Buffalo Soldiers Get Congressional Recognition
“Each Spring these sons of slaves hiked hundreds of miles from San Francisco and Monterey to Sequoya, Yosemite and Kings Canyon serving in effect as our country’s first park rangers.” — Jackie Spier
This morning, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (San Francisco/San Mateo County) testified before a Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee. Speier’s bill, H.R. 4491, authorizes the National Park Service to study the role the African American regiments played in establishing the National Park System and to honor their legacy.”
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to begin to tell the world of the momentous contribution the Buffalo Soldiers have made to our country,” said Congresswoman Speier. “It is fitting, during Black History Month, that we take the first steps towards the rightful recognition of these soldiers. They were truly the first guardians of our National Parks, blazing the trails, building the roads and protecting the lands for visitors – they helped make the vision for our National Parks a reality.”
Also testifying before the Subcommittee is Stephen E. Whitesell, Associate Director, Park Planning, Facilities, and Lands for the National Park Service and Geneva Brett, Vice President, Los Banos Buffalo Soldiers Association from Los Banos, California.
Great news for the descendants and educators of the Buffalo Soldiers, such as Yosemite Ranger Shelton Johnson, who may now get an opportunity to honor the historical contribution of these unsung heroes with federal support.
please, please include this post in the DiS Carnival.
yes!
hi Rue,
I was given a Beautiful Blog Award. And now I would like to pass it on to you. Simply stop by my blog and it is yours. I wanted to share your blog with other.
Tonya
This great news. The Buffalo Soldier Museum is here in Houston. Everyone should visit it.
Thanks for sharing about the Museum — I had no idea!
Thank you Tonya — that is so nice and I appreciate you sharing the blog about the diary — a subject near and dear to my heart! Bless you
Hi Rue,
That is great news! I just included a link in my blog carnival post to a Buffalo Soldiers website.
Excellent Gloria! Thanks for spreading the word!
Keep telling that history:
Read the novel, Rescue at Pine Ridge, “RaPR”, a great story of black military history…the first generation of Buffalo Soldiers.
How do you keep a people down? ‘Never’ let them ‘know’ their history.
The 7th Cavalry got their butts in a sling again after the Little Big Horn Massacre, fourteen years later, the day after the Wounded Knee Massacre. If it wasn’t for the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, there would of been a second massacre of the 7th Cavalry.
Read the novel, “Rescue at Pine Ridge”, 5 stars Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the youtube trailer commercial…and visit the website http://www.rescueatpineridge.com
I hope you’ll enjoy the novel. I wrote it from my mini-series movie of the same title, “RaPR” to keep my story alive. Hollywood has had a lot of strikes and doesn’t like telling our stories…its been “his-story” of history all along…until now. The movie so far has attached, Bill Duke directing, Hill Harper, Glynn Turman and a host of other major actors in which we are in talks with…see imdb.com at; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925633/
When you get a chance, also please visit our Alpha Wolf Production website at; http://www.alphawolfprods.com and see our other productions, like Stagecoach Mary, the first Black Woman to deliver mail for Wells Fargo in Montana, in the 1890’s, “spread the word”.
Peace.
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