Amended in Senate April 27, 2016

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 128

Introduced by begin delete Senator Mendoza end delete begin insert Senators Mendoza and Hall end insert

April 6, 2016

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 128—Relative to the Buffalo Soldiers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 128, as amended, Mendoza. The Buffalo Soldiers.

This measure would honor the Buffalo Soldiers for changing the face of the United States Armed Forces forever through their record of unique accomplishments.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, On July 28, 1866, by an act of the United States
Congress, African American men were allowed to join the
post-Civil War army in special segregated units -- the 9th and
10th Cavalry Regiments of the United States Army; and

WHEREAS, Comprised of former slaves, freemen, and black
Civil War soldiers, the Buffalo Soldiers were the first African
Americans to serve in the United States Army during peacetime.
During the latter period of the nineteenth century, the soldiers of
the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments were assigned to Fort Riley,
Kansas, and other areas of the Midwest, where they begin delete helped end delete
begin insert endeavored end insert to maintain order between Native Americans and the
begin delete settlers, end delete begin insert settlers arriving in those areas, end insert built forts and roads,
patrolled borders, and protected mail coaches and railroad
construction crews; and

WHEREAS, Out of respect for their courage and fighting spirit,
as well as for begin delete their dark curly end delete begin insert the dark curly appearance of their end insert
hair and the thick coats made from buffalo hide that begin delete they end delete begin insert these
soldiers end insert wore during winter, the Native Americans of the
Midwestern plains honored the begin delete soldiers end delete begin insert members end insert of the 9th and
10th Cavalry Regiments with the nickname of “Buffalo Soldiers”;
and

WHEREAS, When the Indian Wars ended in the 1890s, the
Buffalo Soldiers went on to fight in Cuba begin delete in end delete begin insert during end insert the 1898
Spanish-American War and begin insert thereafter end insert acted as rangers in Yosemite
and Sequoia begin delete national parks; end delete begin insert National Parks; end insert and

WHEREAS, The Buffalo Soldiers of the regular African
American army regiments were among the first to serve as park
rangers in the newly created National Park Service; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 500 Buffalo Soldiers from the 9th,
10th, begin delete 24th end delete begin insert 24th, end insert and 25th begin delete regiments end delete begin insert Regiments end insert served in Yosemite
and nearby Sequoia begin delete national parks, end delete begin insert National Parks, end insert with duties
begin insert ranging end insert from evicting poachers and timber thieves to extinguishing
forest fires; and

WHEREAS, The accomplishments of the Buffalo Soldiers as
park rangers include building the first trail to the top of Mount
Whitney in Sequoia National Park, building the first arboretum in
Yosemite National Park, and clearing miles of trails and building
roads into the national parks for visitor enjoyment; and

WHEREAS, begin insert Colonel end insert Charles Young, the third African American
graduate of West Point, served as acting military superintendent
of Sequoia National Park in 1903; and

WHEREAS, begin delete Even though end delete begin insert Despite end insert the Buffalo Soldiers begin delete wore end delete
begin insert wearing end insert the uniform of the United States Army, begin delete the performance
of end delete begin insert performing end insert their duties presented challenges begin insert to overcome end insert due
to racial prejudice. Buffalo begin delete soldiers end delete begin insert Soldiers end insert serving in Yosemite
and Sequoia begin delete national parks end delete begin insert National Parks end insert had to fulfill their duties
using begin insert perseverance and end insert diplomacy; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, members of the Buffalo
Soldiers branched out and formed into famous units, including the
24th and 25th Infantry Divisions, the famed Tuskegee Airmen that
included the 99th begin delete Fighter (Pursuit) Group, end delete begin insert Pursuit Squadron end insert the
begin insert larger end insert 332nd Fighter “Red Tails” Group, begin delete and end delete the 761st Tank
Battalion of the begin delete third Army; end delete begin insert Third Army, plus nearly the entire
92nd Infantry Division; end insert and

WHEREAS, Due to begin delete an executive order end delete begin insert Executive Order 9981 end insert
issued in 1948 by President Harry Truman eliminating racial
segregation and discrimination in the United States Armed Forces,
the last all-black units disbanded during the first half of the 1950s,
and, in 2005, the nation’s oldest living Buffalo Soldier, begin insert First
Sergeant end insert Mark Matthews, passed away in Washington, D.C., at
111 years of age; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature honors the Buffalo
Soldiers for changing the face of the United States Armed Forces
forever through their record of unique accomplishments, which
testify to their skill, discipline, integrity, and heroism, and
recognizes and thanks their families and descendants for sharing
an inspiring legacy that speaks to the sense of excellence, potential,
and patriotism shared by all Americans; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.