I I
HOLIDAY Gin' CERTIFICATES Il Il
�
Deltas launch
IISC 001 Americall
Lft acy hold key to
economic progr
. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Delt
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a na­
tional public service sorority
with more than 175,000 mem­
ber has launched a major in­
itiative called ·SCHOOL
AMERICA."
The sorority, which w
fouaded on the campu of
Howard UDiversity in 1913 by
22 young Black wom has as
its goal the re-establishment of
literacy a family value in
every American home.
One of the key components
of SCHOOL AMERICA is
reader registration which invol­
ves registeriag persons to serve
as official readers.
Just voter registration was
the key to political progress,
reader registration is the key to
economic progress, Delta offi­
ci said. The commitment of
registered readers is to read at
least one tory wee to a child
between the ages of 1 through
10 beginning n and continu­
ing throughtout the. year 1990.
The national president of
Delta Sigma Theta, Dr. Yvonne
Kennedy, member of Alabama
State Legislature and president
of S.D. Bishop Community Col­
lege in Mobile, Alabama, ex­
plains the program this way.
"The merits of reading out loud
to a child on regular basis are
well d ... umented. It is a simple,
yet powerful gesture that r �
long-lasting bcnefi not onfy
for the child and the person
reading to that child, but for
society as well. We hope that
everyone will join us in this in­
itiative ... parents, teachers,
religious leaders, neighbors and
people from all walks oflife who
care about the future."
Through the support of the
Burger King Corporation,
Delta Sigma Theta h started
"Reader Registration" pro­
grams.
To become a partner or to ob­
tain a "Reader Registration" card,
write SCHOOL AMERICA,
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc,
1211 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Suite 312, Washington, D.C.
20036.
The
.aga of
he Buffalo Soldier
. A reee television special,
fe turing Detroit Mayor
Coleman Y oun and ot ber
B war heroes, revealed the
truth of the previously hidden
and distorted facts 'bout the
history of Black soldiers in
World War I and II.
I Regimen nine, and len (the
7th being Custer' troop) re
the numbers th marked the
egro troops in World War I",
. Yo It this group of
men re (OS11)01l
for the lege daly' of
.Boft So'
The two troop er 0
named by the In' because
of t e Blac color of their .
their wooly hair aDd the
strength and courage with
hith they fought. It reminded
the Indi n of buffalo, an
animal they held in high regard.
T se BI c oldiers re
pod to be called Buffalo Sol­
di r t so pro d that the m t
prominent feature on the 9th
and 10th c valry crest is the
figure of buffalo.
Y 0UDg . d, "On television or
. the movies, en the bugle
starts blowing and the cavalry
art coming. out of the sunset,
I have yet to see a Blac cavalry
.man riding on one of tho hor­
." He dded, "It's 'Hollywood
Truth' th thad' torted the
ory, I ow the truth cause I
as there. .
The 761 Tan Ba allion of
World War II the rust Bla
Amrican armoured uni ever to
go . 0 battle. Theirs is the tory
of combat unit that had to fight
in order to join the fighting.
Youag finds it absolutely es­
sential that Blacks repeat the
circumstances of their history
among themsel he said it
has been clearly demonstrated
that unless Blacks learn and
p on this history to their
children, and insist that it's
taught in the scllools, .; will not
bekoown."
More than 189 thousand
Black men fought in the Civil
Wars. They fo in places like
Ne arket Heights,
MiIlikea', Bin and The 8al of
N shville. T ir.t�-Ei&ht
th()UADd B c e dic4 a
result of the wars. . .
After the war' 1866, under
the a' orization of Coagress,
Black men ho wanted to
remain in the army were sent
o . Their service in con­
troling ho ile Indians, hiJe
he . to police weatem towns
for the 20 )aI'S 10
largelY 11DI'CCOgDized.
Many of the Indian leaders,
including GeranUDo, refused to
urrender to the 7Jh army troop,
but agreed to surrender to the
9th cavalry, which was a Blac
outfit.
The moment Geranimo sur­
rendered, the white officers
came forward and told �he
Blac - DO -commi ioned of­
ficer to step back, Young said
the bite officers then tood the
Indian by a tree, urro ded
him and 100 pi ctures as proof
that they re the force that
Geranimo urreadered to.
Operating under intense dis­
advantage and prejuditi I
treatment, these BI ck soldiers
developed into a remar ble
fighting onit along the 2,000
mile western frontier.
One of the Buffalo So diers,
GeD. Colin Powell recently
nominated by President George
B to become Chairman of
the joint Chiefs of Staff, the
highe t military post in the
nation's armed forces.
Powell said at a press con­
ference, "For those of you 0
don't know the Buffalo Soldiers,
the term applied to two Black
cavain' regimen the 9th and
Roosevelt's ten cio defense
ck • IDen during
World War D, these uni ould
• ely be labeled, "Eleanor
ROOSC\dt' �JggCrs".
Powell said, "We d more
training than any other unit in
the army, because of the length
of our loogivity. He said, "We
went in the army in 1941, and in
1944 were still training oth r
troops to go into combat.
Powell . d once when the
pr so hard on the army
abo the placement of Blac
. tanker in b ttle, that army offi-
10th. At the end of the Civil war
along two infantry regiments,
the 24th and 25th. This was the
rust time that Blacks were al­
lowed to sene in times of peace
in the United States Army.
Young said, "We, Black
men, were tired of going into the
army to serve white troops. We
ere tired of being quarter­
masters, engineer , and port
batallion men." This Sentiment
was conveyed through Eleanor
Roosevelt to Franklin
D.Roosevelt, and ... through
Blac advisors, action became
apparent. .
Because of Eleanor
ciaIs ctuaUy listed Blac batal­
Iio in combat, but on paper
only. In reality, the troops were
present in Fort Hood Texas.
Legendary journali t,
Ch ter Higgins, Sr., currently
Managing Editor for the a­
tional ew paper Publishers
Association in Wa hington
D.C., and former pre aid to
. secretary of the army, Clifford
Alexander, during the Carter
Administta 'on, discussed the
. ro e of the Black pr in help-
ing to get Bia tanker into ac­
tion during World War II.
Higins said the Black press
in America a militant advo- ,
cate for equal rights for Blacks
• ce it was founded in 1827 in
ew Yo . He id the Blac
press a strong and vocal d-
ocate for equal rights for the
oppressed. During World War
n, the Blac press was especial­
lyeffective.
Sarge nt Ed Donald had
three tanks shot out from und r
him and received th Bronze
Star. He . d, "Our fir order
w to open fire, because we
were being fired on from almost
every position." He continued,
"We were laying down much
fire as we could until moved
out of that town."
In his book, War As I Knew
It, Gen. George S. Patton wrote,
'A colored soldier cannot think
fas enough to fight in armour' ..
But on November 2, 1944, the
men of the 761 t batallion
received prai e from Patton,
hen he said em n, you were the
first Negro tankers to ever fight
in the American army. I would
never h ve asked for you if you
were no good,' I have nothing
but the best in my army." ,
A segment of the Cosby show
related an actual incident where
the buffalo soldier of World
War II saw their greatest and
most humiliating moment of
war. Commanding Officer
Robert Gates said, We were the
only platoon to capture the
enemy. "We had urrounded
the platoon of tzis with our
t and when they came out
of the woods to urrender, and
w th y had been Captured by
an all Black American tank
platoon, they turned around
p 11