Greg Shine will discuss Buffalo Soldiers in Vancouver and Portland on Feb. 3 at the Fort Vancouver Visitor Center, 1501 E. Evergreen Blvd.
The 2 p.m. presentation is free.
Company B from the Army’s 24th Infantry, one of four African-American regiments, arrived at Vancouver Barracks in 1899. Respect for troops known as Buffalo Soldiers was buoyed by their success in the Spanish-American War in Cuba.
While in the Northwest, they participated in military, political and social activities. They also introduced many residents of Oregon, Washington and Idaho to blacks and raised local awareness of the national policies and practices beleaguering African-Americans.
Shine will present new information based on two decades of research of their story and of racial issues and the military in the American West.
