GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock presents the 27th annual W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Event entitled "A Celebration of Soul with Ursula Rucker" on March 11 at 7:00 p.m. Historically presented as a lecture, this year, the event will be a celebration.

 

This event was rescheduled.  

 

This event is part of the Town of Great Barrington's W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Festival. 

 

According to a press release:

 

The community is invited to enjoy an evening of cultural celebration, music, and soul.

Poet, recording artist, activist, teacher and revolutionary, Ursula Rucker, is a certified veteran of the global music and poetry scene. A skilled writer and dynamic performer, Rucker's rich and textured voice is one of the world's great, living instruments. For nearly 3 decades, Rucker has used her fiery prose and invigorating imagery to excite and inspire listeners around worldwide. Her solo albums are brimming with power and wide-ranging musical diversity and she has built an equally impressive catalog as a collaborator. Rucker can be heard on dance floors across the world, as the voice of many House and Dance music classics. She has toured with her live performance memoir, My Father's Daughter, which she describes as "90 minutes of self-truth and discovery."

 

She was a 2018 recipient of the prestigious fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts & Change. In 2020, she released "big/small poems for pockets, a chapbook of haikus." In 2021, Ursula collaborated with artist Vince Fraser on his exhibit Ase Afro Frequencies which debuted at Artechouse Miami and was recognized as Best Art Exhibit 2021 by TimeOut Miami. At the close of 2022, Ursula had the distinct honor of being selected for the Philadelphia Cultural Treasures Fellowship, recognizing her continued commitment to the advancement of art, and artist advocacy, and an endorsement from her community that her legacy is essential to the cultural fabric of Philadelphia. Whether she's on the stage, in print, or on record, Ursula Rucker is an artistic force of nature.

 

Established in 1996, the annual W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Lecture at Simon's Rock is given each year by a distinguished individual whose own achievements carry on the legacy of Du Bois. Recent visitors include Pamela Larde, Shana Russell, Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor, David Levering Lewis, Lorene Cary, John Edgar Wideman, Sonia Sanchez, and Penelope Andrews. The Lecture is one of many ways Simon's Rock draws inspiration from Du Bois. 

 

"A Celebration of Soul with Ursula Rucker" will be held at 7:00 PM on Monday, February 19, in the McConnell Theater at the Daniel Arts Center on the Bard College at Simon's Rock campus. The event is free and open to the public.