Our Story

The W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation (USA/Ghana) is a non-profit organization established in 2019, with the exclusive mission of honoring the life, purpose, and legacy of Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, the celebrated Civil/Human Rights activist, co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Father of Pan-Africanism, and one of the most essential Black voices in world history.

The project will redevelop and rebrand his final resting place in Accra, Ghana into an important global institution and heritage site and the hub of all things Du Bois; a Museum Complex on par with other museums of great American thinkers and leaders such as Frederick Douglass, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Dr. Martin Luther King. As well, the Museum complex will honor the legacy of Shirley Graham Du Bois, the devoted second wife of Dr. Du Bois whose ashes is also interred in Accra, Ghana.

In May of 1961 Kwame Nkrumah, then President of Ghana, whom Du Bois had met and known since 1945, invited Du Bois to move to Ghana to undertake direction of the preparation of an ‘Encyclopedia Africana’, an interdisciplinary global publication to document the experience and historical contributions of African peoples in the world. From late 1961 to 1963 Du Bois lived a full life in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, working on the Encyclopedia. He died on August 27, 1963, the day before his American compatriots assembled for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He was interred in a state funeral outside Christiansborg Castle in Osu, formerly a holding pen for the slave cargoes bound for the Americas.

In 1984, Du Bois’s remains were removed from the Christiansborg Castle in Osu to its present site at No. 22, 1st Circular Road, near the American Embassy in Accra. The following year, the W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture was opened, with Du Bois’s library, a museum, and the mausoleum where he and his late wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois, are buried.

The Arrival of the Du Bois' in Ghana

In October 1961, at the age of 93, Du Bois and his wife, Shirley, moved to Ghana to begin work on the Encyclopedia Africana.

The Bungalow where the Du Bois' lived in Accra

The passing of Du Bois on 27th August 1963

The March on Washington, 28th August 1963

Roy Wilkins addressed the attendees at the march and announced the death of Dr. Du Bois in Accra, Ghana the previous night, 27th August.

The Burial of Du Bois in Accra 29th August 1963

The Burial Tomb

The current burial place of Dr. Du Bois and the ashes of Shirley Graham Du Bois. Shirley, Dr. Du Bois’s devoted second wife, passed away in China on March 27, 1977. She was an accomplished and remarkable writer, playwright, composer, activist, and celebrated Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc member.

The Centre - The Bungalow Accra, Ghana

Any visitor to the bungalow where Dr. Du Bois and Shirley Graham lived, worked, and died, would notice the deterioration of the building both the outside and the inside. Evidence of water leaks and damage is everywhere. The 1st phase of the project is the renovation, restoration and refurbishment of the bungalow to its original state when the Du Bois’ lived there.

Books and Papers

Dr. Du Bois took with him over 1500 books and papers with him to Ghana and collected some more during his short stay there. Over the many years since his death in 1963, in the absence of climate control environment, all the books and papers are seriously damaged. The pictures show the condition of some of the books and papers. The prestigious US Library of Congress has agreed with the Foundation to support the training of our Ghanaian staff in the preservation and conservation of these books and papers.

The Fabrics & Gowns

Dr. Du Bois took with him to Ghana a number of academic regalia and other fabrics and collected some more during his short stay in Ghana. All of those too are in very bad condition. The Foundation has engaged a world class Fabric restoration firm in the US to support the training of our Ghanaian staff in the restoration and conservation of these fabrics.

While the academic textiles are in a glass case, they have suffered from extended exposure to environmental condition, light fading, extreme soiling and infestation of insects and rodents, and forces of gravity causing distortion, tears and loss to the fabrics

The Fabrics & Gowns

Dr. Du Bois took with him to Ghana a number of academic regalia and other fabrics and collected some more during his short stay in Ghana. All of those too are in very bad condition. The Foundation has engaged a world class Fabric restoration firm in the US to support the training of our Ghanaian staff in the restoration and conservation of these fabrics.

Interested in supporting our cause?

Donate to the W. E. B. Du Bois Museum Foundation.