Buffalo Soldiers group plans to set up in Fort Worth church, build pride in community

A Morningside neighborhood church wants to use a statewide nonprofit program to prevent gun violence and teach children history and life skills.

The New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church at 2864 Mississippi Ave. will collaborate with the Texas Buffalo Soldiers Association to base its operations at the church and establish a summer program to teach about the soldiers’ legacy.

The association has lost volunteers because of COVID-19 and hopes to revive its program in Morningside.

The Texas Buffalo Soldiers Association was established in 1991 to preserve and educate young people about the group of African Americans who served in the U.S. Army from the late 1860s to the early 1900s. The association teaches the skills used by the soldiers, including hunting, camping, fishing and animal care.

The free summer program, open to children 7 to 14, will take place at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in July, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

The association takes participants on field trips, participates in parades and events, and provides educational programs for schools and community groups.

The Rev. Kyev Tatum, pastor at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, says the program can be used to reduce youth gun violence by capturing the attention of young people and increasing their motivation.

According to Fort Worth police records, 10 people between 1 and 18 died in shootings in 2023. In 2022, 17 children were killed in shootings, up from 14 in 2021.

“We believe that this is a good space for churches to work with, in helping young people to recover in a way that makes sense and will help meet their needs,” Tatum said.

New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church will also dedicate a room with artifacts, clothing and pictures from the time period. Organizers are looking for donated mannequins to display the uniforms and clothing. They are asking for help from the community and city to find funding, approximately $50,000, for transportation, food, outdoor tools and more.

Army veteran Clinton Warren of Little Elm, a member since 2016, said Black people have been in every United States military conflict. Learning about Henry Flipper, the first African American graduate of the United States Military Academy, or how civil rights leaders like Medgar Evers were veterans are important to show how Black people helped build the country, he said.

“I think if these young people learn a little bit more about what’s going on with history and learn things that it will put some pride into them to be able to do this in their communities,” Warren said. “Just to take care of your community because it’s where you live, and it can be done.”

Black people can make stronger communities by learning from past tragedies, like the 1923 Rosewood massacre that destroyed a Black town in Florida, or the accomplishments of famous entrepreneurs like Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first Black female self-made millionaire, Warren says.

RosieLeetta Reed, president Texas Buffalo Soldiers Association, specializes in teaching about frontierswoman like Cathay Williams, the only documented female Buffalo Soldier, and Stagecoach Mary Fields, a former slave who was first Black woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service and who helped with U.S. western expansion.

Reed is also the CEO of the Lakeside Riders Youth Outreach and Community Services Inc., a nonprofit based in Mansfield that teaches disadvantaged children the fundamentals of horseback riding, hunting, fishing and camping.

Sam Allen, another member of the association, has been teaching and training children on this history for over 25 years in the Dallas area.

A former police officer, he and his brother taught kids in Dallas about the Buffalo Soldiers and other life skills. Some skills, like etiquette had to be taught because some children had no concept of how to use a fork because they mainly ate sandwiches and hamburgers, Allen says.

When Allen graduated from high school in 1966 he knew very little about how Black people played a pivotal role in the resettlement of the United States after the Civil War. He decided to learn this history and spread it to others.

This meant the history about the Buffalo Soldiers, the Houston Riots of 1917, where 19 soldiers from the all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment were executed, and the Black Seminoles, runaway slaves who joined forces with the Seminole Indians in Florida.

“We’ve got a whole generation that has no clue on the contributions that we as people of color, Black people especially, have made for this country we call the United States,” Allen said.

To sign up for the program contact Pastor Kyev Tatum 817-966- 7625 or email kptatum1@gmail.com.