February 12, 2025 • 29 mins
Did you know that African American soldiers have fought in every major U.S. conflict since the American Revolution? In honor of Black History Month, host Blanca Quezada sits down with Dr. Michelle Tovar, Director of Education at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, to explore the rich history of Black military service—and why it’s a story that needs to be told.
Dr. Tovar shares the fascinating origins of the Buffalo Soldiers, the challenges these soldiers faced, and how their legacy continues today. Learn how Frederick Douglass played a role in recruiting Black soldiers for the Civil War, how women like Cathay Williams disguised themselves as men to serve, and why Afro-Latino soldiers are often overlooked in history books.
Visitors to the museum can experience an incredible collection of artifacts, uniforms, documents, and artwork, plus interactive exhibits that bring history to life. The museum is also working on an expansion that will highlight diverse perspectives, including the Afro-Latino experience and the role of women and LGBTQ+ soldiers.
Want to visit or learn more?
Check out special Black History Month events, including a virtual talk on Black Marines at Iwo Jima, a live script reading from Scriptwriters Houston, and a book talk on Harriet Tubman’s life.
Plan your visit at https://buffalosoldiersmuseum.org or call 713-942-8920.
Key Topics Covered:
- The Buffalo Soldiers' Legacy – Who they were, how they got their name, and their impact on U.S. history.
- Frederick Douglass & The Civil War – How he encouraged Black men to enlist and claim their place as citizens.
- The Role of Women in the Military – Stories of Cathay Williams (the first female Buffalo Soldier) and other women who disguised themselves as men to serve.
- Afro-Latino Contributions – The Black Seminole Scouts, Afro-Latino soldiers like Tuskegee Airman Esteban Hotes, and how their history is being preserved.
- Artifacts & Exhibits – What visitors can see at the museum, including uniforms, weapons, documents, and artwork.
- Museum Growth & Future Plans – How the museum is expanding to include a bilingual experience, more diverse stories, and a brand-new exhibit by 2026.
- Special Events & Educational Programs – School tours, Black History Month celebrations, and free virtual talks on untold military stories.
This episode is a must-listen for history lovers, educators, and anyone looking to deepen their understanding of African American and Latino military history.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
If you check out our website under education, the tab, we
do have several resources. And one of the things we have going on
right now is that we have funding available for teachers,
for schools to come to the museum, and we're able to reimburse
their transportation. We're able to cover the admission, and
we provide lunch and snacks for the student, and we're able to
(00:22):
do activities with them and send them home with the museum souvenir.
And that's a really great opportunity for schools that, you know, I know right now
budgets are being cut everywhere, but we're able to
provide that if a if a teacher's interested.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Spotlight Houston, where we
(00:45):
bring you the best people, places, and events in Greater Houston. In honor
of Black History Month, we're exploring the rich and often overlooked
history of African American soldiers in The US Military. Did you know
that black soldiers have fought in every major war since the American Revolution?
Today, we're diving into the incredible stories of the Buffalo Soldiers, their
legacy, and the impact of black and Afro Latino service members throughout
(01:08):
history. Joining us is doctor Michelle Tovar, director of
education at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum. She'll take us through the
museum's fascinating exhibits, the untold stories of black and Latino
soldiers, and exciting plans for a bilingual expansion.
Plus, we'll hear about the special events happening at the museum this month,
including a virtual talk on black marines at Iwo Jima, a live
(01:30):
script reading event, and a book talk on Harriet Tubman's legendary
life. This is episode one twenty four, with an original air
date of Monday, 02/10/2025. Spotlight Houston is
brought to you by Storyzone Media. And now here's your host, Blanca
Quesada. As all of you know by now,
February is Black History Month. And
(01:52):
Houston has a lot of locations right now where
they're having events or festivals or
something in honor of Black History Month. And so
I hope you've been making plans to attend as many as
possible, but make sure that you include in your list
the Center for African American Military History, also
(02:14):
known as the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
because it is very interesting. It's a place where
you learn how African Americans have played a
major role in contributing to this country's
military history and just making a huge difference.
And and it's the museum will highlight
(02:37):
from the beginning of the American revolution to
present day. And amazing history there. Amazing.
So so, basically, to tell us more about this
very special museum, which, I really want you to
know about. I've asked doctor Michelle Tovar,
director of education, to join me to discuss what we
(02:59):
can expect to see and learn when we do visit. And
there's a lot. Let me tell you. There is a lot. Hi, Blanca. How are
you? Doing great. So, Michelle, welcome to the show. First
of all, why was it so important to create this
museum and who came up with this great idea? Yes.
So this museum, Buffalo Soldiers National Museum has been around about
(03:21):
twenty plus years now. We'll be celebrating next year,
our twenty fifth, I believe. If I'm wrong, my, my boss will
probably hear this and be like, you should have known. But this museum
was founded by Captain Paul Matthews, who
had pretty much a, he was a Vietnam veteran and he pretty much
had this love to, to connect to
(03:43):
history. He, he built a collection and was drawn to the
story of the Buffalo Soldiers, which was a,
group of men that were after the civil war in
1866 were established by the United States government into
different, groups, the ninth and tenth Calvary and the twenty fourth
and twenty fifth infantry. And so because of this history
(04:04):
that isn't talked about, isn't really well known. He was really
interested in collecting and trying to teach people
through objects, what this history was about. So
eventually he collected so much that his wife pretty
much told them, you need to get these things out of my house. And so
with that, he worked to get the museum started with
(04:26):
colleagues and friends of his. And they built the museum, I think
originally was in closer to the Museum District, which it was
on Southmore. And it was a small home, that he converted
into a museum. And eventually they ended up buying the building
where we are at now off of Caroline and
Alabama. And it's a beautiful building. Yes. It's a very beautiful building
(04:48):
that was that has recently been restored through the work that our
CEO is doing to raise money to get the building up to par and make
sure that we are there for a while. But the museum moved there, and
if if you've never been to the museum, you'll see that there is a
vast collection of different I'm gonna say the plains wars,
Indian wars period up until the present. And the museum
(05:09):
currently ends at the Gulf war. But when I was
hired on last, well, actually two years ago, we wanted to
be more forward thinking and talk about present day
conflicts. And we wanted to focus on the inclusivity
of the indigenous experience back during the Indian wars. We
also wanted to be more conscious of women's roles, right? And during
(05:31):
these periods, because women were incredibly important in
every part of the American war history and also the
LGBTQ community, right? Now that we're more in present day, that is also something
that we want to connect to connect to our communities. And so it is slowly
evolving, right? The museum has established a
wonderful foundation in our, in the black African American
(05:53):
community. Right? And we want to expand this
audience, our audience that we, know that are going to museums
like Latinx students, students of different backgrounds. We want them to
connect also to this history. And we're doing that by
becoming in the next year or two of bilingual
museum that will be able to be accessible for Spanish speaking
(06:15):
families and students, anyone from that community. Yeah. We
really need to, as different cultures, connect with each
other. Of course. First of all, we're human beings. Yes. And a lot of
times we're put in the same type of positions or situations
like people in the military. Exactly. What I've found
interesting is that how did the
(06:37):
African American men join the
civil war and the American revolution when
they were slaves? I mean, were they treat still treated
as slaves when they were enlisted? Well, we
know that, during the civil war, Frederick Douglass is a
very key important key figure right of that time. He
(06:59):
put out in his newspaper calling men to
join. Right. He wanted men to understand the importance
of supporting the war in order to show that they
themselves were citizens, right. That they themselves could be a part of
American history and everything. So his encouragement is what
brought on a lot of these men. I believe that by that
(07:21):
time, a 80,000 African American men had joined the
union during the civil war. Yes. And so it's a very
important history again that we don't really highlight in schools. And the
museum does want to also have students understand those key
figures like Frederick Douglass, like W. E. Du Bois. And a lot of
the women are also missing, right? Like in our, in the future, we want
(07:43):
to highlight also Ida B. Wells, who was a very important figure in
during world war one because of her influence
of speaking up about what these men black men
were going through. Right? Because, yes, the men were a
part of the military, right, to show
patriotism, to show courage. But at the same time, a lot of these men, when
(08:04):
they returned back home faced a lot of racial violence
and many people don't know that, or it hasn't been talked
enough. Yeah. Right now I can't recall her name,
but she did a lot for the military and
she's recognized for, I think I'm trying to
remember her name, but she became a spy. Oh, were
(08:27):
are you regard Cathay Williams? Is that who you're referring to? No.
No. No. That's a word thinking of a our woman that we I'm not sure.
I'm sure there was a lot of women who were spies. Truman, I think, is
her name. What's her last name? Say it one more time. I wasn't sure. Or
Tubbs, Truman, or Oh, I'm not sure. I think she became a
spy during the civil war. Okay. I'll have to look into it then.
(08:49):
I can't recall at this moment, but yeah, there was a lot of women who
were involved during that time who, who obviously could not
participate as a woman, but instead had to dress as
men. I mentioned Cathay Williams because she is someone that we highlight
in the museum. She was known as the only Buffalo Soldier who
was a woman. She went by William Cathay and
(09:11):
she dressed like a man, but unfortunately she
got sick during the time that she was in her service. And she was found
out that she was a woman and discharged from the army.
So, so what I think would be interesting to
know is how so many men and women
were able to join these wars when they were
(09:33):
in, I don't know, plantations. They had owners.
So how is it that they were able to go? Well,
once the enslaved people were freed, many of
them did travel to different parts of the country. Many
had finally decided to be they saw themselves as freed men and women,
but they also wanted to see themselves as citizens as part of
(09:55):
society. And as I mentioned earlier, that's why many of the people
did go into the role of the military to to show that they
could serve right for the country. But also they would gain
education for being a part of this, being part of the military. They gained many
benefits in in the sense of showing that they could also be a part of
that. Like a white man would be a part of it. Yeah. Okay. When we
(10:17):
focused on the Buffalo Soldiers, we do show that a lot of these
men were a part of the military, had established families,
but also traveled around the country to different parts. Right. And their main
job was to help protect landowners. Right?
Like ranchers, help help create railroads, help to be a part
of the services around. And unfortunately, a lot of these men were also
(10:40):
part of during the Indian wars of the removal of the Indians,
which is which was a genocide at the time. Yeah. But they
also became integrated with the indigenous peoples.
They did. Yes. And there's a wonderful story that we do
highlight about the black Seminole Indian Scouts who
were enslaved people that came through Florida, up through
(11:02):
Oklahoma. They were part of the trail of tears. They met with
indigenous people, met with enslaved people. They traveled
to Oklahoma through to Texas and then eventually ended up
in Nacimiento, Mexico. And so that's, yeah, that's a
really important thing about our museum is that we're starting to connect the stories
to our different cultures. Right? So there is currently an
(11:25):
Afro Mexican community in Mexico, right? A
very vibrant one that celebrates Juneteenth. Right.
And they talk about their history and the black Seminole Indian
Scouts had history in Brackettville, which is in West Texas. And
they had a language called the Gullah language that many of people
there are trying to preserve because it's something that, you
(11:48):
know, it was a part of their, community. And unfortunately, as time
passes young people, if you don't teach them, they're not gonna learn. They're trying
to preserve that. And so we do highlight their story because these
men were very important to the Buffalo Soldier history. Yeah.
Well, one thing that that I haven't asked is how did they
get the name Buffalo Soldiers? So there are many theories.
(12:10):
Many people think that it came from an indigenous group. We don't
necessarily know who we could have been, the Cheyenne, the Apache, or the
Comanche, because those were many of the tribes that they did encounter.
But one theory is that the men's color of their skin,
right, their texture of their hair was, a representation
of similar to the way the Buffalo soldier Buffalo, excuse me, had
(12:32):
the main, the sacred man. It's very curly. And of course the Buffalo
was of a, darkish brown kind of tone. Right? So some people
think that that the indigenous groups may have seen these men and
thought, oh, they remind us of a Buffalo, but also it was
possibly because of the fierceness of how these, soldiers fought
compared to the Buffalo as well-being a fierce creature.
(12:55):
So there are, there are theories, but nothing is set in stone. We haven't,
we are, myself and my colleagues at the museum have been researching to figure out
is there, any documentation? We did find one
documentation, but it's through the perspective of a wife, a white
woman from who her husband told
her about the Buffalo Soldiers, but it was a bit
(13:17):
explicit and not very nice. And so we don't go on with
it. So, so African
Americans that have been in different, wars throughout
the years, why are they still referred to as Buffalo
Soldiers? So the the name Buffalo Soldier
actually stopped being used during the Korean War when,
(13:39):
the arm the army became well, the military became, desegregated.
However, because of there is a legacy, many of these,
black military, men and women have found pride in
continuing to live that legacy on by calling themselves that.
But now you have many chapters around the country that
are significant to the Buffalo Soldiers. They might be they might
(14:03):
not necessarily be veterans. It might be just community people who want
to continue that legacy and teach about the Buffalo Soldier
history, but it's not necessarily used in the military
anymore. Mhmm. What can we expect to
see at the museum when we walk in? Yes.
So when you walk in, we're still stuck a little bit in the past.
(14:24):
Right? We did. But the museum has a beautiful collection
of, objects, as I mentioned before, that go through a
timeline of the buffalo soldiers from the frontier times
to present day. So you'll be able to see objects that
are either through documents, right? Paper form or through physical
objects that were part of that time. One object
(14:47):
that I really love is in the is actually a recent thing
that was established. It's actually a uniform from one of, it's a
replica of the uniform of one of the women that were part of the six
triple eight. And that if you on Netflix, that is
a movie that just recently came out and it talks about the story of a
battalion that was created to help sort mail right
(15:08):
during world war two, pretty much because a lot of the men during that time
were not receiving their mail. And so these women were
put together, I believe, oh, I can't remember the number up here, but it
was a very large group about, maybe they're gonna,
my, my colleagues are gonna be like, you should have known. It is a very
large number of women that were together who were a part of this battalion,
(15:30):
who helped provide communication between soldiers, their families,
and others. So because of that suit being there,
I think it's important for people to see that women were part of World War
II history. When you see World War II history, when you read about it,
definitely guys, right? And we're out there doing it too. And they were
training hard and they did a lot of great work. They became
(15:52):
mechanics. Exactly. And all kinds of things. They were
Correct. And so, you mentioned artifacts. Just like do you
have, like, rifles and other things like
that? Yes. We do have rifles, and we have currently right now, we
have an exhibit that was created by my colleague, Kale Carter,
who is the director of exhibitions that's focused on the Buffalo division,
(16:14):
which is the ninety third infantry that he was
able to highlight these men during world war one and
world war two. And we have replicas of what
arms they would have used during that time. We also have a
helmet that you would have seen during that period during world war
one. And also what's really great is that we also find
(16:36):
texts that highlight these men and their stories. And
so you'll see, you'll be able to see books from that period where they highlight
a lot of these men's names. Do you also have artwork?
We do have some pieces. Yes. I we know that, our that captain
has collected some pieces throughout his time that
focus on the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. Very beautiful pieces
(16:59):
that have been created, I believe, by local community artists. You were talking
about a lot of these, soldiers going into Mexico.
So do you have a a special
section that highlights the Afro
Latino history? Not yet. That is my job.
So what we're doing as we haven't quite put it out there, but the
(17:21):
museum will be doing renovations and we will
be having a brand new exhibition in 2026. As I
mentioned, it will be bilingual in English and Spanish, and we will be
high highlighting those Afro Latino stories. For example, one of the
Tuskegee Airmen, his Esteban Hotez was a Dominican.
And so not many people know that. Not many people know that an Afro
(17:44):
Latino was a part of that history. Right? And so he's not the only
one. I just mentioned the six triple eight, the women, but the
battalion, there was an Afro Mexicana in that group. And there was
others as well, Puerto Rican as well. And so these are the stories that
we need to take out, right? They themselves identified
as black at the time, but they were of Latino descent as
(18:06):
well. And so that's why we thought it was very important to have the
museum be in English and Spanish, because we want people to come
and read and get to see the stories of these men and
women, and connect to them. Do you have any special program coming
up or events that will celebrate, black
history month? Yeah. So the museum will be hosting for black history month,
(18:28):
several events, February 13 from three to 4PM. We're
hosting a virtual talk called Black Sands to Black Marines,
the black units participating in Iwo Jima. So this will give
everyone a kind of a highlight, a history of an untold story
of these men who were at the battle of Iwo Jima during world war
two. That will be led by my colleague, Kale Carter, who
(18:50):
will, it will be virtual. So if you register online, we will send you a
link it's free and open to the public. We also will be
hosting next week, a event that's in partnership with script
writers, Houston, and it's a way to celebrate black history
month through storytelling. And the act two,
this is our first time hosting this, incredible event in which
(19:12):
people who were called to submit proposals and
scripts for the, activity. And so what's great about it is
that these, directors, actors, writers
connected to the museum's history and then wrote plays about
it. And so they're going to perform the plays at the museum based
on what they learned from the museum itself. And that is a ticketed
(19:34):
event. It will be $5 for children and and 15 for
adults. And seniors, students, teachers, and military are $10.
And one of our last events is also a book talk with doctor
Ada l Fields Black on February 22.
And she's going she talk about her book that she recently wrote about
Harriet Tubman's Tubman, excuse me, legendary life.
(19:57):
And so it's an incredible book. That's who I was thinking of
that name. Harriet Tubman. Yeah. Is I knew that she
had become a spy. Yes. So we do find the other things that she
did. Yeah. We used to have a really great reenactment
program in which we did highlight Harriet Tubman's history in her life.
Our museum is now moving to a living history
(20:19):
component, which is more about being interactive
with a period and a time. Right. Understanding from a
historian, what this person would be experiencing during that
period. And so we usually have objects that are a
part of it in which students and young people, we really want them to kind
of be hands on and grab the objects and ask questions. And it's
(20:41):
really great when the living historians can connect it back to the past
and the present, which is really amazing because kids, their minds get blown away.
Yeah. That does sound like an amazing experience. Yeah. Yeah.
So do you have tour guides that can explain
what's what's in the exhibits? Yes. So because the museum
is going to be going through renovations, we did stop our docent led
(21:04):
tours. So right now, we have self guided tours, and we're able to
provide everyone with either a brochure that they can hold or they can
pull it up on their phones, and walk through the museum space and
read through the content in the brochure. If there is a specialized
tour, we always request people to send us an email and they can find us
on our website and send an email and express to the
(21:26):
specialized tour that they're requesting. Do you happen to have any
stories that you can share maybe from some of the historians,
the difference that the museum is making now within the
community and how it can also, I'm assuming
that you're highlighting some of the heroes that
we've never heard of. Yes. So I think one of the
(21:49):
greatest, projects that we're doing now with myself and my colleague,
Jason Fung, who's the archivist of the museum is we're trying to
create an archive for oral history. And I
bring that up because we don't have oral histories that many of Korean
and Vietnam Veterans. So we're trying to reach out to the
community. Hopefully some folks listening to this
(22:11):
podcast can think of some veterans in mind that
maybe we be willing to share their stories
because we don't have that. Now it's important to have that
many people should be aware that these stories live on
and we want the next generations to learn from them. Right? What did
these men and women face during their time in the military?
(22:34):
How did their families react to their experience? It's kind of like
taking a glimpse back into time, right? Through one, one person's
perspective. And we think it's incredibly important to do that. We're
here to protect your story, and we wanna use your story to teach
other people about the experience. Right. We wanna know you.
Exactly. Right. And also, do you have
(22:55):
educator resources? We do. We if you check out our
website under education, the tab, we do have several
resources. And one of the things we have going on right now is that
we have funding available for teachers, for schools
to come to the museum, and we're able to reimburse their
transportation. We're able to cover the admission, and we
(23:17):
provide lunch and snacks for the student, and we're able to do
activities with them and send them home with the museum souvenir. And
that's a really great opportunity for schools that, you know, I know right now budgets
are being cut everywhere, but we're able to provide that
if a, if a teacher is interested. The maximum number of students is only
40 because our museum is a bit small. So we don't want about
(23:39):
300 kids in there, and we want to make sure we can. Yeah. Yeah. So
how can we contribute to make the museum grow?
Yes. I mean, I think supporting, not even monetary, just
supporting by word-of-mouth by saying, hey, I visited this museum.
It's great. Even what you're doing right now, Blanca, this is fantastic because
you're putting the museum out there. Right? Again, not not many people know
(24:02):
we're there, but we're able to now to tell people and teach people
about this history. Come by, visit, ask questions,
send us emails. If you ever have a question or a connection to your story,
we really appreciate that. In the next coming months, this summer, we're gonna
be hosting a very large Juneteenth event at the
museum in which, as I mentioned, the living history historians
(24:24):
will be there. They're going to set up an encampment in which
people can walk through, ask questions, see how it was during
that period. And it's going to solely be focused on the USCT,
which is the United States colored troops, that timeframe, because that is
the timeframe in which Juneteenth occurred during, here in The United States.
And so we're also gonna bring in panelists to talk about this
(24:47):
history and in a way also demystified Juneteenth.
Right? Many people have one perspective of Juneteenth, but like I
shared with you earlier, even the folks in NACI MENA,
Mexico have a story, right? So we want to definitely tie
this together and have people understand that this is not just the
story of African Americans of black people. It's also the
(25:09):
story of us, humans, right? A human experience.
Yeah. So we'll have the opportunity to walk back in time.
Yes. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. That's going to be fun. Oh,
definitely. Yes. You have to come back and talk to us about that. I will.
So at this time, are you taking any volunteers Or
We we well, we always are open for volunteers. We're also open
(25:32):
to, in the future, have a docent core program.
So please keep a lookout on our website. We are not taking
any interns this semester because as I mentioned, we are gonna be going into the
renovation soon, but we do like to invite interns of
different backgrounds. It doesn't need to be history or museum studies
because we want to open our doors to different college students.
(25:54):
Please reach out to us specifically myself and, work with us.
We've had a great group of students come through from
TSU HCC from U of H. Yeah. It's been great working
with them because we get to share our knowledge with these students. Yeah. Well, Michelle,
what is your website address and a phone number if people
wanna get more information? We are located, at
(26:16):
buffalosoldiersmuseum.org. We are located in
at 3816 Caroline Street, which is in Midtown
across the street from HCC. Our phone number is
(713)
942-8920. And if anyone has
any questions about education programs, they can reach me at
michelle.tobar@buffalosoldiersmuseum.org.
(26:39):
I hope that people go and visit your website. Yes. At
and because there's so so much information there. And
you're definitely gonna wanna know everything you possibly can maybe before
before you go to the museum. That way you'll know what you're looking at and
you you can have more questions to ask and,
and definitely have a lot of fun. So I understand that it's
(27:02):
also a rental venue that that Yeah.
You can still can they still do that? Yeah. I believe offered
to maybe the May. People will be able to do
rentals, and I suggest contacting Ethel Grant. She's on our
website. She's the director of operations who's in charge of the space. It's
a very beautiful gallery. We've had weddings, festivals,
(27:25):
hopefully in the next month or two, we're gonna be hosting the Houston Poetry
Festival there in partnership with them. It's a wonderful space.
Well, doctor Michelle Tumark, I have been so excited to have
you here. Oh, thank you. I'm so glad you could join me. So thank
you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Blanca. And, thank you for letting
us know what all we can expect to see and do
(27:47):
at the museum of the Buffalo Soldier Museum. And
it's also, as mentioned earlier, it's a national
museum. Yes. Mhmm. And and we don't have too many national
museums here in Houston. Not too many. So so, yeah, let's
go and support it and have fun and learn a
lot about our history. So and so, of course, I'd like to
(28:10):
thank you all as well for joining me, for this edition
of Spotlight Houston. And please send me your
comments. And if you have any story ideas, also,
please let me know.
If you check out our website under education, the tab, we
do have several resources. And one of the things we have going on
right now is that we have funding available for teachers,
for schools to come to the museum, and we're able to reimburse
their transportation. We're able to cover the admission, and
we provide lunch and snacks for the student, and we're able to
(00:22):
do activities with them and send them home with the museum souvenir.
And that's a really great opportunity for schools that, you know, I know right now
budgets are being cut everywhere, but we're able to
provide that if a if a teacher's interested.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of Spotlight Houston, where we
(00:45):
bring you the best people, places, and events in Greater Houston. In honor
of Black History Month, we're exploring the rich and often overlooked
history of African American soldiers in The US Military. Did you know
that black soldiers have fought in every major war since the American Revolution?
Today, we're diving into the incredible stories of the Buffalo Soldiers, their
legacy, and the impact of black and Afro Latino service members throughout
(01:08):
history. Joining us is doctor Michelle Tovar, director of
education at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum. She'll take us through the
museum's fascinating exhibits, the untold stories of black and Latino
soldiers, and exciting plans for a bilingual expansion.
Plus, we'll hear about the special events happening at the museum this month,
including a virtual talk on black marines at Iwo Jima, a live
(01:30):
script reading event, and a book talk on Harriet Tubman's legendary
life. This is episode one twenty four, with an original air
date of Monday, 02/10/2025. Spotlight Houston is
brought to you by Storyzone Media. And now here's your host, Blanca
Quesada. As all of you know by now,
February is Black History Month. And
(01:52):
Houston has a lot of locations right now where
they're having events or festivals or
something in honor of Black History Month. And so
I hope you've been making plans to attend as many as
possible, but make sure that you include in your list
the Center for African American Military History, also
(02:14):
known as the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
because it is very interesting. It's a place where
you learn how African Americans have played a
major role in contributing to this country's
military history and just making a huge difference.
And and it's the museum will highlight
(02:37):
from the beginning of the American revolution to
present day. And amazing history there. Amazing.
So so, basically, to tell us more about this
very special museum, which, I really want you to
know about. I've asked doctor Michelle Tovar,
director of education, to join me to discuss what we
(02:59):
can expect to see and learn when we do visit. And
there's a lot. Let me tell you. There is a lot. Hi, Blanca. How are
you? Doing great. So, Michelle, welcome to the show. First
of all, why was it so important to create this
museum and who came up with this great idea? Yes.
So this museum, Buffalo Soldiers National Museum has been around about
(03:21):
twenty plus years now. We'll be celebrating next year,
our twenty fifth, I believe. If I'm wrong, my, my boss will
probably hear this and be like, you should have known. But this museum
was founded by Captain Paul Matthews, who
had pretty much a, he was a Vietnam veteran and he pretty much
had this love to, to connect to
(03:43):
history. He, he built a collection and was drawn to the
story of the Buffalo Soldiers, which was a,
group of men that were after the civil war in
1866 were established by the United States government into
different, groups, the ninth and tenth Calvary and the twenty fourth
and twenty fifth infantry. And so because of this history
(04:04):
that isn't talked about, isn't really well known. He was really
interested in collecting and trying to teach people
through objects, what this history was about. So
eventually he collected so much that his wife pretty
much told them, you need to get these things out of my house. And so
with that, he worked to get the museum started with
(04:26):
colleagues and friends of his. And they built the museum, I think
originally was in closer to the Museum District, which it was
on Southmore. And it was a small home, that he converted
into a museum. And eventually they ended up buying the building
where we are at now off of Caroline and
Alabama. And it's a beautiful building. Yes. It's a very beautiful building
(04:48):
that was that has recently been restored through the work that our
CEO is doing to raise money to get the building up to par and make
sure that we are there for a while. But the museum moved there, and
if if you've never been to the museum, you'll see that there is a
vast collection of different I'm gonna say the plains wars,
Indian wars period up until the present. And the museum
(05:09):
currently ends at the Gulf war. But when I was
hired on last, well, actually two years ago, we wanted to
be more forward thinking and talk about present day
conflicts. And we wanted to focus on the inclusivity
of the indigenous experience back during the Indian wars. We
also wanted to be more conscious of women's roles, right? And during
(05:31):
these periods, because women were incredibly important in
every part of the American war history and also the
LGBTQ community, right? Now that we're more in present day, that is also something
that we want to connect to connect to our communities. And so it is slowly
evolving, right? The museum has established a
wonderful foundation in our, in the black African American
(05:53):
community. Right? And we want to expand this
audience, our audience that we, know that are going to museums
like Latinx students, students of different backgrounds. We want them to
connect also to this history. And we're doing that by
becoming in the next year or two of bilingual
museum that will be able to be accessible for Spanish speaking
(06:15):
families and students, anyone from that community. Yeah. We
really need to, as different cultures, connect with each
other. Of course. First of all, we're human beings. Yes. And a lot of
times we're put in the same type of positions or situations
like people in the military. Exactly. What I've found
interesting is that how did the
(06:37):
African American men join the
civil war and the American revolution when
they were slaves? I mean, were they treat still treated
as slaves when they were enlisted? Well, we
know that, during the civil war, Frederick Douglass is a
very key important key figure right of that time. He
(06:59):
put out in his newspaper calling men to
join. Right. He wanted men to understand the importance
of supporting the war in order to show that they
themselves were citizens, right. That they themselves could be a part of
American history and everything. So his encouragement is what
brought on a lot of these men. I believe that by that
(07:21):
time, a 80,000 African American men had joined the
union during the civil war. Yes. And so it's a very
important history again that we don't really highlight in schools. And the
museum does want to also have students understand those key
figures like Frederick Douglass, like W. E. Du Bois. And a lot of
the women are also missing, right? Like in our, in the future, we want
(07:43):
to highlight also Ida B. Wells, who was a very important figure in
during world war one because of her influence
of speaking up about what these men black men
were going through. Right? Because, yes, the men were a
part of the military, right, to show
patriotism, to show courage. But at the same time, a lot of these men, when
(08:04):
they returned back home faced a lot of racial violence
and many people don't know that, or it hasn't been talked
enough. Yeah. Right now I can't recall her name,
but she did a lot for the military and
she's recognized for, I think I'm trying to
remember her name, but she became a spy. Oh, were
(08:27):
are you regard Cathay Williams? Is that who you're referring to? No.
No. No. That's a word thinking of a our woman that we I'm not sure.
I'm sure there was a lot of women who were spies. Truman, I think, is
her name. What's her last name? Say it one more time. I wasn't sure. Or
Tubbs, Truman, or Oh, I'm not sure. I think she became a
spy during the civil war. Okay. I'll have to look into it then.
(08:49):
I can't recall at this moment, but yeah, there was a lot of women who
were involved during that time who, who obviously could not
participate as a woman, but instead had to dress as
men. I mentioned Cathay Williams because she is someone that we highlight
in the museum. She was known as the only Buffalo Soldier who
was a woman. She went by William Cathay and
(09:11):
she dressed like a man, but unfortunately she
got sick during the time that she was in her service. And she was found
out that she was a woman and discharged from the army.
So, so what I think would be interesting to
know is how so many men and women
were able to join these wars when they were
(09:33):
in, I don't know, plantations. They had owners.
So how is it that they were able to go? Well,
once the enslaved people were freed, many of
them did travel to different parts of the country. Many
had finally decided to be they saw themselves as freed men and women,
but they also wanted to see themselves as citizens as part of
(09:55):
society. And as I mentioned earlier, that's why many of the people
did go into the role of the military to to show that they
could serve right for the country. But also they would gain
education for being a part of this, being part of the military. They gained many
benefits in in the sense of showing that they could also be a part of
that. Like a white man would be a part of it. Yeah. Okay. When we
(10:17):
focused on the Buffalo Soldiers, we do show that a lot of these
men were a part of the military, had established families,
but also traveled around the country to different parts. Right. And their main
job was to help protect landowners. Right?
Like ranchers, help help create railroads, help to be a part
of the services around. And unfortunately, a lot of these men were also
(10:40):
part of during the Indian wars of the removal of the Indians,
which is which was a genocide at the time. Yeah. But they
also became integrated with the indigenous peoples.
They did. Yes. And there's a wonderful story that we do
highlight about the black Seminole Indian Scouts who
were enslaved people that came through Florida, up through
(11:02):
Oklahoma. They were part of the trail of tears. They met with
indigenous people, met with enslaved people. They traveled
to Oklahoma through to Texas and then eventually ended up
in Nacimiento, Mexico. And so that's, yeah, that's a
really important thing about our museum is that we're starting to connect the stories
to our different cultures. Right? So there is currently an
(11:25):
Afro Mexican community in Mexico, right? A
very vibrant one that celebrates Juneteenth. Right.
And they talk about their history and the black Seminole Indian
Scouts had history in Brackettville, which is in West Texas. And
they had a language called the Gullah language that many of people
there are trying to preserve because it's something that, you
(11:48):
know, it was a part of their, community. And unfortunately, as time
passes young people, if you don't teach them, they're not gonna learn. They're trying
to preserve that. And so we do highlight their story because these
men were very important to the Buffalo Soldier history. Yeah.
Well, one thing that that I haven't asked is how did they
get the name Buffalo Soldiers? So there are many theories.
(12:10):
Many people think that it came from an indigenous group. We don't
necessarily know who we could have been, the Cheyenne, the Apache, or the
Comanche, because those were many of the tribes that they did encounter.
But one theory is that the men's color of their skin,
right, their texture of their hair was, a representation
of similar to the way the Buffalo soldier Buffalo, excuse me, had
(12:32):
the main, the sacred man. It's very curly. And of course the Buffalo
was of a, darkish brown kind of tone. Right? So some people
think that that the indigenous groups may have seen these men and
thought, oh, they remind us of a Buffalo, but also it was
possibly because of the fierceness of how these, soldiers fought
compared to the Buffalo as well-being a fierce creature.
(12:55):
So there are, there are theories, but nothing is set in stone. We haven't,
we are, myself and my colleagues at the museum have been researching to figure out
is there, any documentation? We did find one
documentation, but it's through the perspective of a wife, a white
woman from who her husband told
her about the Buffalo Soldiers, but it was a bit
(13:17):
explicit and not very nice. And so we don't go on with
it. So, so African
Americans that have been in different, wars throughout
the years, why are they still referred to as Buffalo
Soldiers? So the the name Buffalo Soldier
actually stopped being used during the Korean War when,
(13:39):
the arm the army became well, the military became, desegregated.
However, because of there is a legacy, many of these,
black military, men and women have found pride in
continuing to live that legacy on by calling themselves that.
But now you have many chapters around the country that
are significant to the Buffalo Soldiers. They might be they might
(14:03):
not necessarily be veterans. It might be just community people who want
to continue that legacy and teach about the Buffalo Soldier
history, but it's not necessarily used in the military
anymore. Mhmm. What can we expect to
see at the museum when we walk in? Yes.
So when you walk in, we're still stuck a little bit in the past.
(14:24):
Right? We did. But the museum has a beautiful collection
of, objects, as I mentioned before, that go through a
timeline of the buffalo soldiers from the frontier times
to present day. So you'll be able to see objects that
are either through documents, right? Paper form or through physical
objects that were part of that time. One object
(14:47):
that I really love is in the is actually a recent thing
that was established. It's actually a uniform from one of, it's a
replica of the uniform of one of the women that were part of the six
triple eight. And that if you on Netflix, that is
a movie that just recently came out and it talks about the story of a
battalion that was created to help sort mail right
(15:08):
during world war two, pretty much because a lot of the men during that time
were not receiving their mail. And so these women were
put together, I believe, oh, I can't remember the number up here, but it
was a very large group about, maybe they're gonna,
my, my colleagues are gonna be like, you should have known. It is a very
large number of women that were together who were a part of this battalion,
(15:30):
who helped provide communication between soldiers, their families,
and others. So because of that suit being there,
I think it's important for people to see that women were part of World War
II history. When you see World War II history, when you read about it,
definitely guys, right? And we're out there doing it too. And they were
training hard and they did a lot of great work. They became
(15:52):
mechanics. Exactly. And all kinds of things. They were
Correct. And so, you mentioned artifacts. Just like do you
have, like, rifles and other things like
that? Yes. We do have rifles, and we have currently right now, we
have an exhibit that was created by my colleague, Kale Carter,
who is the director of exhibitions that's focused on the Buffalo division,
(16:14):
which is the ninety third infantry that he was
able to highlight these men during world war one and
world war two. And we have replicas of what
arms they would have used during that time. We also have a
helmet that you would have seen during that period during world war
one. And also what's really great is that we also find
(16:36):
texts that highlight these men and their stories. And
so you'll see, you'll be able to see books from that period where they highlight
a lot of these men's names. Do you also have artwork?
We do have some pieces. Yes. I we know that, our that captain
has collected some pieces throughout his time that
focus on the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. Very beautiful pieces
(16:59):
that have been created, I believe, by local community artists. You were talking
about a lot of these, soldiers going into Mexico.
So do you have a a special
section that highlights the Afro
Latino history? Not yet. That is my job.
So what we're doing as we haven't quite put it out there, but the
(17:21):
museum will be doing renovations and we will
be having a brand new exhibition in 2026. As I
mentioned, it will be bilingual in English and Spanish, and we will be
high highlighting those Afro Latino stories. For example, one of the
Tuskegee Airmen, his Esteban Hotez was a Dominican.
And so not many people know that. Not many people know that an Afro
(17:44):
Latino was a part of that history. Right? And so he's not the only
one. I just mentioned the six triple eight, the women, but the
battalion, there was an Afro Mexicana in that group. And there was
others as well, Puerto Rican as well. And so these are the stories that
we need to take out, right? They themselves identified
as black at the time, but they were of Latino descent as
(18:06):
well. And so that's why we thought it was very important to have the
museum be in English and Spanish, because we want people to come
and read and get to see the stories of these men and
women, and connect to them. Do you have any special program coming
up or events that will celebrate, black
history month? Yeah. So the museum will be hosting for black history month,
(18:28):
several events, February 13 from three to 4PM. We're
hosting a virtual talk called Black Sands to Black Marines,
the black units participating in Iwo Jima. So this will give
everyone a kind of a highlight, a history of an untold story
of these men who were at the battle of Iwo Jima during world war
two. That will be led by my colleague, Kale Carter, who
(18:50):
will, it will be virtual. So if you register online, we will send you a
link it's free and open to the public. We also will be
hosting next week, a event that's in partnership with script
writers, Houston, and it's a way to celebrate black history
month through storytelling. And the act two,
this is our first time hosting this, incredible event in which
(19:12):
people who were called to submit proposals and
scripts for the, activity. And so what's great about it is
that these, directors, actors, writers
connected to the museum's history and then wrote plays about
it. And so they're going to perform the plays at the museum based
on what they learned from the museum itself. And that is a ticketed
(19:34):
event. It will be $5 for children and and 15 for
adults. And seniors, students, teachers, and military are $10.
And one of our last events is also a book talk with doctor
Ada l Fields Black on February 22.
And she's going she talk about her book that she recently wrote about
Harriet Tubman's Tubman, excuse me, legendary life.
(19:57):
And so it's an incredible book. That's who I was thinking of
that name. Harriet Tubman. Yeah. Is I knew that she
had become a spy. Yes. So we do find the other things that she
did. Yeah. We used to have a really great reenactment
program in which we did highlight Harriet Tubman's history in her life.
Our museum is now moving to a living history
(20:19):
component, which is more about being interactive
with a period and a time. Right. Understanding from a
historian, what this person would be experiencing during that
period. And so we usually have objects that are a
part of it in which students and young people, we really want them to kind
of be hands on and grab the objects and ask questions. And it's
(20:41):
really great when the living historians can connect it back to the past
and the present, which is really amazing because kids, their minds get blown away.
Yeah. That does sound like an amazing experience. Yeah. Yeah.
So do you have tour guides that can explain
what's what's in the exhibits? Yes. So because the museum
is going to be going through renovations, we did stop our docent led
(21:04):
tours. So right now, we have self guided tours, and we're able to
provide everyone with either a brochure that they can hold or they can
pull it up on their phones, and walk through the museum space and
read through the content in the brochure. If there is a specialized
tour, we always request people to send us an email and they can find us
on our website and send an email and express to the
(21:26):
specialized tour that they're requesting. Do you happen to have any
stories that you can share maybe from some of the historians,
the difference that the museum is making now within the
community and how it can also, I'm assuming
that you're highlighting some of the heroes that
we've never heard of. Yes. So I think one of the
(21:49):
greatest, projects that we're doing now with myself and my colleague,
Jason Fung, who's the archivist of the museum is we're trying to
create an archive for oral history. And I
bring that up because we don't have oral histories that many of Korean
and Vietnam Veterans. So we're trying to reach out to the
community. Hopefully some folks listening to this
(22:11):
podcast can think of some veterans in mind that
maybe we be willing to share their stories
because we don't have that. Now it's important to have that
many people should be aware that these stories live on
and we want the next generations to learn from them. Right? What did
these men and women face during their time in the military?
(22:34):
How did their families react to their experience? It's kind of like
taking a glimpse back into time, right? Through one, one person's
perspective. And we think it's incredibly important to do that. We're
here to protect your story, and we wanna use your story to teach
other people about the experience. Right. We wanna know you.
Exactly. Right. And also, do you have
(22:55):
educator resources? We do. We if you check out our
website under education, the tab, we do have several
resources. And one of the things we have going on right now is that
we have funding available for teachers, for schools
to come to the museum, and we're able to reimburse their
transportation. We're able to cover the admission, and we
(23:17):
provide lunch and snacks for the student, and we're able to do
activities with them and send them home with the museum souvenir. And
that's a really great opportunity for schools that, you know, I know right now budgets
are being cut everywhere, but we're able to provide that
if a, if a teacher is interested. The maximum number of students is only
40 because our museum is a bit small. So we don't want about
(23:39):
300 kids in there, and we want to make sure we can. Yeah. Yeah. So
how can we contribute to make the museum grow?
Yes. I mean, I think supporting, not even monetary, just
supporting by word-of-mouth by saying, hey, I visited this museum.
It's great. Even what you're doing right now, Blanca, this is fantastic because
you're putting the museum out there. Right? Again, not not many people know
(24:02):
we're there, but we're able to now to tell people and teach people
about this history. Come by, visit, ask questions,
send us emails. If you ever have a question or a connection to your story,
we really appreciate that. In the next coming months, this summer, we're gonna
be hosting a very large Juneteenth event at the
museum in which, as I mentioned, the living history historians
(24:24):
will be there. They're going to set up an encampment in which
people can walk through, ask questions, see how it was during
that period. And it's going to solely be focused on the USCT,
which is the United States colored troops, that timeframe, because that is
the timeframe in which Juneteenth occurred during, here in The United States.
And so we're also gonna bring in panelists to talk about this
(24:47):
history and in a way also demystified Juneteenth.
Right? Many people have one perspective of Juneteenth, but like I
shared with you earlier, even the folks in NACI MENA,
Mexico have a story, right? So we want to definitely tie
this together and have people understand that this is not just the
story of African Americans of black people. It's also the
(25:09):
story of us, humans, right? A human experience.
Yeah. So we'll have the opportunity to walk back in time.
Yes. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. That's going to be fun. Oh,
definitely. Yes. You have to come back and talk to us about that. I will.
So at this time, are you taking any volunteers Or
We we well, we always are open for volunteers. We're also open
(25:32):
to, in the future, have a docent core program.
So please keep a lookout on our website. We are not taking
any interns this semester because as I mentioned, we are gonna be going into the
renovation soon, but we do like to invite interns of
different backgrounds. It doesn't need to be history or museum studies
because we want to open our doors to different college students.
(25:54):
Please reach out to us specifically myself and, work with us.
We've had a great group of students come through from
TSU HCC from U of H. Yeah. It's been great working
with them because we get to share our knowledge with these students. Yeah. Well, Michelle,
what is your website address and a phone number if people
wanna get more information? We are located, at
(26:16):
buffalosoldiersmuseum.org. We are located in
at 3816 Caroline Street, which is in Midtown
across the street from HCC. Our phone number is
(713)
942-8920. And if anyone has
any questions about education programs, they can reach me at
michelle.tobar@buffalosoldiersmuseum.org.
(26:39):
I hope that people go and visit your website. Yes. At
and because there's so so much information there. And
you're definitely gonna wanna know everything you possibly can maybe before
before you go to the museum. That way you'll know what you're looking at and
you you can have more questions to ask and,
and definitely have a lot of fun. So I understand that it's
(27:02):
also a rental venue that that Yeah.
You can still can they still do that? Yeah. I believe offered
to maybe the May. People will be able to do
rentals, and I suggest contacting Ethel Grant. She's on our
website. She's the director of operations who's in charge of the space. It's
a very beautiful gallery. We've had weddings, festivals,
(27:25):
hopefully in the next month or two, we're gonna be hosting the Houston Poetry
Festival there in partnership with them. It's a wonderful space.
Well, doctor Michelle Tumark, I have been so excited to have
you here. Oh, thank you. I'm so glad you could join me. So thank
you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Blanca. And, thank you for letting
us know what all we can expect to see and do
(27:47):
at the museum of the Buffalo Soldier Museum. And
it's also, as mentioned earlier, it's a national
museum. Yes. Mhmm. And and we don't have too many national
museums here in Houston. Not too many. So so, yeah, let's
go and support it and have fun and learn a
lot about our history. So and so, of course, I'd like to
(28:10):
thank you all as well for joining me, for this edition
of Spotlight Houston. And please send me your
comments. And if you have any story ideas, also,
please let me know.
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