AR-v.5 (1-27):Layout 1 - Hutchins Center - Harvard University

Reflections of the Acting-DirectorAs the Acting-Director of the W. E. B. Du BoisInstitute during the Spring semester 2008, I came toappreciate more than ever its important multifacetedcharacter. The Du Bois Institute is a place bustlingwith activities that enrich the educational and culturalmission of Harvard University. With Henry LouisGates, Jr., on sabbatical in Palo Alto, California,I was able to witness firsthand such diverse activitiesas the W. E. B. Du Bois Fellows Program, the weeklyDu Bois Colloquium, the endowed lecture series,a Boston program for minority pre-college youth,two major art exhibits, the renovation for theinstallation of the Hiphop Archive, and numerousongoing research projects (for example, that ofsociologist William Julius Wilson and the project ofeconomist Roland Fryer). And I worked with anincredibly talented group of people – the Du BoisInstitute staff. In every capacity, they are committedto bringing exceptional programs and services toHarvard, the larger scholarly world, the blackcommunity, and broader public. I have also beenimpressed with the important partnering that occursbetween Du Bois and other groups. The rich arrayof programs offered this year was made possiblethrough the generous support of the Du BoisInstitute in cooperation with other schools anddepartments in the university as well as other outsidefunding. As I reflect upon the Institute’s manyaspects and events, I would like to share my thoughtson a few that were particularly fascinating to me.I found it very rewarding to get to know thevarious W. E. B. Du Bois fellows and their work.I learned a great deal from hearing their formalpresentations at the Wednesday colloquium. I wasalso pleased to be able to participate in the selectionof the upcoming group of W. E. B. Du Bois fellows.The academic year 2008–09 promises to havean interesting array of research projects by seniorand junior scholars, a doctoral candidate completingher dissertation, and a filmmaker.Nothing could have been more exciting for methan watching the renovation of the Hiphop Archive.This is an amazing configuration of office space,archival-research capacity, and museum-like representationof posters and even a simulated dancefloor. Indeed the Hiphop Archive under the directionof Professor Marcyliena Morgan has returned toHarvard in grand style. We are, in a word, thrilled.It was always a pleasure to introduce thespeakers of the Institute’s different named lectureseries and to listen to their three-day talk:on April 22–24, the McMillan-Stewart Lecture wasgiven by Tulane professor Jean Godefroy-Bidimaon “Nature and Politics in Africa: SomeEnvironmental Considerations.” The Nathan I.Huggins Lecture was given by the sociologist anddemographer Richard Alba of the University atAlbany, SUNY. This marked the first year that someoneoutside the discipline of History had given theHuggins Lecture. Alba’s topic, “Blurring theColor Line: Possibilities for Ethno-Racial Change inEarly 21st Century America” addressed issues ofsocial transformation in the United States,particularly ethnic and racial changes underway andtheir effect on the job market in the decadesahead. Few of us in the audience will forget Alba’sdiscussion of what he termed the “Obama factor.”Probably the greatest highlights for me werethe conferences that the Du Bois Institute helped tosponsor in partnership with other campus andoutside organizations. Since I made introductions onbehalf of the Institute, I attended these conferences,receiving in return a broad education (the conferencestruly captured the diasporic nature of theblack experience) and also a deeper appreciation ofthe crucial role of the Du Bois Institute in speakingto many different constituencies. For example,in March I went to the Ifa Oracle Conference,convened by Professor Jacob Olupona, Chair of theCommittee on African Studies at Harvard. Theconference was a global event, attracting personsfrom Harvard, the Yoruba community in6