Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) has
reintroduced the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study
Act (H.R. 520). The bill would commemorate the all-African-
American regiments of the U.S. Army who protected our National
Parks, including Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, at the
turn of the 20th Century. "The Buffalo Soldiers were true
pioneers who braved the Western frontier as well as the scourge
of racism as they fought for and served our country. The legacy
these regiments left us -- in California, and throughout the
United States -- is an important and often overlooked chapter in
our post-Civil War history. Their contributions deserve the
fullest recognition and need to be incorporated into the
educational programming at our National Parks." 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 m