The Voice of W.E.B. Du Bois

with Chad Williams

August 16, 2022

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

In its 29th year, The Mount’s annual Summer Lecture Series highlights recent works of memoir and biography. Join us for an eclectic mix of stories about historical figures and contemporary underrepresented voices.

For nearly two decades, W. E. B. Du Bois attempted to write what he believed would be the definitive history of the African American experience in World War I. In this lecture, Chad Williams explores Du Bois's complex relationship with the history and legacy of World War I and what it reveals about the struggle for democracy, racial justice and peace in the 20th century.

Read Chad's related article in The Atlantic, “Du Bois Gave Voice to Pain and Promise: A century after the publication of Darkwater, its message has never been more relevant.”

The Mount's general COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidelines may be found here.

The Mount is a Massachusetts Cultural Council UP designated organization welcoming participants of all disabilities. Please contact The Mount at 413-551-5100 or by email, info@edithwharton.org, to discuss accommodations needed to participate fully in this event.

Thanks to our sponsors:

  • $25 Mount Member, $30 General Admission
  • Tickets are available for Mount members on Wednesday, May 11, with sales open to the general public on Friday, May 13.
  • Not a member? Contact Allison at 413-551-5112 to find out why Members Make the Difference.
  • All lectures will take place in an outdoor, open-sided tent. We look forward to seeing you rain or shine!
  • Books are available for purchase through The Mount's Bookstore before and during the event.

Biography

Chad Williams
Speaker's Faculty Page

Chad Williams is the Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Brandeis University. His first book, Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era, was published in 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. Widely praised as a landmark study, Torchbearers of Democracy won the 2011 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award from the Organization of American Historians, the 2011 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for Military History, and designation as a 2011 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title. Williams has published articles and book reviews in numerous leading academic journals and collections, op-eds and essays in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, and The Conversation. His next book, The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and World War I is under contract with Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.