W.E.B. DuBois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a place that since his death wanted little to do with his legacy.

His mother, Mary Silvina Burghardt, was part of a small free black population in Great Barrington. His father, Tom Burghardt, earned his freedom as a private soldier.

The cum laude graduate of Harvard, earning a Bachelor's degree in 1890, was the first African American to earn a Ph.D from the institution and also the author of the pivotal "The Souls of Black Folk". DuBois, father of pan-Africanism, scholar, professor, founder of The Crisis and the NAACP, (I could go on), was shunned by the people of his birthplace.
For decades, since DuBois' death in Ghana in 1963, the civil rights activist and scholar has drawn praise for his writings but scorn from residents upset that he joined the Communist Party, became a citizen of Ghana and often criticized the United States over race relations, according to an AP report.

FBI agents and riot police guarded a park dedication to him more than 40 years ago. Efforts to name a school after him were blocked. Some residents saw him as the father figure of black radicalism, and they remained conflicted over his legacy and his relationship with his largely white town.

But now supporters say DuBois is finally getting his due.

His image will be featured in many of the town's birthday events for their 250th anniversary. A portion of the River Walk has been named in his honor, and the University of Massachusetts is embarking on a major restoration project of his boyhood homesite. In each case, the recent DuBois honors came with no resistance.

In the past five years, a new DuBois Center has opened next to his wife's burial site, and officials posted signs at the town entrance advertising it as his birthplace. Another visitors center with a gift shop is planned for downtown, and organizers are putting the finishing touches on a self-guided tour.

Some residents have taken the time to educate themselves on what DuBois accomplished, what he stood for and how his arguments, theories, essays and books paved the way for future activism in the African-American community. At one point, Albert Einstein met with him and concluded that racism was America's "worst disease."

Now residents who helped to block a school named in his honor and other attempts at maintaining his legacy are now welcoming his presence as a part of Great Barrington's history. They're late, of course, the rest of the world has been honoring him for decades, but I'm sure DuBois would welcome the change of heart.