I have written about the Buffalo Soldiers before, but I recently ran across this video about those famous all-black U.S. Army units that came into being after the Civil War during the period of intense westward expansion of this country in the late 19th century.
The video is from the Texas State Parks and Wildlife Department and is about a small group of people, three to be exact, who are charged with keeping the story of the Buffalo Soldiers alive in the state of Texas. You will meet one of the three who are involved in this effort in the video.
This is one of those stories that is often not told in current school curriculums. In the vast and complex arena of history it may seem like a small story to some. For others, it is deeply important as it is something unique to their own story. But in reality, it is important to all of us as Americans, because it teaches us about ourselves, our strengths, our failings and our rising above the things that try to keep us down in one way or another.
This story is connected to every American. It is connected to everybody’s story as Americans. It is a chapter in the 245-year history of our nation in its sometimes flawed, but always hopeful attempts, to be the freest nation on Earth.
As the English writer and poet John Donne put it, “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea Europe is the less, as well as if a promentory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of your own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
This story befits that wisdom. None of us has done anything completely on our own; we have had the help, the lessons, the strength, and the prayers of those who went before us and of those who surround us today.
This story has a noble and lasting legacy for African Americans and for all Americans. It is a story about the love of freedom, about courage and determination against great odds. It is about universal human dignity and nobility. It is the kind of story we can all take pride in, if we can come to see it as our own.
The more we share our stories, the more they become a part of our shared story, our shared history and our shared humanity as Americans, as citizens of a country that is the “home of the free and the brave. This is a human story. It is, like all human stories, packed with tragedy, bravery and triumph. It is about who we have been and who we are. By embracing it, and all of the other American stories, we become more fully citizens of this grand and noble experiment in human self-government and human freedom.
The state of Texas’ Parks and Wildlife Department is fulfilling its duty to tell the American story in all of its many layered and multi-faceted glory. We thank them for doing this and helping to keep the rich stories of our history before the people of Texas.
Learn more in the video below.