February 26, 2010

Dear Friends,

Part of the pleasure of using BerkShares in transactions is seeing new faces
on those paper bills. The familiar founding fathers, rendered in faded
green on the federal dollars, are images we barely register. Contrastingly,
BerkShares feature local individuals that represent the diversity of our
region, drawing our attention to heroes who grew up just around the bend.

On the 5 BerkShare note you find W. E. B. Du Bois, civil rights activist,
intellectual, and author. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington in 1868, "by
a golden river in the shadow of two great hills." His fondness for the
natural beauty of the Berkshire region is reflected throughout his writings
as a deep understanding and respect for nature and ecology.

Du Bois demonstrated a keen intellect and developed a deep concern for the
emancipation of Black citizens while still a teenager at Great Barrington
High School. He began to write publicly on community news, particularly
relating to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Society, as a local
correspondent for the New York Globe at the age of fifteen.

Every February, the Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Society holds
an event for Du Bois' birthday. This year's event takes place tomorrow,
February 27th, at 2:30 pm. The keynote address will be given by Gene
Dattel, author of "Cotton and Race in the Making of America." At the bottom
of this email you can find the full program.

We are proud that BerkShares highlight the diversity and rich intellectual
history of our region. Every time you accept a 5 BerkShare note, W. E. B.
Du Bois, a genius who committed his life to work for the freedom of all
peoples, is gazing up at you.

More information about W. E. B. Du Bois can be found at
www.berkshares.org/heroes/dubois.htm

Best Wishes,
The BerkShares Team
P. O. Box 125
Gt. Barrington, MA 01230
413 528 1737
******************************

You are cordially invited to join in celebration of the 142nd birthday of
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois

on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Clinton African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church 9 Elm Court, Great Barrington where Dr. Du Bois attended church
as a young man and wrote of Great Barrington’s rising African American
culture

Festivities begin at 2:30 PM

Welcome

Rev. M. Louise Williamson
Pastor, Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Wray Gunn
Trustee, Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Keynote Address

Cotton Captivity: The Fate of African Americans by Gene Dattel, Author of
Cotton and Race in the Making of America

Du Bois Legacy Reports

Maurice Hobson, Managing Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Center
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr. Robert Paynter, Professor of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts
Amherst

Musical Selections
MaryNell Morgan
The Just-Now Choir of the Clinton A. M. E. Zion Church

Light Refreshments

* * *
Kindly R.S.V.P.
Wray Gunn, Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, 413-229-2668, wraygunn@msn.com
Rachel Fletcher, Friends of the Du Bois Homesite, 413-528-3391,
info@DuBoisHomesite.org

Friends of the Du Bois Homesite
PO Box 1018
Gt Barrington, MA 01230
413-528-3391
www.DuBoisHomesite.org
info@DuBoisHomesite.org