Du Bois Freedom Center Names Dr. John D. Lloyd Permanent Executive Director
September 14, 2026
This permanent role succeeds a period of record program growth, continued investment in restoring the historic Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, and the growing regional impact of the nation's living memorial to W.E.B. Du Bois.Tell me a bit about your organization’s scope and focus. What makes it unique?
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA — The W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom & Democracy (dba the Du Bois Freedom Center, or DFC) has named Dr. John D. Lloyd as its permanent Executive Director, following his tenure as Interim Executive Director since 2024. Dr. Lloyd takes the helm at a moment of real momentum: his interim year brought organizational, financial, and programmatic growth that leaves the Center and the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, where W.E.B. Du Bois was born and raised, on solid footing for what's next.
A Track Record of Growth
Under Dr. Lloyd, DFC has grown from a single-site institution into the steward of a regional public-history network built around African American history, culture, and life. Du Bois remains the Center's namesake and anchor, but its work has widened to include figures central to the region's history, among them Elizabeth Freeman, whose 1781 freedom suit set legal precedent a short walk from the Center's door. That expanding scope is why DFC has become essential to the Berkshires: it's the institution making sure this history is preserved, taught, and connected to the larger American story.
This past season, DFC co-presented flagship programming with more than a dozen partner institutions across the Berkshires and beyond, split evenly between education and culture. Guided walking tours regularly draw approximately 100 visitors and residents, with about 80% of surveyed attendees saying they'd return and 82% rating DFC's connection to the local community as strong. Academic partners included Williams College, Boston University, UMass Amherst, and MassArt; cultural partners included The Mount, Norman Rockwell Museum, and the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. The season's centerpiece was Elizabeth Freeman: Reimagined, an exhibition developed with MassArt, which led this summer to a permanent storytelling kiosk on the Great Barrington Town Hall Green honoring Freeman's legacy.
Restoring the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, a National Register-listed historic site, remains core to Center’s mission. This year, under Dr. Lloyd’s leadership, new capital grants have been secured from the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the Town of Great Barrington’s Community Preservation Fund, the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place Program, and others. These funds will support rehabilitation of the church’s historic basement, which once housed Sunday repasts, community suppers, and NAACP meetings. Slated for 2027, this third round of construction work will result in a code-compliant lower level that will eventually house the Center’s main entrance, visitor center, exhibits, community meeting room, and kitchen.
Dr. Lloyd also grew the Board this year, welcoming four new members: Dr. Justin F. Jackson (UMass Amherst), Dr. Camesha Scruggs (Central Connecticut State University), Dr. Angela T. Tate (Museum of African American History, Boston), and Dr. Whitney Battle-Baptiste (Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Center at UMass Amherst).
"It is the honor of my career to lead the Du Bois Freedom Center into its next chapter," said Dr. John D. Lloyd, Executive Director of the Du Bois Freedom Center.
"W.E.B. Du Bois taught us that education, historical truth, and civic participation are inseparable from a healthy democracy, and every day, within the community where he was born and raised, we get to put that idea into practice. I'm grateful to our Board, to our partners across the Berkshires, and above all to this community for making that growth possible. There is more work ahead, restoring this church, deepening our educational outreach, and making sure Du Bois' legacy stays accessible to every generation. I couldn't be more energized to lead that work in a permanent capacity."
Looking Ahead
DFC's next construction phase, planned for 2027–2028, will return the church's long-unusable lower level to public use as a visitor center, exhibition space, and community meeting area. The Center also plans to expand curriculum-directed educational programming and educator professional development, while continuing to invest in transportation assistance and program support to keep its offerings open to everyone.
About the Du Bois Freedom Center
The W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy (dba the Du Bois Freedom Center) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, the birthplace of W.E.B. Du Bois. Housed in the former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church and operating a Visitor Center at 309 Main Street, DFC is the first museum and living memorial in North America dedicated to his life and legacy, connecting Great Barrington to national and global conversations on democracy, freedom, and equity.
