THE W.E.B. DU BOIS MUSEUM COMPLEX

The Final Dignified Resting Place for Dr. W.E.B. & Shirley Graham Du Bois

About the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation

The W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation (USA–Ghana) is a nonprofit organization established in 2019 with the purpose of honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Du Bois by redeveloping his final resting place in Accra, Ghana. He was the celebrated father of Pan-Africanism, co-founder of the NAACP, an essential historical leader and scholar in the US civil rights movement, a global anti-colonialist, and a human rights advocate.

The Foundation has an Agreement with the Government of Ghana through its Ministry of Tourism, Creative Arts, and Culture to finance, redevelop, manage, and transfer the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre in Accra.

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Message by the Leaders

We the leaders of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Complex Capital Campaign, Accra Ghana, invite you to preview the important gift to the world that is envisioned by the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation to be constructed at the burial site of the great scholar and civil rights leader in Accra, Ghana. Our goal for the capital campaign is $117 million and $83 million for endowment, for a total of $200 million. The following pages showcase the exciting new W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Complex and the restored bungalow where Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois lived from 1961–1963 with his wife, Shirley Graham.

Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois’s remarkable achievements in his long 95 years of life include being heralded as the father of the Civil Rights and Pan-African movements, the first African American to receive a PhD from Harvard University in 1895, and a co-founder of the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Acknowledged as the father of scientific sociology, Dr. Du Bois was a researcher; and an insightful and prolific author par excellence.

Please join us as donors and partners to achieve the long-overdue, imagined possibility to build a fitting memorial of learning and generational inspiration to arguably the best social scholar of note—whom Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described as “first of all, he was himself unsurpassed as an intellect, and he was a Negro” (the 100th Anniversary of the Birthday of Dr. Du Bois at Carnegie Hall in New York, February 23, 1968).

There are moments in history that call us to do more than remember; they call us to build. Please share and contact us to learn more.

Meet the Campaign Leaders (last name alphabetical)

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Philosopher and Professor of Philosophy and Law at NYU; former President of PEN America. Acclaimed author of Cosmopolitanism, The Honor Code, and Lines of Descent: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Emergence of Identity.

Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin

Speaker of Parliament, Republic of Ghana, Senior Statesman, Lawyer, and Parliamentary Icon. President of the 52 Member Africa Geopolitical Group (I PU), African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC), and Conference of Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures (CoSPAU, and past President of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), deepening democratic governance

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Distinguished scholar and Harvard professor; Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute. Leading authority on African-American literature and culture; acclaimed author and creator/host of landmark documentary series including Wonders of the African World and African American Lives.

Sir Sam Jonah, KBE

C0-CHAIR OF THE CAMPAIGN

Knighted mining icon and global business leader. Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast. Ranked among the world’s top 25 most influential business leaders by CNN/Time Magazine. Member of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation International Advisory Board.

Barbara Jean Lee

Oakland Mayor & Former Member Of US Congress

Mayor of Oakland, CA (2025-) and former member of US House of Representatives representing California (1998-2023). She previously was a member of the California State Legislature (1990-1998).

Prof. Dr. David Levering Lewis

Distinguished Julius Silver University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at New York University. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for the authoritative biography of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois.

Mr. Daniel Rose

C0-CHAIR OF THE CAMPAIGN

Prominent business leader and philanthropist. Founder of the Helping Africa Foundation and Board Chairman of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation.

Dr. Deborah Rose

Honored Yale University alumna for philanthropy and activism. Public health scholar. Development Queenmother of Yamoransa (Nana Abena Nyansima I). Board Member of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation.

Dr. Karcheik Sims-Alvarado

Historian, author & preservationist. Director of Public History at Morehouse College. Chief Historian, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Estate. Board Member of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation.

The Story

Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, MA, USA, on February 23, 1868. At 93 years old, in 1961, he was invited by Ghana’s first President and Pan-Africanist, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to relocate to Accra with his wife, Shirley Graham, to focus on the embryonic Encyclopedia Africana. Dr. Du Bois established an office for this purpose.

Denied a renewal of his U.S. passport to return to the land of his birth for medical treatment, he succumbed to prostate cancer and died on August 27, 1963, at the golden age of 95 years, in Ghana. His remains and the ashes of his wife, Shirley, are entombed in Cantonments, Accra, Ghana.

Countries Visited
by the Du Boises

Germany

France

Portugal

Switzerland

Italy

Belgium

Romania

China

Russia

Japan

United Kingdom

Jamaica

Vietnam

Czechoslovakia

Cuba

Bahamas

Egypt

Algeria

Guinea

Ethiopia

Uganda

Tanzania

Nigeria

Liberia

Sierra Leone

Ghana

The Du Boises in Ghana

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois and Shirley Graham Du Bois at a state function.

The Du Boises by their Russia-gifted personal automobile in front of the bungalow.

Dr. Du Bois in his bungalow in Accra, Ghana

The Du Boises with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and his wife, Fatia.

Partnership with the Government of Ghana

On September 22, 2023, the Government of Ghana (GoG), represented by its Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, signed a landmark agreement with the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation (USA and Ghana entities) for the finance, management, and transfer of the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre.

This foundational agreement enabled the initial mobilization of support from key philanthropic partners and laid the groundwork for the Centre’s redevelopment. In January 2026, the partnership was further reaffirmed through an additional signing with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, reinforcing the shared commitment of both parties to the Centre’s long-term vision, governance, and sustainability.

The Bungalow To be Restored

The historic bungalow in Accra, once home to the Du Boises, has deteriorated over time. Thanks to a generous gift from the Mellon Foundation, work is underway to restore it to the time when the Du Boises lived in the bungalow. The estimated unfunded cost to furnish the interior and upgrade utilities is $600,000.

The Design of the Museum Complex

The W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation has engaged a Ghanaian-headed and Ghana-based architectural firm – Atelier. They are supported by a New York City–based African American architectural firm – Jerome Haferd Studio. The design of a modern Museum Complex will accommodate a Museum, Library, Mausoleum, an Akwaaba (Welcome) Center, below-ground parking, restaurant, scholars’ residence, multi-purpose hall, and amphitheatre. The preliminary estimated cost for the design and construction of the Complex is $60 million.

Preliminary estimated cost – external landscape, infrastructure, and below-ground parking: $5 million.

The Entrance

Preliminary estimated cost – Akwaaba Center and Entrance: $3 million

Welcome/Oobakɛ/Akwaaba

Green energy (solar) will be used throughout the Museum Complex.

Mausoleum – Top View

Preliminary estimated cost – Mausoleum (Tomb): $4 million

The design evokes the translation of the initials of Dr. Du Bois — W. E. B. — into a spider’s web. In Ghanaian and Pan-African folklore, the spider is personified as Kwaku Ananse, the wily creature who outsmarts all in the animal kingdom. It is a symbol of the gifted scholarship and intellect of Dr. Du Bois. He made history with his PhD from Harvard University, and proceeded to become a prolific writer on the condition of the Negro post-emancipation, and to progressively lay the tracks for US civil rights, global freedom, and human rights. The expanding spider’s web is a cultural symbol of the global and topical reach of Dr. Du Bois – ever captivating and relevant.

Mausoleum – Inside View

Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois’s remains will be in one grave. The ashes of Shirley Graham Du Bois will be in a second. Consideration will be given to including the remains of other immediate family members. The circular skylight reflects the African and universal belief in unending life, underscored by the enduring relevance of Dr. Du Bois’s life.

Mausoleum – External View Featuring W.E.B.'s Silhouette

The Mausoleum | The Library

Preliminary estimated cost – Museum – $13 million . Library – $12.5 million

The W.E.B. Du Bois Museum is twinned with the Library. This creates a unity of the scholarship of Dr. Du Bois when alive, with the presentation of his 95 years of life as captured in the Museum. We expect to receive significant donations from around the world. Thus, ample provision is made for space.

Entrance to the Museum & Library

Lobby of Library

The Museum & Library - Night View

Interior View of Library

Interior View of Museum

The Amphitheater

Preliminary estimated cost – Amphitheater: $2 million

The 360-seat amphitheater captures the link between academics and community to create a dynamic of active scholarship that was the hallmark
of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois and Shirley Graham.

Active scholarship led Dr. Du Bois to apply scientific inquiry to the lives of Black people, giving rise to sociological inquiry as a science. He was also a co-founder of the US-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP, 1909). He was the editor of NAACP’s acclaimed “The Crisis.” His writings exhibited community-mindedness and interconnectivity to scholarship. The programming at the Amphitheater will reflect Du Bois’s intellectual activism. Shirley was the first Black woman to write a full opera.

Amphitheater - Public Exchange

Provision for art & crafts display and gift stores

Marcus Garvey Scholars Residence Night Frontal View

Preliminary estimated cost – Garvey Scholars Residence: $10.3 million

Marcus M. Garvey (1887–1940), a Jamaican-born leader, was a contemporary of Dr. Du Bois. As a Pan-Africanist, Garvey led the Universal Negro Improvement Association.

The fifty-room Scholars Residence will host academics from around the world for research, utilizing the Library, Museum, and Bungalow.

The outer design captures the “Veil” that Dr. Du Bois introduced in his The Souls of Black Folk to describe the mutuality of damaged perceptions by and of both Black and White people, spelling racism.

Scholars Residence Lobby

Scholars Residence Standard Room

Restaurant for Tourists, Scholars & the Public

Preliminary estimated cost – Restaurant: $2.5 million

The Restaurant at the Du Bois Museum Complex is contemplated to enhance visitors’ experience by providing revitalization and interconnectedness. The operators will be experienced restauranteurs, specializing in African cuisine.

Summary of Construction Costs

Landscape and Infrastructure including below-ground Parking$ 5,000,000.00
Akwaaba (Welcome) Center and Entrance$ 3,000,000.00
Mausoleum (Tomb)$ 4,000,000.00
Museum$ 13,000,000.00
Library$ 12,500,000.00
Amphitheater$ 2,000,000.00
Marcus Garvey Scholars Residence$ 10,300,000.00
Restaurant(s)$ 2,500,000.00
Security Posts$ 108,000.00
Provision for Licenses & Taxes$ 900,000.00
Bungalow – Provision for Furnishings$ 600,000.00
Contingencies and Soft Costs$ 6,092,000.00
$ 60,000,00.00

Naming Rights Opportunities

All individual components of the Du Bois Museum Complex are available for naming rights. Once the designs are finalized, naming rights will be available for buildings, hallways, conference rooms, functional spaces, landscaping, utilities, and more.

Capital & Endowment Campaign Goal

Construction Costs$ 60,000,000.00
Estimated Government Taxes at21%$ 12,600,000.00
Estimated Provision for Equipment and Furnishings25%$ 15,000,000.00
General Contingency15%$ 9,000,000.00
Provision for Initial Ten Years of Operation$ 20,000,000.00
Planned Endowment$ 83,400,000.00
$ 200,000,000.00

The Principal Ghanaian Architect – Samuel Mbraye Quartey

Samuel Mbraye Quartey, a distinguished Ghanaian architect, is a Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) and Founder and Principal Architect of Atelier. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and has more than thirty years’ experience in the field.

Atelier has garnered several distinctions and awards that include: 1st Prize in GIA’s Design Competition – Legacy Project for the University of Ghana (2024), Best Eco and Green Development (2019), Best Architectural Design Firm of thae Year (2019), and Best Landscape Architectural Design Firm (2018).

Atelier has delivered some of Ghana’s iconic buildings, including the CAL Bank Head Office, the National Communications Authority (NCA) Head Office, Allied Oil Head Office, UNA Home, KEK Insurance Head Office, and the Elizabeth residential complex. Atelier has completed projects in Bamako (Mali) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). It is currently engaged in major projects in Madagascar.

Samuel was the guest speaker at the Salute to Ghana event, hosted by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Memphis, USA, in 2022.

The Supporting Architect from the USA - Jerome Haferd

Jerome W. Haferd, an African American practitioner, is based in Harlem, New York, USA, where he also works as an assistant professor of architecture at the City College Spitzer School of Architecture. The Jerome Haferd Studio engages in projects that are at the intersection of design and preservation, often looking to diverse and marginalized histories to unlock a new imagination for the public space.

He co-directs the new Mellon Foundation’s Place, Memory, and Culture Incubator. Jerome has been selected as a 2025 United States Artist and is exhibiting at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.He holds a MArch from Yale University, and a B.S. from The Ohio State University.

Jerome Haferd Studio’s work includes collaborations with M.O.V.E. Africatown, the Harlem African Burial Ground, Fairfax Stone State Monument, The Park Avenue Armory, the National Black Theatre, and the Amsterdam News. Jerome was part of a finalist team for a public memorial honoring Yale Univerity’s Legacy of Enslavement. He received the 2022 Meta #BlackVisionaries award.

Floor Plan of Museum & Library Showing 480-Seat Multi-Purpose Hall

The Museum & Library Building – First Floor Plan

The Museum & Library Building - Second Floor Plan

The Museum & Library Building - Third Floor Plan

Major Donors & Sponsors

  • Bank of America
  • Board Members
  • Daniel Rose
  • Deborah Rose
  • Elihu Rose
  • Executive Leadership Council, Washington, D.C.
  • Ford Foundation
  • Jovani Monexil
  • Library of Congress
  • MacArthur Foundation
  • Mellon Foundation

Download the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Complex Brochure

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