---
title: "Expressing support for the designation of April 10, 2022 as \"Venture Smith Freedom Day\"."
identifier: "117-HRES-1044"
congress: 117
bill_number: 1044
bill_type: "HRES"
version_code: "ih"
version_type: "Introduced in House"
bill_url: "https://chamberzero.com/congresses/117/bills/hres/1044"
source: "https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/1044"
site: "Chamber Zero"
site_url: "https://chamberzero.com"
rendered_at: "2026-06-04T04:16:00.218Z"
---
Whereas, in about 1729, Venture Smith was born free in West Africa and, in 1739, was seized from his home and enslaved in New England;Whereas 257 years ago, in the year 1765, Venture Smith, at the age of 36, purchased his freedom;Whereas Venture Smith went on to free his family from the bondage of slavery;Whereas Venture Smith became a successful landowner, businessman, and author in the United States, generations before Black Americans began to obtain constitutional, legal, social, and economic rights;Whereas, in November 1798, Venture Smith was the first African American to write and publish his own autobiography;Whereas Venture Smith was the first person to write and publish the phrase, "My freedom is a privilege which nothing else can equal";Whereas Venture Smith died a free man on September 19, 1805, in Connecticut; andWhereas April 10 would be an appropriate date to designate as "Venture Smith Freedom Day": Now, therefore, be itThat the House of Representatives supports the designation of "Venture Smith Freedom Day", which would recognize the 257th anniversary of Venture Smith purchasing his freedom and going on to become a landowner, businessman, and author in Connecticut.