Jack Hadley Black History Museum hosts Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Festival

Feb. 20—THOMASVILLE — As the celebration of black history continues in the month of February, the Jack Hadley Black History Museum hosted the tenth annual Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Festival. The Buffalo Soldiers was originally the name of military cavalry units in the late 1800s. The units were mostly comprised of African-American soldiers and were stationed out west on the American frontier. Now, the group is comprised of African-American veterans and has chapters across the country.

Over 100 Buffalo Soldiers visited Thomasville this past weekend to take part in the tenth annual Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Festival. They came from all over the south, including Miami, Orlando, Birmingham and South Carolina.

"We really want to celebrate the rich history of the Buffalo Soldiers and promote local, state and the national African-American history," said Daniel Pittman, executive director of the Jack Hadley Black History Museum. "It really serves as a way for the community to get together to really celebrate the rich history of African-American achievements from all over."

The festival was a celebration of African-American culture and history. Folks enjoyed a live performance by the Steve Walden Band, who performed blues, jazz and R&B music. The Festival included free food, free art classes from Dixie Lee Hedrington-Miller and free art supplies for students. The highlight of the festivities was the keynote speaker, Rutha Harris. Harris was, and still is, a civil rights activist, who was very active in Albany, Georgia and is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Freedom Singers. Harris regaled the crowd with stories of the civil rights movement, including working with Dr. Matin Luther King Jr. She also entertained the crowd with songs that she and the Freedom Singers sang during the civil rights movement.

"To have Ms. Rutha Harris to come to our event and agree to speak was such an honor," Pittman said. "Her legacy, her history and everything that she represents speaks so much volume to everything that we're trying to do at the museum. So, we were just honored that Ms. Harris was able to share her story and also perform some of her incredible vocal performances for our group."

The event was a rousing success, with Buffalo Soldiers from all over and locals coming together to enjoy fellowship, music, food and to celebrate African-American history in Thomasville.