(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.)  – Folk duo Magpie headlines a day-long program of music and dance performances, Civil War-era historical reenactments, speeches, recitals, artifact displays, book and memorabilia sales, and other activities commemorating the struggle to abolish slavery outside the Du Bois Center and Civil Rights Museum, 684 South Main Street, in Great Barrington on Saturday, June 15, 2013.

Scheduled for Juneteenth, the date after the end of the Civil War when some slaves were finally informed that slavery was officially ended in the United States, the festivities will mark the start of the region’s second annual Lift Ev’ry Voice celebration.

Some of the performers will include dance and drumming by the Youth Alive Step Team of Pittsfield; a concert of Civil War songs by Magpie; actor Steve Trimm as Ulysses S. Grant; author David Levinson talking about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment that was later immortalized in the movie “Glory”; historical re-enactor and artist Clifford Oliver Mealy recreating the life of a slave; writer and human rights activist Scott Christianson, author of Freeing Charles: The Struggle to Free a Slave on the Eve of the Civil War, addressing the struggle to end slavery today, and other performances by local musicians, poets, and activists. Books, CDs, posters and other Africana objects will also be on sale. Among the artifacts being displayed will be a contemporary drawing of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox as well as numerous relics from the Civil War era.

The events at the Du Bois Center will begin at 11 am and conclude around 4 pm.  Suggested admission is $10.

Lift Ev’ry Voice celebrates the diverse traditions of African-American community, arts and culture, history and heritage found within Berkshire County and across the nation.  The rich history of the African-American community in the Berkshires stretches from the War of Independence, which dozens of blacks from this region fought in, to the present day, including the second African-American female astronaut, Stephanie Wilson. Famous Berkshirites include such historic figures as the legendary writer and activist W.E.B. Du Bois; Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman, the first American slave to successfully sue for her freedom; and Reverend Samuel Harrison, who served as the black chaplain to the legendary African-American 54th Regiment of western Massachusetts in the Civil War.

For more information, contact the Du Bois Center, 413.644.9595