H.E. Nàna Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, president of the Republic of Ghana, plans to construct a state-of-the-art museum complex honoring civil rights pioneer Dr. W.E.B Du Bois who spent the last years of his life as a citizen in the West African nation.
“The museum will provide in Ghana, yet another important monument to the collective struggle of the African peoples to get their rightful place in this world,” said President Akufo-Addo during his remarks at the historic signing ceremony in New York, as reported by Yahoo.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Ghana by Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance of Ghana, and Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Japhet Aryiku, executive director of the foundation in the U.S., and Humphrey Ayim-Darke, Board Member of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, Ghana, signed the agreement for the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, per the report.
“Mr. President, let me reassure you of our commitment to making your beloved Ghana a hub of Pan-African research and heritage tourism,” said Daniel Rose, chairman of the foundation, at the ceremony.
Massachusetts native Du Bois was a prominent scholar, sociologist, and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). A confidante and friend of Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah, Du Bois moved to Ghana, became a citizen of the country, and lived and worked there until his death in 1963.
His great-great-grandson, Arthur McFarlane II, spoke to theGRIO in 2013 about Du Bois’ legacy.
“I think one of the ways a lot of people relate to Grandpa is his concept of double consciousness… People struggle at different times to be something and something else – whether it’s a woman or American, Black and American, or gay and American. We see these American values that are put out there of what America is about. Then, we as African-Americans, gays, Latinos are treated differently. We’re not treated as equal,” McFarlane explained.
“It’s hard to be American because there’s so much going on in America that says I’m not equal or I’m not the same. I feel a lot of people struggling with that… When we think about those issues we can relate to what Grandpa says, even though he says that almost a hundred years ago,” McFarlane continued.
“I just hope people will look at Grandpa’s legacy that he had a lot to say and a lot of it still applies today and get to the point where we really do reach across racial lines and seek understanding and seek to bring understanding through a lot of very contentious issues,” he added.
The ambitious multi-million dollar museum complex dedicated to honoring Du Bois will be designed by renowned Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye, designer of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Per the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, the complex will feature a museum, library and reading room, event hall, outdoor auditorium and amphitheater, lecture space, guest house for visiting scholars, and the refurbished bungalow where Du Bois lived. The complex also includes a Memorial Pavilion, housing the remains of DuBois and his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois.
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