In 1916, W.E.B. Du Bois convened a group of Black scholars and writers to discuss the issues of the day at Troutbeck, the Hudson Valley estate of NAACP cofounder Joel Spingarn.

Du Bois had intended the meeting to become a regular gathering, but he ultimately did not convene another such meeting at Troutbeck until 1933, which turned out to be the last.

Some 90 years later, Tufts University historians Kendra Field and Kerri Greenidge, along with Du Bois biographer David Levering Lewis, have sought to cultivate similar gatherings through The Du Bois Forum, a retreat for Black intellectuals, artists, and writers.

Now in its third year, the gathering seeks to “shape the future of Black intellectual and artistic traditions, serving as an incubator, a meeting place, and a resting place for scholars, writers, and artists,” said Field.

This year’s forum, scheduled for this weekend, unfolds in two parts. The first event will take place on Friday at Jacob’s Pillow, featuring a fireside chat with Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a roundtable discussion, dance performance, anda meal inspired by dishes and ingredients Du Bois is known to have enjoyed.

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