Buffalo Soldiers on the Trail with George Pettigrew

The public is cordially invited to this special presentation about the Buffalo Soldiers sponsored by Gateway OCTA, the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., and the Black Archives Museum of St. Joseph. This event is made possible through support of the Missouri Humanities Council. It will be held at the St. Joseph Museum, 3406 Frederick Ave., at 7:00 pm. Admission is free. Reservations are encouraged but are not required.

Come learn about the Buffalo Soldier movement that started during the Civil War. The Buffalo Soldiers legacy marks an abrupt change in American history and the history of the world. Born in America and of African descent had been a constant barrier to full inclusion in the American experience and being appreciated for the value innate in all human beings. The legend of the Buffalo Soldiers forced America to reexamine its perception of Black men in the armed forces if not in society at large.

The speaker: George Pettigrew, Executive Vice President of the Alexander Madison KC Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers. Pettigrew was born in a small town in the south during the height of Jim Crow laws. As he grew, he learned of his family history and genealogy from his mother, Eunice Davis. Pettigrew’s great-grandfather, Isaac Johnson, was a member of the Buffalo Soldiers in 1867. Johnson belonged to Company K, 24th Infantry Regiment. He later reenlisted June 14, 1878, at St. Louis, Missouri in Company F, 9th Cavalry Regiment. Following in his great-grandfather’s footsteps, Pettigrew enlisted in the US Navy. While in the Navy he was very active in diversity serving as a Racial Awareness Facilitator and as one of the first facilitators for the WIN (Women in the Navy) movement.

Pettigrew is a Certified Oral Storyteller, partner of Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, member of the Speakers’ Bureau for the Missouri Humanities Council and teacher for the KC Veterans Writing Group to help veterans tell their military stories. As an Oral Historian he is dedicated to improving relationships through understanding how together we have made contributions that have altered the course of world history.