W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born and raised in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a small town with few Black residents. He excelled at school, and eventually attended Harvard long enough to receive a PhD there. He devoted himself to the study of Black lived experience rather than theoretical philosophical situations. He published his most well-known work, The Souls of Black Folk, in 1903 on this topic. Du Bois was a leading academic by the time he started the Niagara Foundation in 1905. Though it ultimately shut down, it was an important step in helping him co-found the interracial National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. In 1910, Du Bois founded and became the first editor of the NAACP’s magazine, The Crisis. Eventually, Du Bois moved the Ghana, where he attempted to gain citizenship until his death.

Art by Damon Reed

This acrylic portrait was painted by Damon Reed.

There’s truth to the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Artist Damon Lamar Reed brings that truth to reality.  He learned early on, that regardless of the medium, his purpose was to inspire. Damon often says, “I paint raps and I rap paintings.” His goal is to create messages that reach the depth of the human condition.