The Buffalo Soldiers: The African-American Soldier in the U.S. Army November 13, 2003

This exhibition, which features items from the collections of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Powell and illustrations by Avel de Knight, explores the victories and challenges of the 9th and 10th Cavalries composed of African Americans that were established by the United States Congress in July 1866. Dubbed Buffalo Soldiers by Native Americans, the mounted regiments developed into two of the most distinguished fighting units in the Army during the remainder of the 19th and the early 20th centuries. They also explored and mapped vast areas of the southwest, strung hundreds of miles of telegraph lines, built and repaired frontier outposts that bloomed into towns and cities, and protected crews building the railroads.