2004-07-10
AMERICAN HISTORY || AFRICAN AMERICANS
Buffalo Soldiers | The USA Civil War saw over 180,000 black Americans fight to eradicate slavery and help the Northern Armies in their efforts to keep the nation one. Over 30,000 of them died. After that War, black men in the US Military faced an uncertain future until COngress enacted into law the creation of two cavalry units and four infantry units. The mounted regiments became known as Buffalo Soldiers
~so named by the Cheyenne and Comanche warriors against whom they sometimes fought.
Throughout the rest of the 19th Century these brave and valiant men (and a few women) fought in battles without recognition from American military leadership or the general population of the nation. But their efforts toward helping the nation grow were in more endeavors than war-making. The ranks of soldiers also helped map the western part of the continent, string telegraph lines, build forts and frontier outposts, and protect the crews building the railroads.
In exchange, light skinned Americans of European ancestry heaped upon them the poisons born from living out prejudice and bigotry. A payback that, even today, sometimes extends its reach to keep the less advantaged from being a part of the larger society. Make one wonder when things will ever change.
other sites of interest about African-Americans
buffalo soldiers.net | Not the easiest site to navigate, but extensive collection of pix and story links
On the Western Front
African American Military History | Benny McRae's History from Crispus Atticus to Colin Powell
Afro-American History | Indomitable people surviving the diaspora; an impressive and extensive site of links
AFSCME's Memphis: We Remember | the 1968 Sanitation Worker's Strike; Rev. Martin Martin Luther King's "I have been to the mountaintop" speech
Harlem Renaissiance | A University of Michigan exhibit currently on display
Remember, this list is not meant to be comprehensive; Get down to your local public library and find out more!
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Buffalo Soldiers | The USA Civil War saw over 180,000 black Americans fight to eradicate slavery and help the Northern Armies in their efforts to keep the nation one. Over 30,000 of them died. After that War, black men in the US Military faced an uncertain future until COngress enacted into law the creation of two cavalry units and four infantry units. The mounted regiments became known as Buffalo Soldiers
~so named by the Cheyenne and Comanche warriors against whom they sometimes fought.
other sites of interest about African-Americans
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