Musical guest: Kemet Coleman (https://www.kemetcoleman.com/)
Featured speaker: John “JR” Bruce, “Buffalo Soldier Stories”

John “JR” Bruce is president of the KC Buffalo Soldiers Chapter and earned four Bronze Stars for Valor in Combat in Vietnam. He is a Certified Oral Storyteller.

About Buffalo Soldiers: One of the greatest and most successful human experiments in American history had its seminal roots in Missouri. Starting in 1866, Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, was the receiving station for the men (and woman) of color following the Civil War. There the most unlikely of soldiers joined the United States Army in the United States Colored Troops (USCT) by the name of Cathay Williams, aka Pvt. William Cathay, the only known female to serve in what became known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Pvt. Isaac Johnson, the great grandfather of one of the presenters enlisted on May 6, 1866, and joined his company at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. An original Buffalo Soldier, he traveled across Missouri by rail to the Western Frontier to serve with honor in the 38th and 24th Infantry, and later reenlisted into the famed 9th Cavalry. His story is the basis of “Slave to Soldier.”

Parallel park in the neighborhood near our building or in the “free on Sundays” KU P2 parking garage two blocks west of our community center. Please reserve the small south parking lot for those who need the ramp to enter the building.

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Oasis Code of Conduct (http://www.kcoasis.org/about-oasis/code-of-conduct/).