Museum Highlights African-American History, Heritage

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Berkshires are rich with historic places, thinkers, doers and artifacts, and according to Randy Weinstein, director of the Du Bois Center on Main Street, the riches of history are endless, if you look for them.

Weinstein is in the process of redefining the center, a shrine to the town’s native son and activist W.E.B. Du Bois. His goal, he said, is to bring African-American heritage to the forefront of American history in the community.

“I’ve asked myself many times ‘what does the community need?’ Not ‘what do I need’,” he said. “This is Americana right here. The African-American stuff is such a large part of American history. The missing link to all of this seems to be that tangible, historical object and a place to go and see and learn about what these objects represent.”

Without a doubt, Weinstein has amassed a “really solid collection” of 19th and 20th century holdings including documents and books signed by Abraham Lincoln, Duke Ellington and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as an impressive stash of Civil War accounts and other memorabilia, and he knows by heart the story behind each artifact. All he needs now is more.

“Like any museum I need people with expertise, I need people to donate things and people to write grants,” he said. “These are the three most important things to keeping this place going strong. A lot of myself went into believing in what goes into the museum and its importance, especially now in this area’s history.”

That history he is referring to is fast beginning to surface across the county. In addition to the Du Bois Center and the construction of the Du Bois homesite, the Upper Housatonic African-American Heritage trail and the upcoming “Lift Ev’ry Voice” festival (slated to begin in June) point to an increased awareness and pride in the diversity that has long been a part of Berkshire County history.

“This is the closest thing we have to these events,” Weinstein said, pointing to a document signed by Lincoln appointing John McGowan as captain in the Revenue Service (now known as the Coast Guard). “You can’t get any closer than this. These are the events that changed the course of our lives and the history of this country. The United States was once known as a ‘them’ but after the Civil War that term, that idea, is singular.”

The remarkable Lincoln document is one of many artifacts that are now on display at the center. Weinstein has included it in the exhibit “Fort Sumter: Harbinger of Black Freedom,” which honors the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Among its treasures, on display through June, are Captain McGowan’s account of the bombing of his ship, the Star of the West, in Charleston Harbor; Ulysses S. Grant’s copy of Abner Doubleday’s book “Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie”; and an unpublished sketch of the Appomattox Court House surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee to General Grant.

“This is the most pivotal moment in our history,” Weinstein said. “And we have the resources to learn about it right here in our small community. If anything, expanding the museum’s reach is a cry for young people to get involved and become part of this.”

The Du Bois Center and African-American heritage museum is open weekends from 11 to 4 and weekdays by appointment or chance. Admission is $5. For more information call 413-644-9595.