Music was used by the enslaved and the emancipators to express thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. The importance of music to the abolition and Civil Rights movement was, and is, significant. Max Alden Smith will provide background on a selection of songs sung by enslaved Black Americans and by abolitionists at antislavery meetings. Smith will also perform the songs as he had done often for programs at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum. Max Smith is a founder and co-chair of the Annual Peterboro Emancipation Day held at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark the first Saturday of August. Smith is a member of the Cabinet of Freedom, the governing board of the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum and is a former mayor of the City of Oneida, NY. Smith is descended from enslaved families who came to Peterboro, New York, and his rich and passionate musical voice is regarded highly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l82amdJsIcw
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