February 18, 2004
-xb B lack H istory M onth W
s p e c ia l
coverage.
Page A 3
Black Soldiers in Defense of America
Calvery units
roamed the
Western Frontier
States.
The 9* and IO“1 Black Calvary
More than 25,000African-Ameri Regiments and the 24'*' and 25'*’ Black
can soldiers m ade up the 9‘h and 10“1 Infantry R egim ents were im m edi
Calvary units and the 24th and 25th ately em ployed, along with Teddy
R o o s e v e lt’s
Rough Riders.
Editor's note: Thefollowing is part
B la c k u n its
o f a continuing Black History
fo u g h t h ero
Month series on African Ameri
ic a lly in the
cans in the U.S. military.
B attle o f Los
by R on W eber
G uasim as.atEl
T he P ortland O bserver
C aney and on
African-American soldiers in the
San Juan Hill.
U.S. m ilitary have been honored for
During the tak
bravery since the founding o f the
ing o f the hill at
Republic.
S an
Ju a n ,
The first A frican-A m erican sol
b la c k tro o p s
dier to receive the M edal o f Honor
a d v a n c e d in
was Sergeant Emanuel Stance. The
front o f white
M e m b e r s o f th e U. S . 1 0 th Calvary, c o m p o s e d en tirely o f A frican A m e ric a n s, c a m p e d o u t in S id n e y
honor was bestow ed in 1870 for his
soldiers shoot
N
.Y. in 1 9 1 1 .
use o f m ilitary flanking maneuvers,
ing at the Span
along with his bravery in battle.
ish , p u ttin g
From the end o f the C ivil W ar to
th eir liv es in
* * A II classes are free o f charge!
around 1890, the Buffalo Soldiers,
p e r i l
c o m p o se d e n tire ly o f A fric an
R o o s e v e lt
A m ericans, roam ed the W estern
com plim ented
Frontier, earning their nam e from
th e
b la c k
the Indians w ho noted their curly
u n it’s bravery
Presents for your health,
hair and unshakable bravery. The
an d th e n r e
soldiers gained national attention
canted it, fear
and many m edals for their abilities.
ing the w hite
A m onum ent dedicated to the G en. Colin P ow ell s p e a k s o f th e g re a t p rid e h e
soldiers might
Buffalo Soldiers opened in 1992 at
h a s o f follow ing in th e fo o ts te p s o f th e B u ffa lo
look like cow
Aerobics
Salsa
Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Gen. Colin
ards.
S oldiers.
Mallory Ave. Christian Church
Salvation
Arm y
Powell, w ho was the C hairm an o f
He
con
Mon, Wed, Fri, 6-7am , Pierce • 5:30-6:20pm ,
•the Joint C hiefs o f S taff at the tim e, Infantry Regiments. Battling for d e cocted a lie to argue that he had to
Mon, 6:30-7:30pm , Henry
spoke on the great pride he had in cades against hundreds o f thou shoot at the backs o f black soldiers
Granville • 6:30-7:30pm . Nickerson
follow ing in the footsteps o f these sands o f N ative A m ericans and
Humboldt Elementary
to get them to jo in the assault on the
Stretching/Body Sculpting
brave soldiers.
M exicans the B uffaloS oldierskept hill; a tale that both black and white
Tue, Thu, 6-7pm , Keller
M att Dishman
Henry O ssian Flipper was the the w estern frontier as safe as cou Id soldiers alike knew was not true.
Tue, Thu, 7-8am , Lois
be under the circum stances.
John L. Pershing, the com mander
Low Impact Aerobics
If not for the B uffalo Sol o f the 10th Calvary, put the im por
Daniel’s Memorial Church
Tai Chi
diers the loss o f life and prop tance o f the A frican-American regi
Tue, 7 :15 -8 :15pm, Granville
Salvation Arm y
erty forthe white settlers would m ent in perspective when he was
Wed.
6:30-7:30pm , Lyles
have been a lot w orse than it quoted as saying “W e officers o f
W
a
te
r
Aerobics
(Contact
AAHC)
actually was. The black |-----
Salvation Arm y
man was a feared oppo
nent for N ative A m eri
M att Dishman
Peninsula Park
cans. Black w as a color
Sat, 12:30pm, Woods
m any Indian w arrio rs
African Dance
painted them selves b e
M att Dishman
W eight Mgnt./Conditioning
fore o r afte r a battle.
Sat, 10-1 lam , Addo
U. of Portland Indoor Track
T hose who did w ell in
Tue,
Thu, 9 - 1 Oam, Hasan
battle w ere m arked in
Body Conditioning
black as heroes.
W ild Oats Market
Since the tim es o f the
Yoga
L ew isandC lark E xpedi
Sat, 9 :3 0 -10:30am, Nickerson
W ild Oats Market
A cto r H a sa n D avis portra ys York
tion in the early 1800s,
Tue, Thu, 7:3O-8:3Opm, O’Rourke
th e L ew is a n d Clark ex p ed itio n .
the natives looked up to
the black man. W hen
Daniel’s Memorial Church, 1234 NE Killingsworth Matt Dishman, 77 NE Knott
first black graduate o f W est Point W illiam Clark brought his
and an officer in the regular Army. slave Y ork through Indian
(12th & Killingsworth)
Peninsula Park, 700 N Portland
Flipper fought for four years with co u n try , w arrio rs tried to
Humboldt Elementary, 4915 N Gantenbein
Salvation Army, 5325 N Williams
the IO1" C alvary in the W est, a de wash o ff the black on Y ork’s
H enry O ssia n Flipper w a s th e first
Mallory
Avenue
Christian
Church
(Gym),
126
NE
II. of Portland Indoor Track, 500 N W illam ette
cade after the Civil War.
skin. A s it would not com e
b la c k g r a d u a te o f W e s t Point.
^•»erta
Wild Oats Market, 3535 NE 15th
Racism reared its ugly head when off, they believed he w as not
Flipper was falsely charged with only the leader o f the expedition the 10th Calvary could have taken
“em bezzling public funds,” and but also the bravest man they had our black heroes into our arms.
Must be 21 or older to participate. Please contact AAHC before showing up to the first class and for
forced out o f the m ilitary. Often ever seen. York was also extrem ely They fought their way into our af
more information at 503-413-1850 or kdempsey@aahc-portland.org. Please receive approval from your
successful black businessm en or tall and m uscular w hich added to fections and into the hearts o f the
doctor before beginning exercise class.
m ilitary personnel were subjected his legend am ong N ative A m eri A m erican people.”
to such treatm ent. Flipper becam e a cans.
W hen the black soldiers returned
successful engineer, used his skills
A fter the battleship “M aine” was home, many w ere met by celeb ra
R a c ia l a n d E th n ic A p p ro a c h « « to C o m m u n ity H e a lth
in Spanish to help interpret impor- sunk in the harbor at H avana in tions in their honor. H ow ever some
A Program of the African American Health Coalition. Inc
> tant land docum ents, and helped February 1898, with both black and w ere assaulted or killed by jealous
Sponsored by the Centers tor Disease Control and Prevention (CDC|
build a railroad to in Alaska.
w hite soldiers on board, the call w hites who would not adm it the
came to give more respect and honor black soldier was every bit as good
Contact AAHC at 503-413-1850 or visit our web site at wwwaahc-pordand.org
to A frican-A m erican soldiers.
as a white soldier in com bat.
/x \
African American Health Coalition, Inc.
Wellness W ith in REACH Activity C alendar
« ¿ I
rite „
S e r g e a n t E m a n u e l S ta n c e w a s
th e first A frican-Am erican
so ld ie r to re c e iv e th e M ed a l o f
H onor in 1 8 7 0 .
Sadly, it w ould be a hundred
y ea rs before the U nited States
A rm y reversed its stand and gave
F lip per an honorable discharge
posthum ously. The action m eant a
lo tto African A m ericans in civilian
life, public careers, and military ser
vice.
M uch o f our nation does not
have a full understanding o f how
pivotal the role o f the black soldier
w as in the expansion o f the United
Advertise with diversity
il!l P o r t l a n ò
(O b s e rv e r
( all 5O3-288-OO35
. n Is (n pt m landobsen et-.et >m
F acing C ha nge s - C hanging F aces
AGC
► O re g o n
C o lu m b ia
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A S 5 O C IA T IO G IN E W A l C O N riA C T O Itl
T o d a y ’s C o n s tru c tio n In d u stry, C h e c k It O u t.
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1-800 826-6610
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