In 1903, W.E.B. DuBois posed a question.
"Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house?"
On Saturday, the staff of DuBois College House attempted to answer this question through a celebration of the black revolutionary at the 19th Annual Soul of DuBois Celebration.
In an effort to unite its residents, University affiliates and the surrounding community, the house sponsored events intended to stimulate discussions dealing with the controversy of DuBois' political philosophy, particularly that involving the black community.
The day began with a community and student panel addressing the topic "What Is Our Struggle Now?" Guests from the Jubilee School of Dance entertained the audience with an interpretation of the Harlem Renaissance by highlighting some of the characteristic dances from that period.
Following the children's performance was a mock interview with W.E.B. DuBois written by Tukufu Zuberi, director of the Center for Africana Studies and professor of Sociology. The idea for the presentation format came after Zuberi participated in a Provost's Lecture Series on April 5, in which he presented a paper. At this event, the barrage of audience questions prepared Zuberi to answer these hypothetical questions. He said that at the lecture event, the audience "began to ask me a series of questions of what would DuBois have thought about this, this and this in that context ... so they already made me answer what I had to ask."
Zuberi also made the connection of DuBois' standpoint on the issue of the relationship between blacks and whites and the social state of many students at the University.
"I think that [civil rights activist Marcus] Garvey was interested in organizing a mass of the people, and DuBois was intermediate," Zuberi said. "Garvey was building an organization that was based on the poor around the world; DuBois' was based on the elite Negro in the United States or/and various other communities around the world," he added.
Fine Arts graduate student Ernel Martinez displayed his paintings and drawings at the celebration.
The evening finished with a dinner and presentations by DuBois Faculty Master and associate professor of Fine Arts Terry Adkins, Center for Africana Studies Artist in Residence Hannibal Lokumbe and Zuberi.
The educational nature of the celebration reminded attendees that the house was created in response to the student protest, led by Cathy Barlow, of the high attrition and low retention rates of black students in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Throughout the day, a selection of community vendors showcased their products on the field across from DuBois. Also, the video W.E.B. DuBois in Four Voices was continuously played throughout the day in the house's Uchoraji Gallery.
