Most of the
great myths of the American West were born following the end of the Civil
War in 1890. Imagination was captured by the deeds of cowboys,
homesteaders, outlaws, cavalrymen and great Native American chiefs and
warriors such as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Cochise, and Geronimo. The
history of that era and the legends that followed from it continue to
fascinate us, but some of the most important participants are strangely
missing: the Black men and women who were an integral part of the
"Wild West." These Black men rode the range as cowboys and built
homesteads on the Prairie. They shot it out with the bad guys as
United States marshals and robbed and killed as outlaws.
By the time the Indian Wars were over, both Black and Native Americans had
lost. Even in defeat, they suffered no disgrace. In the face of
the government's determination to drive them to the finger of society, they
often acted with incredible heroism and an integrity that deserves our
honor.
Reference: Cox, Clinton. The
Forgotten Heroes: The Story of the Buffalo Soldiers.
New York: Scholastic, Inc. 1993.
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