Venture Smith, a Black enslaved man who eventually bought his freedom and became a successful landowner and businessman in Connecticut in the 18th century, will be the focus of an upcoming virtual talk.

The virtual event featuring Connecticut-based historians takes place Tuesday, July 26, at noon and is part of the Connecticut Freedom Trail’s “Conversations at Noon” initiative. Register online at bit.ly/CFTVentureSmith.

East Haddam Town Historial Karl Stofko, an expert on Smith’s family genealogy, will discuss how he started the annual Venture Smith Day in September more than 25 years ago. Since then, the event has grown to encompass new scholarship and include newly discovered descendants of Smith.

Additionally, Stonington Historical Society Executive Director Liz Wood will talk about the new permanent exhibit on Smith at the society’s Lighthouse Museum in Stonington Borough. The display features new research on Smith and findings from an archaeological dig at a nearby site where Smith was enslaved. Writer Elizabeth Normen, founding publisher of Connecticut Explored history magazine and a board member of The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, will talk about making Smith’s 1798 autobiography accessible to teachers and grade school students to “engage more honestly in the history of the founding of Connecticut,” the event website says.

The Connecticut Freedom Trail “documents and designates sites that embody the struggle toward freedom and human dignity, celebrate the accomplishments of the state's African American community and promote heritage tourism, according to its website, ctfreedomtrail.org.