Black Influence Everywhere: A Reflection on the Lives of Harrison, Du Bois, and Van Der Zee
Is it the place, the time, or the convergence that compels people to do extraordinary things? I found myself pondering this question during a quiet afternoon volunteering at the Samuel Harrison Society House in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. As I waited for visitors, I immersed myself in a book detailing the heritage of African Americans in the Upper Housatonic Valley. This region has nurtured individuals of national and international significance. Among them: Samuel Harrison, a preacher and Civil War advocate; James Van Der Zee, a photographer and artist; and W.E.B. Du Bois, a sociologist and social activist. As I sat in Harrison’s historic home, I felt as though I were in dialogue with these men. I wondered whether they had ever met. What might a conversation among them have sounded like in 1895? Harrison would have been 77, Du Bois 27, and Van Der Zee just 9 years old. Their lifespans collectively span 165 years, bridging the 19th and 20th centuries and embodying distinct waves of B...