BATH — In a nod to Black History Month, Historic Bath Site will host a lecture by local author Amanda Hilliard Smith Saturday morning.

Smith recently published “The Williamston Freedom Movement”, a book that focuses on civil rights activities in Martin County from 1957 to 1970. The lecture is scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. A limited number of books are available in the Historic Bath gift shop and Smith will sign copies after the lecture, according to site manager Leigh Swain.

“We’re excited that a local teacher has done this research,” Swain said. “It’s not about Bath, but Martin County is just down the road.”

Smith is a social studies teacher at Beaufort County Early College High School in Washington, and she was named the N.C. National History Day Teacher of the Year and N.C. History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Swain said that other Beaufort County Schools teachers of social studies on the middle school and high school levels can attend the lecture and receive credit toward their recertification.

Martin County captured the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1963, and fifteen white ministers were dispatched to Williamston that November in an attempt to bring media attention to the town’s legacy of voting rights and a history of violence. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and interest in Williamston waned.

Smith’s book delves into the local civil rights movement and includes a collection of 19 interviews of both the black and white communities.

“I’m sure that the energy and creativity she has used in the classroom will be evident in the way she presents this material,” Swain said of Smith. “She has helped us here at Historic Bath in a volunteer role in a number of different ways. She was a character in our ghost walk, she made rope during Bath Fest and she has assisted us in other ways, so it’s fun to have her here for this lecture.”

Space for the event is limited to 60 people, and seating is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The event is free but donations to the Historic Bath site are welcome. Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

For more information about this and other special events hosted by Historic Bath Site, call 252-923-3971 or visit www.bath.nchistoricsites.org.