Bourne out of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s advocacy for Pan-Africanism and respect for scholars of African descent, the W.E.B Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture has been one Accra’s historic treasures over the last two decades.
Situated in a serene area in Cantonments, the Centre is housed in Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois’s Accra residence. Dr Du Bois—American civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, historian, author and editor—was invited by Ghana’s first President in 1963 to write the book, “Encyclopedia Africana”.
Having been refused a new passport by the US, Dr. Du Bois and his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois, became citizens of Ghana. Ironically a day before the Washington March where Martin Luther King Jr. made the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. William Du Bois died at the age of 95 in Accra.
Declared a national monument by the Government of Ghana in 1985, this rectangular shaped house at No.22 Circular Road sits in the middle of white walls that structure out a compound speckled with flowers, trees, plaques and a fountain. The book gallery, picture gallery, gallery of personal memorabilia, the tomb of the scholar and his wife among other interesting things rounds up a tour. Let me take through a tour of the Centre.
The Picture Gallery
This is found in the foyer of the house. Not a very large area but has been neatly kept with a strikingly red carpet. A huge portrait of Dr. Du Bois hangs on the white painted wall flanked by two portraits of the man who brought him to Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. On the wall hang other portraits of Du Bois, his wife and the Osagyefo on their arrival in Ghana in 1963. Arranged neatly on a polished cabinet are pictures of prominent African personalities like former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda; Ben Bella of Algeria, Dr. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a former Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria among others.
The Book Gallery
Known as an ardent writer, Du Bois scribed more than 4,000 articles and essays and authored over twenty books. Most are about civil rights and Pan-Africanism. The ‘Book Gallery’ which is housed in personal library in his few years stay in Ghana consists of various publications of his books and that of his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois, another writer. Packaged into book shelves, many of the books looks old therefore tourists at the Centre are not allowed to handle them. In that personal study room (now book gallery) was where Dr Du Bois worked on the Encyclopedia Africana.
Gallery of Personal Memorabilia
In his bedroom, a personal memorabilia gallery has been created. It mainly contains gowns Dr. William Du Bois wore in his broad academic life. It has the gown he wore on the day of his graduation when he became the first African-American to be awarded a PhD in history and government by Harvard University in 1896. It also has the gown he wore when the University of Ghana conferred a honourary title on him 1963. As a believer in Communism and Socialism as well, a portrait of him and Chairman Mao of China and other gifts he received when he visited China hangs in the gallery. Manuscripts of his various letters to newspapers and human rights activists also can be found in this gallery. Being a founding father of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and an editor of their mouthpiece, The Crisis Magazine, for twenty years, a few copies of former editions in which Du Bois edited can also be found in this bedroom-turned gallery.
The Tomb
I was told by the tour guide at the Centre that Dr. Du Bois was originally laid to rest at the Christianborg Castle but had to be relocated to its present location when the Centre was declared a national monument by the government. Embedded in a hut-like room, the tomb of Dr. Du Bois tells another story on his own.
Every decoration in there has a story to it. The white and black painted ceiling is designed like a web and the tour guide sums it up like this: “We all know the web is attributed to a spider which called Ananse in our local parlance. It is believed that Ananse has solutions to every problem he encounters and that was how DU Bois was seen. He attempted virtually every possible solution to the problem of twentieth-century racism”. Around the grave, also, are stools with specific Adinkra symbols carved in them. Symbols like “Gye Nyame” (Except God), “Nka Bom” (Unity) and the others were seen as the characteristics of Du Bois.
The tome which has been made of terrazzo has a golden sculpture of Du Bois’s face etched at its top. It’s also emblazoned with a paraphernalia of Clark Atlanta University (formerly Atlanta University) where he established the Department of Social Work. A few inches away stand a locally made wood stand. On top of it is the cremated ash of Shirley Graham Du Bois who died in China in 1977.
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