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Linking Africa with New England, Science with History, and the Past with the Present... Documenting Venture Smith is a two-day conference that is part of an ongoing project involving a revolutionary collaboration between some of the nation’s most highly-respected natural scientists, historians, anthropologists, genealogists, poets, actors, educators, media outlets, philanthropists and the general public, including many descendants of Venture Smith. Its goal is to bring to the public’s attention the life, times and accomplishments of an extraordinary yet little-known African American who died over two centuries ago.  Born around 1729 in West Africa and originally named Broteer Furro, Venture Smith (renamed Venture by his first owner) died in Haddam Neck, Connecticut in 1805. His Narrative is an extremely rare autobiographical window into one West African’s encounter with the Atlantic Slave Trade and the “middle passage” during the 18th century. It also vividly recounts the extraordinary challenges he overcame to free himself from slavery and to live as an equal American citizen. By the time of his death, Venture had become a highly respected merchant and landowner, a former victim of the African Slave Trade who had transformed himself into a stunning Revolutionary-era example of African-American accomplishment and independence.This project affords the unique opportunity of recovering the life, times and legacies of this inspiring individual. It works toward this goal by studying Venture in a manner that is unprecedented in its scale and its interdisciplinary approach. It involves intensive examination of his anthropological artifacts, Venture’s Narrative and the multitude of historical and genealogical sources that bear on his life. Of critical importance, it also employs the revolutionary techniques of genomic science to analyze and “map” the DNA of Venture and his family. Meshing DNA techniques and bone analysis in an investigation of the Venture Smith family gravesites, the project offers the scientifically most accurate approach yet devised for tracing family linkages across space and time. There are more than fifty direct descendants of Venture Smith living today, many of whom are actively involved in the project.
The Venture Smith project tightly connects past and present across generations. By recapturing Venture’s struggles for equality two centuries ago, it powerfully illuminates questions of human rights and democracy today. And since Venture’s story is emphatically one that affirms the democratic aspiration of the Declaration of Independence -- that “All Men [and Women] Are Created Equal”--, the project itself will likewise impart renewed commitments to find hope, inspiration and personal connection in the American past. This two-day conference will feature both oral and poster presentations on the life and times of Venture Smith and will include discussions on the Documenting Venture Smith Project from scientific, historical, artistic, and human rights perspectives. In addition to sessions held on Friday on the UConn Storrs campus, we will visit the Florence Griswold Musuem in Old Lyme for a poetry reading and viewing of the Freedom Business Exhibit by Maryilyn Nelson, Connecticut Poet Laureate. On Saturday we will continue our conference in East Haddam at the First Church of Christ Congregational, a 1794 architectual masterpiece and the gravesite of Venture Smith. There we will continue our exploration which will include reports on the cultural and archaeological finds of the project as well as family stories from descendants of Venture. |
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