This monument shares the story of Colonel Charles Young, a trailblazing cadet at West Point who was only the third African American to attend the Academy. Young rose to the rank of colonel but was denied promotion to general because of the color of his skin.
Young and the other Buffalo Soldiers honored at this site made important contributions to American history, defending our nation and protecting some of the places that would eventually become national parks.
In fact, Young once served as superintendent of Sequoia-King’s Canyon National Park in California, making him the first African American park superintendent – even before the creation of the National Park Service itself.
On March 25, 2013, President Obama designated the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument as part of the National Park System, to immortalize this great man’s courage in the face of withering racism.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, which provides an opportunity for Americans to rediscover how the Park Service is protecting, preserving, and sharing America’s diverse history through our cultural and historic sites across the country.
Woven together, the 410 National Park units across America — along with the dedicated men and women who work and volunteer at them — tell the story of our nation. From the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City, to the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas, to as far west as the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in San Francisco, California, the National Park Service works to tell an honest and complete American story.
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History chose, “Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memory,” as the theme for this year’s Black History Month. Still, sites that speak to the full African American experience in our country are sacred places that deserve our protection and promotion, not only during Black History Month, but throughout the year.
President Obama has supported these efforts, providing $8 million in his 2016 budget and requesting $3 million more in 2017 for grants-in-aid to historically black colleges and universities to document, interpret, and preserve the stories and sites associated with the progress of civil rights in America.
We support that investment in telling a more complete American story. And we invite Ohioans to explore, discover and enjoy everything that your national parks have to offer - whether it’s through a cross-country adventure, or a meaningful visit to a site closer to home, like the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument.
Sherrod Brown is a U.S. Senator (D-OH) and Jonathan B. Jarvis is the director of the National Park Service.
About the Author