Every year, Liberty’s National Social Studies Honor Society celebrates Black History Month by hosting a presentation for its members.
This past Tuesday at lunch four officers of the Buffalo Soldiers of Fort Bakersfield gave a presentation about Buffalo Soldiers to approximately 100 members of the National Social Studies Honor Society in the campus Performing Arts Center.
The four officers who came to Liberty on Tuesday were Lieutenant General Dee Slade, who is Commanding Officer of the Buffalo Soldiers of Fort Bakersfield as well as executive director of the African American Network of Kern County; Major General W.A. Slade, who is in charge of communications, history and development; Brigadier General I. Sandifer, who is in charge of community awareness-outread events, education programs and podcast; and Brigadier General Charles Everly, who is in charge of community events and engagement. The Bakersfield organization was established in 1994 by the group’s retired Commandant A.W. Lee.
Before beginning the presentation, Brigadier General Charles Everly asked the students if they had heard of the Buffalo Soldiers and the Tuskegee Airmen.
There is “history you may not be aware of,” he said, explaining the importance of the Buffalo Soldiers, who were African-American cavalry troops who served in the U.S. Army from 1866 to 1918. He also touched on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military aviators who served during World War II and who were trained at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama.
“These were amazing people doing amazing things,” Brigadier General Charles Everly said of the airmen who served as allied bomber escorts.
Social studies teacher Amanda Brummer said, “NSSHS was so fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn about the Buffalo Soldiers and their significant contributions to the history of our nation. I love that the members of the Buffalo Soldiers of Fort Bakersfield helped make this history real for our students with the powerful stories and images they shared with our students.”