Buffalo Soldiers Legacy Still Alive

To many the "Buffalo Soldiers" are an unfamiliar group, but Yolanda Williams makes it her mission to educate and inform people about the Buffalo Soldiers, who they were, and what they did. Williams travels extensively to promote her organization and is the Chairwoman of the Inland Empire Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Association. Her goal is to promote and preserve the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers and share her passion of the Buffalo Soldiers with others throughout the community. Williams is currently fundraising and seeking to educate the public on a memorial that she is hoping to create at the National Cemetery in Riverside. The memorial will honor the 9th and 10th all African American Calvaries along with the 24th infantry. At this moment, there is nothing to memorialize the Buffalo Soldier veterans at the cemetery and Williams hopes to change that. Rather than receiving support from the Federal government, Williams would like the memorial to be a community memorial for the veterans and their families funded by them for them. Williams has been working on raising funds since 2006, but started campaigning in 2008, 2009, and onwards. The goal is to raise $283,000 for a life-size bronze statue of a soldier mounted and a guide sketched by Lewis Millett Jr. One of the ways she actively seeks support is through her presentations regarding the historical background about the Buffalo Soldiers and the important part they played in American history. Williams speaks locally and nationally; she's been to the Perris Valley Women’s Club, Moreno Valley High School, and Val Verde Elementary School in the area. She has also traveled as far as LA County, San Diego County, Arizona and has even traveled across the United States to speak in Texas. Williams said, “I’m not limited to where my presentations take me.” She uses a variety of methods in reaching out and educating people whether through PowerPoint, handouts, and even a Spanish Children’s book which she presents to children educating them on the Buffalo Soldiers and their contribution to the United States. The responses are always positive and she says that people come up to her and tell her they did not realize how important the Buffalo Soldiers were in American history and what they did for the country. Williams has her own personal connection to the Buffalo Soldiers, her grandfather from the Carolina’s was in the 38th infantry. When she was part of the Perris Valley Parade Committee, she was looking for a Grand Marshall and her friend, Kathey Williams suggested her father, Ulysses Grant Mullens who was one of the last Buffalo Soldiers in the 19th Calvary to be the Grand Marshall. Williams met Mullens and formed a friendship where she met and spoke with him every so often which inspired her to create a memorial and start speaking to people. Williams stated, “our memorial is intended to invite the peace, comfort and unity of every American, you need to feel part of this memorial because the veterans were all in it together.” The motto of her organization is “Sow a Seed of Hope, Charge a Mind to Freedom.” For more information or to make a donation, Ms. Williams can be contacted at BroCourage1587@gmail.com.