August 27 - 30, 1963

Anniversary of the Passing of W.E.B. Du Bois (August 27, 1963)

August 27 marks the anniversary of the death of Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the most influential intellectuals and freedom fighters of the 20th century. He died in Accra, Ghana, at the age of 95, where he had spent the final years of his life in exile, invited by President Kwame Nkrumah to work on the Encyclopedia Africana.

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (August 28th, 1963)

His passing occurred on the eve of the historic Civil Rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, at which Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, addressed the 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and proclaimed: “At the dawn of the 20th century, his was the voice that was calling to you to gather here today in this cause." (Starts at 8:30)

Du Bois Given a State Funeral in Ghana (August 29–30, 1963)

W.E.B. Du Bois was honored with a state funeral in Ghana on August 29 and 30, 1963, just days after his death. The ceremonies reflected the high regard in which he was held across Africa and the African diaspora. Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, who had welcomed Du Bois as a citizen and collaborator, delivered a powerful eulogy calling him a “citizen of the world” and a "great African patriot" whose life was devoted to the liberation of oppressed people.

Dignitaries, scholars, and freedom fighters from across the globe attended the funeral, which was both a political and spiritual affirmation of Du Bois’s lifelong struggle for human rights, Black dignity, and Pan-African unity. His burial in Accra marked a final symbolic homecoming to the African continent. Today, the  W.E.B. Du Bois Centre for Pan-African Culture, located at his former home and burial site, continues to serve as a place of research, remembrance, and pilgrimage for those carrying forward his legacy.