The Alexandria Chapter of Buffalo Soldiers recently elected its 2010 – 2011 officers.

The officers are:

• Burnell (Eagle) Williams, president.
• Kelvin (K-Free) Freeman, vice president.
• Huey (Mac) McCoy, secretary.
• Daniel (Hacksaw) Dykes, treasurer
• Clifton (Jack) Jackson, business manager
• Joe (Pee-Wee) Lee,road captain
• Sgt. at Arms, Leroy (L-Dawg) Sanders

Few people know about the Spanish-American War of 1898. After Spain’s surrender in the The Treaty of Paris, the US empire expanded with the annexation of the Philippines. McKinley’s policy of Benevolent Assimilation was pitched under the cloak of uplifting and proselytizing the Filipino people, when really the US wanted to claim the rich islands’ resources. Also, in the midst of expandings its empire, the US also believed that the Filipinos were inherently inferior and therefore could not be capable of self-government.

In June 1899, corporal David Fagen, an African American soldier landed in the Philippines. Fagen was part of a group of deserts from four regiments of “Buffalo Soldiers,” 9th, 10th, 23rd, and 24th infantry. After fighting the Native Americans, they were deployed to the Philippines for the Spanish-American war. The War Department concluded that black soldiers were “naturally adapted to survive the tropical climate.”
At the same time, African-Americans were adjusting to post-Reconstruction, where they were still being treated as a second-class citizen. Even when they were overseas, blacks were still discriminated against. They were verbally abused and banned from entering “white only” establishments in Manila.

“The fates of African-Americans and Filipinos were bound by their common disenfranchisement.” -Ngozi-Brown

African-Americans in the Philippines were thus often aware of the brutal way white soldiers treated Filipinos and drew parallels to the oppression of blacks in the military and back home in the States. The black soldiers’ internal conflict made it conducive for the Filipino Nationalists to sow the seeds of the propaganda movement. The following note, allegedly written by Emilio Aguinaldo:

‘To the Colored American Soldier.’ It is without honor that you are spilling your costly blood. your masters have thrown you into the most iniquitous fight with double purpose–to make you the instrument of their ambition and also your hard work will soon make the extinction of your race. Your friends, the Filipinos, give you this good warning. You must consider your history, and take charge that the blood of Same Hose [an African-American brutally lynched and mutilated in Newnan, Georgia] proclaims vengeance.

Fagen joined the revolutionary army of Emilio Aguinaldo, the president of the first Philippine Republic. He became known as the “Insurecto Captain,” and was so notorious that a $600 price tag was put on his head. One of his most famous exploits was when he captured a steam launch, seized its cargo and guns, and swiftly retreated into the forests before American soldiers arrived.

Few people k

The sentiments of most Black soldiers in the Philippines is best summed up by Commissary Sergeant Saddler of the 25th infantry, “We are now arrayed to meet a common foe, men of our own hue and color. Whether it is right to reduce these people to submission is not a question for soldiers to decide. Our oaths of allegiance know neither race, color, nor nation.”

KU

Respect to all the Americans that were called, volunteered and compelled to fight for Freedom. Today is a day to say Thank You for your honor and courage.

Charles Foster Kane proves money and good intentions do not a hero make.

There’s nothing I love more than a really sneaky, unpredictable, hateful and delightfully ee-viyill* villain. Unless we’re talking about antiheroes. And if we are, well, that’s a horse — or should I say jackass? — of an entirely different color.

Few things are more intriguing than characters who do that wavering, drunken dance on the line between good and bad and seem to stumble onto both sides equally at random. Those are the people, the warts-and-all sorts, we root for because they are human in their imperfections. They are us, and us real-life dwellers can’t seem to resist seeing a bit of ourselves magnified and flung up on the silver screen.

Here’s a list of 10 antiheroes who’ve made me laugh, cry and feel guilty about liking them (just a tiny bit):

1. Charles Foster Kane, “Citizen Kane” — There are many who would argue that Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) is most certainly a champion of the common man. Look again. Whatever good Kane achieves, there’s always an ulterior motive lurking in the corner: greed, the desire for control, arrogance. His ability to wrap these flaws in the cloak of good intentions makes him the quintessential, iconic antihero.

2. Alex, “A Clockwork Orange” — C.F. Kane may be an antihero for the ages, but Alex (Malcolm McDowell), the focus of Stanley Kubrick’s highly disturbing “A Clockwork Orange,” is nipping right at his heels. Or pointing a gun to the back of his head, more like. A rakehell who swigs drugged milk and patrols the streets of futuristic Britain raping women and revelling in mayhem — what’s to like about a guy like this? Alex has a few redeeming qualities that nudge him away from “villain,” but not so many that they make him good. He’s an antihero for the annals.

There are nicer people than Dee Dee -- we call them "losers."

3. Dee Dee Truitt, “The Opposite of Sex” — When a narrator describes her mother as “a loser bitch” and seduces her gay brother’s boy toy, you know you’re not in for a heart-warming tale. Savage wit, anything-but-good intentions and snarky condescension are all we get from the unflappable Dee Dee Truitt (Christina Ricci), one of the pluckiest, snidest and most irresistible characters ever created.

4. Rob Gordon, “High Fidelity” — What can you say about a bitter, broke leading man (John Cusack) so self-absorbed he’d rather stew about failed relationships than pay attention to the woman who loves him? It wouldn’t be incorrect to use words like “conceited jerk” or even “rampaging jackass” to describe Rob, a record store owner who elevates wallowing in self pity into an art. He’s not a nice guy, or even a halfway decent one, but that’s exactly why he’s such a compelling character.

5. Lester Burnham, “American Beauty” — Kevin Spacey has made a great and acclaimed career out of playing himself playing people who, uh, seem a whole lot like Kevin Spacey. Lester Burnham, a lumpish, discontent and disengaged spectator in his own life, is no exception, but he is one of the sharpest characters Spacey’s put his sarcastic stamp on. When Lester finally jolts out of his coma, we’re cheering his efforts to embrace life. Or least buy a dime bag.

5. Danny Balint, “The Believer” — “Conflicted” hardly begins to describe Danny (Ryan Gosling, fearless in his quest to take difficult parts), a violent young man who turns on his Jewish upbringing to become a fiercely antisemitic KKK member. And herein lies the contradiction: Brutish as he is, Danny’s also an educated man capable of kindness and intelligent, rational thought. It’s hard to like a character like this, but it’s equally as hard not to find him truly fascinating. 

Good and bad do battle in Gerd Wiesler.

6. Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, “The Lives of Others” – Nations that call themselves “Democratic Republics” tend to be anything but, so it seems that a man (Ulrich Mühe) who rises through the ranks of the Stasi, the German Democratic Republic’s secret police, would qualify as a villain. But the rigid, grim Gerd Wiesler finds humanity in the couple he’s ordered to survail, and soon his own humanity emerges.

7. Ray Elwood, “Buffalo Soldiers” – It’s no secret I’m mad for Joaquin Phoenix in most anything, but resistance is futile when he plays men like the manipulative, shrewd and morally flexible Ray Elwood, who tolerates other people only as long as he can use them for something. He’s a real cad, to be sure, though there are moments where flashes of real feeling peek through, and those keep us coming back for more.

8. Sherry, “SherryBaby” — As a rule Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn’t sign on for parts that have less than 37 layers of complexity, but she outdoes herself here as Sherry, a fresh-out-of-prison ex-heroin addict working to get custody of the daughter she hasn’t seen in years. She’s rude, immature, brash, selfish and confrontational, and her love for her daughter is tainted by a sense of entitlement — Sherry’s hardly her child’s beacon of hope. Yet we cannot write her off because she sees herself clearly and tries, in her small way, to change. That’s my kind of woman: a real one.

The only thing Bernie's good at? Losing. Hard.

9. Bernie Lootz, “The Cooler” – Look up synonyms for “pathetic” in Merriam-Webster and you’ll likely find photos of Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) beside every single word. He’s unlucky to a fault, and what’s worse is that his bad luck is contagious — so much so that casino bosses use him to “cool off” gamblers on a hot streak. Yikes. There are many moments where you wonder what there is to like about this wimpy, hapless sadsack, but it all boils down to Macy, who plays Bernie as a man who accepts his faults and means well. Sometimes, that’s enough. 

*Hedley Lamar-approved pronunciation

The following are new ebook titles which are now available in eLibrary Elementary.

American Journalists: Getting the Story .
Archaeologists: Explorers of the Human Past
Archaeology: Discovering the Past
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, v 3.0
Compton’s by Britannica, v 6.0
Child of the Fighting Tenth: On the Frontier with the Buffalo Soldiers
GeoNova City Maps
GeoNova Continent Maps
GeoNova Country Maps
GeoNova Flags
GeoNova Ocean Maps
GeoNova Province Maps
GeoNova Region Maps
GeoNova State Maps
GeoNova Territory Maps
GeoNova Thematic Maps
Jazz Makers: Vanguards of Sound
Postwar America: A Student Companion
Pyramids
The Boy of Chancellorville and Other Civil War Stories
The Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy
The Presidency of the United States: A Student Companion
The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History
USA in Space
Weekly Reader Graphic Biographies Series
Weekly Reader Graphic Histories Series

Hmmm ... Joaquin's level of craziness must be directly proportionate to his amount of facial hair.

Now that the furor over Joaquin Phoenix’s recent attempts to outdo the Unabomber in terms of sheer weirdness and facial hair has subsided, we fans are left with a few nagging questions. Should we have seen this breakdown coming? Were there context clues along the way that we missed? One day, will we look back at his stunts — and, most memorably, that awkward Letterman appearance — with the same kind of “hindsight’s-a-megabitch” pained insight we feel for “The Sixth Sense”?

Eh, who knows. It’s hard to make sense of this undeniably talented actor’s antics — best to let them run their course. Maybe they have. In the meantime, many one-time Joaquin fans are bailing on this sinking ship. And they’re not wrong. Maybe he’s an egotistical kook looking to become a Personality, someone on par with Howard Hughes. Maybe, after a relatively short career of not that many movies, he’s just not worth the trouble.

But me? I’m not giving up hope yet. The fact that Joaquin has range and enormous talent as an actor cannot be disputed. Once this phase passes, it will be a blip on the radar, a Chris Gaines fiasco that got too much press for no good reason. And we’ll all laugh heartily.

Until then, though, let’s remind ourselves of the good ole’ days, when Joaquin gave us these 10 fiery, pathetic, wickedly lovable, charming and utterly unforgettable characters:

1. Ray Elwood, “Buffalo Soldiers” – Shelving and reshelving on “Buffalo Soldiers” after 9/11 assured that almost no one could see Joaquin work his magic as Ray Elwood, the cynical, opportunistic “guy who gets things” — be it heroin or a truckload of heavy artillery — on an army base in 1989 Berlin. What a shame, for this is his defining moment as an actor. He makes Ray one hell of a sly, fast-talking antihero for the ages.

2. Commodus, “Gladiator” — Let’s agree to move past this unfortunate name? Done. Great, now let’s talk about Joaquin’s performance, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2001. There aren’t many times we get to see the insecurities beneath a villain’s rampaging, unchecked id. Joaquin gives us a bad guy as squeamish, insecure and fearful as he is dangerous. Brilliant.

3. Johnny Cash, “Walk the Line” — Does Joaquin look like Johnny Cash? Have the same rumbling, churning voice? Maybe not, but he has what really matters: the wounded yet sure-footed presence that made the Man in Black a legend. Joaquin, always one to put his stamp on a role, creates not a copy but a tribute, and that makes this role one of this best.

4. The Abbe du Coulmier, “Quills” — That Joaquin can do damaged, conflicted and dark is obvious. But what we didn’t know is that he could make a forlorn, wimpy priest who sodomizes, well, a corpse a sympathetic character. (Believe it.) It’s the kind of thing you have to see to understand. Joaquin pulls it off somehow, giving us perhaps the most unlikely romantic in movie history. 

Too cool for porn: Joaquin as Max California in "8MM."

5. Max California, “8MM” — Joaquin has a way of stealing movies that don’t belong to him. Witness his funny and inexplicably moving turn as Max California, a smartass porn shop worker who provides Nicholas Cage a way into the underground abyss of snuff films. He’s easily the best thing about this otherwise dour, grim film, and his performance leaves you shaken.

6. Lewis McBride, “Return to Paradise” – It’s been said there are no small parts, just small actors. Joaquin drives that one home, and hard, as Lewis McBride, who wastes away in a Malaysian prison while the two strangers he shared hashish with go home unscathed. Watching him unravel bit by bit is painful, but Joaquin makes Lewis’ tragedy so compelling (re: not melodramatic) that you can’t look away.

7. Merrill Hess, “Signs” — “Signs” runs a close second to “Sixth Sense” as my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film, and Joaquin’s Merrill Hess is a big reason why. Who but J.P. could take a popular high school jock who can’t quit reliving his glory days and make him broken-down, reflective and comically self-aware? This is a classic Joaquin move — give him what could be a flat part, and he’ll do beautiful things with it.

Joaquin as Ethan Learner in "Reservation Road."

8. Ethan Learner, “Reservation Road” — Bachelors rarely pull off the concerned parent routine in movies. (Just ask John Cusack about “Martian Child.”) But Joaquin is nothing in a movie if not nakedly emotional, so his Ethan Learner, whose son is killed in a hit-and-run, is the kind of walking wound you can’t ignore. This is Joaquin at his most wounded, and his performance will haunt you for days.

9. Jimmy Emmett, “To Die For” — People have remarked that all Joaquin really does in this marvelously black comedy is play a dumb high school kid. That’s accurate — to a point. He takes it a little farther than that, making Jimmy, who falls for a blonde TV personality and agrees to off her husband, endearingly clueless and menacing in equal measure. It’s a small part, but it has sticking power.

10. Clay Bidwell, “Clay Pigeons” – To be honest, “Clay Pigeons” belongs to Vince Vaughn, who plays funny-creepy-serial killer a teensy bit too well. But Joaquin registers impressively as the ineffectual but well-meaning Clay, a doofy Everyman who gets swept up into the bizarro web of a murderer (Vaughn) and can’t wriggle his way out. That he doesn’t disappear by the scenery Vaughn chews up is a testament to Joaquin’s talent.

(Note: If ole’ Joaq had it in his head to give people just enough roles to make a top 10 list, then he succeeded. Because truth be told, by the end there I’d gotten to the algae and gunk and crystallized remains left at the bottom of a dry well.)

 I was saddened to learn that Peggy Cooper Cafritz, a prominent African-American art collector in Washington D.C., community activist, and one of the founders of Duke Ellington School of the Arts, recently lost her priceless art collection in a devastating fire that burned down her mansion, which was a virtual museum. Much of the art she collected over the course of twenty years was that of both emerging and well-established African and African-American artists. She was creating a cultural legacy within and on the walls of her home with the pieces she collected, cared for, and adored. I wish I could have visited her home to see the collection for myself before their destruction. I bet there was a WOW at the turn of every corner. What do you do after such loss?

Art embodies the spirit of the artist, its subject, and its beholder and becomes like a living, breathing thing that is capable of immortality but nonetheless, when it is destroyed or lost, the grief must be unbearable since you can no longer seemingly see, feel, or touch it. Yes, you can take solace that its spirit lives on but this offers little comfort in the darkest hour. The grief must be compounded infinity-fold when what you possessed was rare, extraordinary, original, unique, or held special meaning and memories for you. This story broke my heart because I have a growing collection of items surrounding the election of the first African-American President, Barack Obama. You may have heard of him. I don’t know what I would do if my precious items were lost from me for whatever reason. I already experienced the lost of three signed lithographs during a move from California back to Washington, D.C. years ago. To this day, I suspect that the professional movers stole my art because they knew I had only insured it for loss by weight. I think I only got like sixty dollars for works valued far more in more ways than one. Unfortunately, this loss curtailed my future art collecting, not to mention, the expense of the art I truly love. So when the 2008 election came along, it was great to renew my spirit of collecting meaningful items.    

I think I came by the desire to collect biologically. My father Farrell J. Chiles has amassed quite an impressive and extensive collection himself, including his Frederick Douglass, Jackie Robinson, Barack Obama, Tuskegee Airmen, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Commemorative U.S. Mint Coins & Medals, Black History Month, Rosa Parks, African-American Political Biographies Books, and the African-American Military Books collections. These collections contain books (many autographed), prints, art, coins, and other memorabilia. A lover of African-American history and its great figures and heroes, my father’s collections bring him a strong sense of pride and he does not hesitate to make them available for exhibit to schools, libraries, organizations, and for special events. Not to be outdone, my mother has also joined in with an extensive Obama collection which includes several books, over one hundred fifty magazines that bear Barack and/or Michele Obama on the cover and four volumes of photographs and news clippings. It sounds obsessive but she says it’s become like a therapy, something she truly enjoys doing, and she hopes that someone will appreciate it later, like her grandchildren, as much as she appreciates compiling the collection now.

Do you collect? What do you collect? Are you passionate about it? What about obsessive? Are you really just a pack rat content with living with a bunch of junk in a cluttered mess you call charming? Do you spend too much money on your collection? Has the recession slowed you down? Have you sold anything that you later regretted? Do you really treasure your collection? How would you feel if you lost your items? Would you grieve them like the loss of your loved ones upon their death?

Below are a few tips that you may want to consider after you acquire a collection of art, memorabilia, or even family photos and heirlooms. Some of these tips I’ve yet to realize my own self but I’m working on it. Cafritz’ experience has got me thinking on such things and has also inspired me to keep on collecting. I am happy to know that Ms. Cafritz vows to keep right on collecting herself. “God willing, and the economy willing,” she said.

1. Catalog it right away. Keep a running list of your finds. Describe the item, the date you acquired it, how much you paid for it, its value, and any special notes.
2. Store it properly. Research the proper way to store the item to protect it from the damage of time. Should it be kept from heat, sunlight, and dust? Should you use acid-free paper? Find out!
3. Display some of your collection in your home but teach others to respect it. Find an attractive way to show off some items from your prized collection but if necessary remind people to admire from a distance. Don’t touch!
4. Take it on the road to share and teach. Why not share your collection at local schools or libraries? Why not have a party for the sole purpose of providing information about your collection?
5. Lend it or give it away. Think about lending your pieces to a museum where many can enjoy them as you do or learn something about them. Why not give some items away if it will serve a higher good?
6. Appraise it. Make sure you know how much your pieces are worth from time to time.
7. Insure it. Heaven forbid something happens and your pieces are destroyed or stolen. You need to be able to recover something for your loss.
8. Will it. Who gets your treasured pieces upon your death? Your children? That person who always admired them? A museum? You had better make it known.
9. Add to it. Use your discriminating eye and sound judgment to add to your collection. Will completing a series add value? Does this new artist show promise? Does this work of art make you happy or make you want to shed tears? Is it an absolute must-have?
10. Don’t forget to enjoy your collection. Sit back and admire it sometimes. You took the time to take ownership of the pieces because, hopefully, you were moved by them. Treasure them. Take good care of them. You may be their keeper for a short time.                        

CAFRITZ WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073002925.html?hpid=artslot&sub=AR&sid=ST2009073004231

CAFRITZ FEATURED IN OPRAH’S “O” MAGAZINE

http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200908-omag-peggy-cooper-cafritz-art

Today, the Associated Press reported “3 Buffalo Soldiers reburied at national cemetery” in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Members of the ARIZONA Buffalo Soldiers Association served as pallbearers. Tribute by more than 100 people was paid to Army Privates Thomas Smith, Levi Morris and David Ford. The soldiers were among the many African-Americans in the Army who served at remote outposts on the Western frontier.

Sierra Vista, Arizona is just over 50 years old. It began as a support town to US Army base, Fort Huachuca , which opened in 1954. However, the original Historic Fort Huachuca, was established in 1877. Fort Huachuca is also the original home of the Buffalo Soldiers. Today, Fort Huachuca is a National Historic Landmark, and operates the Fort Huachuca Historical Museum.

Watch our SLIDESHOW of Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca on VisitCochiseCounty.com.

Iata ca am decis sa inchidem voturile pe twitter pentru primul nostru top interactiv legat de cele mai bune comedii.Nu vom putem realiza un top 5 in ordinea numarului de voturi din motive ca fiecare a propus ce a apreciat mai mult, asa ca vom face o lista mai mare (evident ordonata tot dupa voturi). Iata ca din incercarea unui top am obtinut o lista si poate ca nu ar fi rau ca si pe viitor sa facem asa ceva pentru alte genuri ale cinematografiei.

Dupe ce am scris toate comediile, am ajuns la concluzia ca este o lista foarte luuuuunga asa ca avem pentru urmatorii 2-3 ani la ce sa ne uitam. De asemenea nici un film nu s-a repetat mai mult de 2 ori, asa ca nu pot intelege decat ca nu exista intr-adevar cea mai buna comedie, ci cea mai buna comedie pentru tine. Va multumim tuturor celor care ati votat pe twitter sau prin intermediul site-ului (multumirile speciale se vor gasi in partea de jos a listei )!

Oricum lista ramane deschisa, asa ca daca postati comentariu, lista se va actualiza.

Iata ce ati hotarat:

• Hot Fuzz
• Shaun of the Dead
• Meet the Fockers
• Tropic Thunder
• The Hangover
• Jeux d’enfants
• What Happens in Vegas
• Shrek
• Madagascar 2
• Robin Hood: Men in Tights
• Yes Man
• Clerks
• Amelie
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
• Burn after Reading
• The Pink Panther
• The Mask
• American Pie
• Tais Toi
• The Taming of the Shrew
• Zoolander
• Matilda
• Extras
• Anything Else
• Envy
• 17 Again
• Nacho libre
• School of rock
• Dumb & Dumber
• Ratatouille
• Anger Management
• Duplex
• Bruce Almighty
• Night at the Museum
• Night at the Museum 2
• Death at a Funeral
• Get Smart
• The 40 Year Old Virgin
• Knocked Up
• Some Like It Hot
• Buffalo Soldiers
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• In Bruges
• Trainspotting
• Love Actually
• Snatch
• Juno
• Pineapple Express
• Wayne’s World
• The Producers
• The Apartment (1960)
• The Wedding Crashers
• You don’t mess with Zohan
• Liar, Liar
• 50 First Dates
• The Animal
• Wall-E
• Step Brothers
• Ice Age
• Sex Is Zero
• Zack and Miri Make a Porn
• Blue Streak
• Gone Fishin
• Guess Who
• The Proposal
• Hitch
• Rush Hour
• Hancock
• How High
• Trapped in Paradise
• The Heartbreak Kid
• Click
• Anger Management
• The Bucket List
• Deuce Bigalow – Male Gigolo

_____________

Special thanks for voting and not ignoring us to: rasemanju, andrei_haret, bluelle, catalina, jazzinside, margo_374, dexterstat, ymadi, twittbunny, juliusmad, Ralucius, CinnamonAnna, alexoiu, si multi altii pe care i-am uitat.

Radu D.

With an estimated 310 million people residing in the U.S., marketing to each person is the most arduous processes any company can undertake.  As a result, they slice and dice the population into sub-categories with facts, figures, and statistics which include demographics on ethnicity, age, gender, household characteristics, postal code data, purchasing influences along with many other attributes to develop a target market strategy.

Speaking of target markets… African Americans have a lot of influence on today’s culture and taste — and I’m talking beyond the role of hip-hop music and the issues of social responsibility vs. freedom of expression surrounding misogynistic words.  Harley-Davidson has recognized this influence and applied various perspectives on how the company will market to the African-American consumer.   Last April, H-D assigned John Comissiong to oversee the development of strategic marketing opportunities for the African American customer segment as the director of Market Outreach.

Mr. Comissiong is highly qualified and very well educated, holding multiple degrees including a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Cornell University, a Master of Science in engineering from Stony Brook University and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University.  In addition he is a licensed motorcycle rider and can be often seen on his Night Rod Special!!  In essence his job is to determine how H-D can obtain a disproportionate share of the $744 Billion in income which the 38.3 Million African-American consumers spend annually.  More specific, is the approximately $32B spent each year on Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles — how can H-D get more of those $$?!  It’s always about money.

Maurice Slaughter

This isn’t new behavior from corporate America.  For example, recently NBC News launched TheGrio.com, an African American ‘video-centric’ Web site devoted to stories and perspectives that appeal to the African American community.  Even the White House/Obama’s are expanding African American family definitions beyond Bill Cosby’s Huxtables with real-world examples and influence. 

So, what’s in it for H-D?  Today African American’s account for only 1.5% of new motorcycle sales. Even worse is that 7.9% of H-D’s total U.S. sales are to African Americans.  There are more less flattering stats.  Seven out of approximately 700 dealerships are owned by African American’s like Maurice Slaughter.  Few people of color sit on the company’s board or are members of the senior management and less than 10% of the employee base is African American.  H-D purchases approx $190M worth of material from minority-owned suppliers.   Representation of African American motorcycle clubs is fairly robust with: Buffalo Soldiers, Defiant Ones, Rare Breed, Magic Wheels, Soul Brothers and East Bay Dragons to name a few.

H-D has focused on the African American consumer market (AACM) with co-sponsorships at the NAACP Image Awards, the Atlantic or Urban Beach Bike Festival (referred to as Black Bike Week) and celebrating heritage “Bikers on the Boulevard” in Daytona.  They work with celeb’s and community leaders for opportunities to interact or obtain endorsements of H-D products in the African American community which in marketing terms is designed to create the perception that H-D understands African American needs and strengthens its credibility with that market segment.

I’ve been somewhat skeptical of H-D’s minority oriented efforts as sales and marketing issues are complex.  They do require creative actions and placing John Comissiong to maximize exposure and convey that H-D is relevant in the African American lifestyle and culture seems sincere and less of a stunt or a photo op.  Whether trend-setting celebs or average Joes, stimulating a dialogue between company representatives and motorcycle enthusiasts of ALL genre’s means H-D gets product feedback and company’s should never turn down a social opportunity with customers!

Photo courtesy Virginian-Pilot and Maurice Slaughter.

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

Corporal Isaiah Mays

Check out this neat story about Corporal Isaiah Mays, a heroic African American soldier of the Old West, whose remains were reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Born into slavery in Virginia, Mays later joined up with the Buffalo Soldiers, which eventually included six cavalry and infantry regiments of African Americans serving on the Western frontier during the Indian Wars from the late 1860s to 1891.

In 1889, an Army pay wagon Mays was helping guard was attacked by bandits; shot in both legs, he was the only survivor and had to drag himself two miles to a nearby ranch for help.  For this, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1890.

Mays is one of 23 Buffalo Soldiers to have received this distinction, the military’s highest award for valor.

He later left the Army and eventually entered Arizona State Hospital — possibly because he was indigent or mentally ill.  There he was buried in a grave at the hospital’s All Souls Cemetery when he died in 1925.  In 2001, he was finally accorded the honor of a Medal of Honor headstone.  This past March, Mays’ remains were disinterred, cremated and placed in a special urn in preparation for his reburial at Arlington.

If the story of Corporal Mays has peaked your interest in the Buffalo Soldiers, the Library may have some books for you.  Try some of these:  Black Valor:  Buffalo Soldiers and the Medal of Honor, 1870-1898 by Frank N. Schubert; Buffal0 Soldiers by Catherine Reef (juvenile); Buffalo Soldiers in the West:  A Black Soldiers Anthology, edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and Michael N. Searles; Buffalo Soldiers (VHS); Buffalo Soldiers (DVD); Child of the Fighting Tenth:  On the Frontier with the Buffalo Soldiers by Forrestine C. Hooker (juvenile); The Forgotten Heroes:  The Story of the Buffalo Soldiers by Clinton Cox (juvenile); Moses Trinidad:  Buffalo Soldier by Michael Walter Tudda; Cathy Williams: From Slave to Female Buffalo Soldier by Phillip Thomas Tucker; On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier:  Biographies of African Americans in the U.S. Army, 1866-1917, compiled and edited by Frank N. Schubert (NC Collection); and The Black Infantry in the West, 1869-1891 by Arlen L. Fowler.

The remains of Corporal Isaiah Mays, a Buffalo Soldier and the recipient of the Medal of Honor were laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. After his death in 1925 Cpl. Mays was buried in an Arizona hospital cemetery.

Cpl. Isaiah Mays’ was wounded in 1889 while defending a government pay wagon. Despite his injuries he was able to crawl two miles for help and he was awarded the Medal of Honor a year later.

Buffalo Soldier gets Arlington burial after 100 years

By Bob Kovach
CNN

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) — It was a journey that took more than a hundred years.

Missing for decades, the remains of Cpl. Isaiah Mays, a Buffalo Soldier and Medal of Honor recipient, were laid to rest Friday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Paying respects were African-American veterans, U.S. Army soldiers and those who rode for days as part of a motorcycle escort — members of the Missing in America Project, who traveled from as far away as California and Arizona at their own expense to make sure Mays got a proper burial.

None was a relative but they consider themselves his brothers.

They stood shoulder to shoulder in an older section of the cemetery, surrounded by the graves of veterans from wars long ago. Some came in Army dress blue uniforms. Others wore uniforms like those worn by the Buffalo Soldiers, who served in the legendary all-black Army units formed after the Civil War.

The crowd stood witness as a color guard folded the American flag and saluted when three rifle volleys pierced the air. A bugler, surrounded by the graves of other fallen heroes, played taps.

William McCurtis, the regimental sergeant major of a Buffalo Soldier group, perhaps voiced the sentiment of everyone who came: “One more out of 6,000 has his day of recognition. We need to get the rest recognized.”

Mays was born a slave in Virginia in 1858 but spent most of his life west of the Mississippi, joining the famed Buffalo Soldiers as the black cavalry and infantry troops fought in the frontier Indian Wars.

In 1889, he was part of a small detachment assigned to protect a U.S. Army pay wagon, which was caught in an ambush by a band of bandits. A gunfight ensued and almost all the soldiers were wounded or killed. Mays was shot in both legs. The bandits made off with $29,000 in gold coins.

Despite his wounds, Mays managed to walk and crawl two miles to a ranch to seek help. He was awarded a Medal of Honor on February 15, 1890.

Check out the entire article here.

Check out additional information about Corporal Isaiah Mays:

From a pauper’s grave to Arlington honors

Isaiah Mays Medal of Honor

Isaiah Mays, Corporal, United States Army

And check out additional information about the Buffalo Soldiers:

Buffalo Soldiers

Buffalo Soldiers History Page

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum

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