| |
Otis Williams isn't one to let history fade, especially his own. Williams is a living-history exhibitor who portrays a Buffalo Soldier, a member of the all-black army regiments formed after the Civil War. In doing so, he taps into his own history. Two of his great great uncles were 9th Calvary Buffalo Soldiers.
"I'm actually teaching my family heritage," said Williams, "To me it's like I won the lottery. When I start talking about this history, I get excited." For Williams, who once considered himself the least likely of historians, it's also a homecoming. The Harrison High School graduate has never presented in Colorado Springs. He remembers a Harrison history teacher telling him he could get an A if he applied himself. He scoffed at the idea then. "Now I'm teaching history," he laughed. |
THE STORY |
Six Buffalo Soldier units were created in 1866 when the army reorganized into a peacetime army, said Capt. Paul J. Matthews, founder and executive director of the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston. There were about 5,000 soldiers initially, he said. Buffalo Soldiers served through World War II. The soldiers received their name from Cheyenne warriors, because of their aggressive fighting style, Matthews said.
It's those tidbits of information Williams hopes to convey during his stint at the university, where he will eat, sleep and live the life of a Buffalo Soldier. The event is free and open to the public, said Carey Williams, marketing director at Colorado Tech. "We wanted to make it educational, something the community could come and share in," she said. "The reason I'm here is to not only honor the Buffalo Soldiers, but to explain what Juneteenth is also about," he said.
Juneteenth, a nationwide celebration, commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the United States. The exhibit is a culmination of 13 years of work for Williams, who found out about the Buffalo Soldiers after going on a trail ride sponsored by Prairie View A & M University in Texas. The headmaster of the ride asked Williams if he wanted to join the Texas Buffalo Soldiers group, a community outreach program sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
"I didn't know who they were at the time," he said. He's since researched the soldiers, even traveling to Washington, D.C., to learn more. He discovered his family bond to the Buffalo Soldiers after mentioning his interest in the soldiers to an aunt: He was told two of his great-great uncles were soldiers. Bill Williams and Charles Williams were members of the 9th Calvary formed out of New Orleans, which Otis Williams now represents. |
Otis carries on Charles' name as his middle name. Williams, who is retired from the U.S merchant mariner now devotes his time to educating others about the soldiers. Clients generally must book him for a week because of the time it takes to set up his camp, although he does do shorter history pieces on occasion.
|
Wife
B. J. Williams, and grandson Joseph McGee, 12, are with him.
B. J. Williams will also re-enact history from a female perspective during the exhibit, and Joseph will provide information to visitors. "It shows people a part of their history, a lot of the history that's lost," B.J. Williams said of the exhibit. Matthews, of the Buffalo Soldier National Museum, said this type of
reaction is common, especially in its approach to the subject. "It's much easier to teach history through demonstration than to read a book," he said.
|
| Note: Juneteenth started in Galveston Texas, no other state had the rights to take part in the ceremony, Texas was the last state to be free, this is were Juneteenth started. June 19th 1865 two years after the emancipation of slave in other state. |
|
|
