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bible owned by Langston Hughes.
File of material on Du Bois compiled by the Committee of Un-American Activities.
Document by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew discussing the unequal pay of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, the first black regiment mustered in the North.
Books from the library of the Reverend Samuel Harrison, chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts and noted Pittsfield minister.
Unpublished sketch of the Appomattox Court House surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Grant.
Document signed by President Andrew Johnson, as well as by Charles Sumner and numerous other members of the Reconstruction Congresses, which passed significant civil rights legislation and, in fact, impeached and acquitted Johnson.
* Hours: weekends 11-4, weekdays by appointment or chance. Admission $5
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