New York State Secretary Walter Mosley visits Du Bois Centre in Accra

New York State Secretary Walter T Mosley visited the W E B Du Bois Centre in Accra, Ghana, in September 2026 as part of a series of stakeholder meetings coordinated by Maurice Cheetham of Diaspora Bridge Consulting. During a private tour, he viewed the Centre's photograph exhibit and document preservation lab.

He then met with leadership of the W E B Du Bois Museum Foundation to discuss connecting the Foundation with New York foundations, business leaders, and government networks to support its fundraising for a world-class Du Bois museum complex.

Where W E B Du Bois Spent His Final Years in Ghana

The W E B Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture, known to most visitors simply as the Du Bois Centre, sits on First Circular Road in Cantonments, a short walk from the US Embassy in Accra. Dr W E B Du Bois lived in the house here during the last years of his life, and his tomb is on the grounds, where he is buried alongside the ashes of his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois.

Du Bois, the scholar and civil rights leader often called the father of Pan-Africanism, was 93 when he moved to Ghana in 1961 at the invitation of President Kwame Nkrumah. Nkrumah asked him to lead the Encyclopedia Africana, a project to document the history and achievements of African people. Du Bois became a Ghanaian citizen and continued working until his death in Accra on August 27, 1963, one day before the March on Washington.

Walter Mosley's Private Tour of the Du Bois Centre in Accra

For Secretary Mosley, the visit to the Du Bois Centre connected closely to his own work. He chairs the New York State Commission on African American History, and he minored in African Studies and African American History at Penn State.

Maurice Cheetham, founder of Diaspora Bridge Consulting, coordinated the visit. His Accra-based firm connects diaspora leaders with government, traditional, business, and cultural institutions in Ghana. Meeting key stakeholders was one of the Secretary's main goals for the trip, and Cheetham built the Du Bois Centre visit into a program that also included meetings with civic, business and community leaders in Accra.

Because the Du Bois Centre campus is under renovation, the house where Du Bois lived was closed to visitors. Instead, Secretary Mosley was escorted on a private tour of the Centre's photograph exhibit and its book and document conservation lab.

The exhibit, titled "The Final Chapter: The Du Boises in Ghana," follows the life of W E B Du Bois and Shirley Graham Du Bois, from his years as a scholar and editor in the United States to their final years in Accra. In the conservation lab, papers, books, and records connected to the Du Boises are cared for so they remain available to future students and researchers.

President Jerry John Rawlings opened the Du Bois memorial on June 22, 1985, after Du Bois's remains were moved there from Christiansborg Castle in Osu. Four decades later, the site is being renovated, and much of the work of protecting the Du Bois legacy in Ghana now takes place in its archives and conservation lab.

Walter Mosley Meets With the W E B Du Bois Museum Foundation

After the tour, Secretary Mosley met with Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director of the W E B Du Bois Museum Foundation, the nonprofit leading the redevelopment of the Du Bois Centre. Formed in 2019, the Foundation works with the Government of Ghana to turn the memorial into a W E B Du Bois museum complex with a library, museum, conference center, art theater, and guest accommodation. Board members have already contributed to restoring Du Bois's house, and the next phase depends on a wider fundraising campaign.

Diaspora Bridge Consulting arranged the meeting to focus on practical ways New York could support the Foundation's work. The discussion centered on how the New York State Secretary could help connect the Foundation with New York philanthropic foundations that fund history, education, and preservation; business leaders and diaspora investors with ties to Ghana; and government and civic networks across New York State with an interest in partnerships in Africa.

The ties between New York and the Du Bois legacy run deep. Du Bois built much of his career in New York City, where he helped found the NAACP in 1909 and edited its magazine, The Crisis, for more than 20 years. The Foundation's partnership agreement with the Government of Ghana was also signed in New York City, in 2021.

Visiting the W E B Du Bois Centre in Accra

The Du Bois Centre remains one of Accra's most important heritage sites for visitors from the African diaspora and a key stop for anyone tracing Pan-African history in Ghana. As the Foundation works toward a full Du Bois museum, support from travelers, donors, and public officials like Secretary Mosley will help shape its future.

Visit the W E B Du Bois Centre: No. 22 First Circular Road, Cantonments, Accra. The campus is currently under renovation, so check which areas are open before you go. Typical hours are Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM, and Saturday, 10 AM to 3 PM.