Uncrowned Community Builders

Mable Smith helped establish the Father Belle Center on Buffaloââ?¬â?¢s West Side and was a member of an African American family who came to the city to escape slavery. Her parents, Clement and Cornelia Smith, often recalled the story of how the family fled to freedom through the Underground Railroad to avoid captivity in Virginia. Mrs. Smith played a big part in fundraising for the Father Belle Center and Senior Citizens. Ms. Smith was 92 years of age at the time of her passing on January 24, 1998. She is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.