Enhancing the Buffalo Soldier legacy in the NPS inventory is an important and appropriate step. By virtue of the sites the agency manages and the stories it interprets and preserves the National Park Service is one of the largest stewards of African American history in the United States. From Civil War to Civil Rights and from the gallantry of the Tuskegee Airmen to the entrepreneurial prowess of Maggie Lena Walker, the National Park System continues to enhance public understanding of the African American experience. Buffalo Soldiers contributed mightily to our history by serving alongside their white counterparts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the first park rangers. They improved park infrastructure, protected park resources, and, in the case of one company from the 9th cavalry, spent the summer of 1903 road building in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park (CA) under the command of Lieutenant Charles Young, the third African American to graduate from West Point in the 19th century.

All those who care about the preservation of black history owe Congresswoman Jackie Speier a debt of gratitude for her work on behalf of the Buffalo Soldier legacy and we should all look forward to supporting Senator Feinstein in her efforts to successfully move S. 544 through Congress.

Alan Spears

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This is great news!

many of you are aware that it is the Los Banos Buffalo Soldiers Association that started the campaign to make the trails used by the Buffalo Soldiers from Monterey and San Francisco to Sequoia and Yosemite national Parks recognized as national Historical Trails.

Our activities caught the attention of Congresswoman Speier who invited us to come to D.C. and testify to a Congressional Subcommittee about the trail.

Senator Boxer has Authored a companion Bill which we can only hope will be passed soon.

These Bills bring us one step closer to making the trails designated as National Historical Trails.

Statement: Congresswoman Speier Celebrates House Passage of  Buffalo Soldiers Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo/San Francisco) today celebrated the passage of her bill, the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act, by the House of Representatives. Companion legislation is currently awaiting debate in the Senate. The legislation will authorize the Department of the Interior to study the role that African American soldiers played in establishing the National Park System, including Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.

“Locally, my hope is that this remarkable story is incorporated into lesson plans for children learning about our region,” said Speier. “We all learned in history class about the Spanish missionaries, the 49ers and the railroad barons. In more recent years, educators have stressed the history of local Native American tribes who made their home along what would later be known as San Francisco Bay. The sacrifices the Buffalo Soldiers made in service to our country should be added to that history.”

The Buffalo Soldiers were garrisoned at the San Francisco Presidio during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries under the command of Colonel Charles Young, an accomplished graduate of West Point who was the highest ranking African-American military officer of his time. He and his fellow troops came to San Francisco after successful campaigns in the Philippines and in the Spanish American War, where they gained legendary status as fearless fighters alongside Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. Among the duties assigned to the Buffalo Soldiers after their tours abroad was protecting Yosemite and Sequoia prior to the establishment of the National Park System.

The Buffalo Soldiers made substantial improvements to the parklands and also patrolled for loggers and poachers, a confrontational job under ordinary circumstances made especially risky by the racial tensions of the period. However, despite having to perform their duties under the constant specter of racism and discrimination, by many accounts they quickly earned the trust, respect and friendship of white settlers and landowners surrounding the parklands and became important members of the frontier communities they worked to protect.

To get to the parks, the soldiers left the Presidio in spring and headed south along El Camino Real through San Mateo County. It was a thirteen day trip covering 280 miles from San Francisco to Yosemite. The trek to Sequoia spanned 320 miles and took 16 days. The Native Americans they encountered nicknamed them “buffalo” soldiers in reaction to their dark skin and curly hair. The moniker was bestowed as a badge of honor to the troops, connoting bravery and a fierce fighting spirit.

The Buffalo Soldiers’ story has most recently been memorialized in Ken Burns’ documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Today, in addition to efforts by the National Park Service to document their work, numerous veterans associations and local groups around the country continue to pay tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers and their role in American history.

I sit here now thinking and writing my thoughts down on how I belong to an organization that is trying to do its part in making a change for our youth. I am 45 year old man that has two children that joined the Los Banos Buffalo Soldiers Association with me. Like many parents I believe in supporting my children in anything that they try to do. I believe in knowing about our history as a people. To try to go through life with appreciation and respect while having some sort of knowledge of our history to give them strength to move forward into the future. I’m proud of all my children, they’re great.

Monday my son marched in the Merced county MLK parade with Kevin Craig and Dave Ofwono, while my daughter and I stayed in the Merced fairgrounds Hall where the celebration was taking place and handed out informational pamphlets and spoke to many. I as a father helped, talked, and networked with other people and enjoyed a cool day out with the kids. They also enjoyed it.

As the parade participants returned to the hall at the Merced Fairgrounds, I watched with my daughter as people turned and looked at three men and a young kid in Buffalo Soldier uniform appeared through the door. People ooh’d, pointed, and flashed cameras as they came toward our table. Sitting there looking at so many make way as if movie stars were walking down the red carpet. Our guys were here and tomorrow’s young star, kevin Craig Jr. The media rushed over to interview Kevin Jr.
We stood and pledged our allegiance to our flag with all that were here. Stood up again for this and stood again for that. Songs were sung, speeches were read, praise dancing was performed, respect was given for those due. Pictures were taken over and over of this group called the Los Banos Buffalo Soldiers. For me as a man with two of my children, this day will be remembered and is instilled in our children as a day that was spent together remembering the focus of one man’s dream and the difference that he made today.