Posted on 10/30/2011 12:22:14 PM PDT by thecodont
Reporting from Yosemite National Park— Their Yosemite Valley tour was nearing its end, and the church ladies and gents from South Los Angeles had heard enough. Almost.
"He's been telling us stories he thinks we want to hear for two hours," said Ann Hale, 70, heaving a sigh of frustration from the back of the tram.
In fact, guide William Fontana had been regaling his listeners — most of them white — with stories about John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt, about fur trappers and rock climbers.
"We're still waiting for at least a few words about Yosemite's African American Buffalo Soldiers," Hale grumbled to a fellow passenger.
After filing off the tram, some women from Grace United Methodist Church surrounded Fontana on the sidewalk outside the Yosemite Lodge.
"Questions, ladies?" he asked.
"Yes," Hale said. "We want to know why you left out Yosemite's African American story."
Fontana seemed puzzled. "I don't have enough time to talk about Buffalo Soldiers in a two-hour tour," he explained.
Hale nodded politely and walked away.
For more than 60 years, the National Park Service has been trying to reach out to African Americans and Latinos. But its 395 parks, monuments, waterways, historic places and recreational areas remain largely the province of white Americans and tourists from around the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Pardon my ‘tude, but after all, my Mama DID name me Thomas.
I think the whole story is a CROCK, cooked up by this writer at the LA Slimes. The idea that the blue haired Bloody Mary crowd would give a rat’s patoot about the Buffalo Soldiers is pretty far-fetched!
The “Buffalo Soldiers” were Cavalry units of blacks which were originally created in Kansas. Several U.S. Cavalry units made up of Buffalo Soldiers participated in Indian Wars and battles up and down the Great Plains. But if any Buffalo Soldiers ever served in California there’s no RECORD of it!
IMHO - This libtard reporter, as usual, did what most of them do. He decided to cobble up a big lie with a politically correct slant, and assumed nobody would question it. Liar! Liar!
I had never heard the term buffalo soldiers either.
A quick internet search gave me a history lesson.
Gotta love the internet!
Big deal. Not exactly compelling.
Its laughable to make this an issue of racism.
Much of the National Park Service is staffed (infiltrated?) by leftist, anti-American, enviro-commie types. These people naturally gravitate to the Park Service. They think they're doing a service for Gaia. I've encountered many of them.
The worst must be serving in Haleakala State Park. I was present when one very white park ranger did everything but shake her plump fist at hoale tourists warning them to respect the local tradition holding that the mountain top is the place where the demigod Maui lassoed the sun.
Chinese,.... don’t forget about the Chinese /s
I know I'd love to see the reports on the 1903-1904 expeditions, especially the Buffalo soldier ranging outside of the park's boundaries and the terrorism of the local 'Digger' populations. But I doubt it'll see the light of day in this PC culture, or worse, if it did come out into the official histories, it'll be blamed on some white man who 'used' those Buffalo soldiers to rape and murder California Indians who occupied land that bordered the park.
I guess wading in the Seven Sacred Pools is out of the question now.
The helicopter tour of the Haleakala crater rim was spectacular back in the 70’s. Early morning low flight up the south side of the slope into the clouds and the a swift nose down with the full majesty of the crater suddenly visible. Oh, and the circular rainbows cast from the rotor. Beats the best roller coaster ride by miles.
HEY!
Regarding that article, where’s the “ace Card In Play” alert?
;-)
“But there’s certainly an argument for preserving the parks by not allowing over-development.”
How about:
But there’s certainly an argument for preserving the parks by not allowing ParcPersons to manage land.
;-)
I didn’t know that ‘coloreds’ weren’t allowed in the park. That’s HORRIBLE!!!
Wait - they are allowed...and they’re treated just like everyone else.
Then what’s the issue? If they don’t want to go in large numbers, should we round them up and force them to go? Or pay them to go?
...or maybe give them the dignity of deciding for themselves what they want to do with their vacation time.
No more Hana hwy for me.
I cannot find it anywhere online, but...
I caught a segment of a human interest piece on television a few years back. It could have been on FOXNews. It could have been in a documentary on NatGeo or some other channel.
The entire segment was about black Americans visiting Yellowstone and other parks. The tone of the piece was that “It was their America, too. And these parks belong to them, as well.”
Yeah. Sure. I agree. And if you think of all of the national and historical sites in America, I don’t believe that anyone bats an eyelash over thinking about black Americans going to Gettysburg, the Washington Monument or the Old Faithful Inn.
It’s only when someone PUSHES a provocative thought that hadn’t existed before that I find it really distasteful. When I went to the Old Faithful Inn, I saw people of many different races there. And I didn’t even think about it... until years later and I watched the stupid human interest piece.
It isn’t demographics that keep people away. It’s disposable income and whether or not people think it holds any value. Then people will determine if it is worth their time and effort to go see it.
Some things are just the way that they are... without it becoming an indictment against society as a whole.
Not to pick, but I get a couple of Canadian channels, and I heard a commercial within the past week or two bragging that some national park in Canada was the world's first. I had it on in background, so I can't give the specifics.
Any way, it only pricked my interest because it conflicted with what I had understood about TR and national parks.
That happened at a park in Winston Salem I used to go to walk on the trails. It was so peaceful and quiet and everyone was so respectful. There were bunnies hopping in the grass, you could hear the birds chirping. The last time I went, there were so many inner city youts running around, chasing anything that moved, screaming obscenities, littering and tearing anything up they could touch while their fat, loudmouth, welfare mamas just barreled down the middle of the trails, daring anyone to NOT move out of there way.
Never went back.
Were the "Buffalo Soldiers" Americans?
If so, the current politically-correct term is not applicable (African-Americans), but rather the then-current proper terminology of "Negro Soldiers" could be used and be descriptive and proper for the time.
That said; if they were simply to talk about the first trails at Sequoia, Yosemite, etc., that were built by "The Buffalo Soldiers", then why must the DISTINCTION of being black even enter the discussion?
That's the problem of race today; you gotta OVER-STATE and PROVE you're not biased or racist, by making overt acts and statements on behalf of someone who happens to be not white....otherwise, they aren't distinguished enough or designated as somehow "overlooked", by simply being identified as Americans.
No wonder we had white-guilt-ridden voters penciling in an "X" for Obama; they can't deal with being "non-pc".
Amen to that!
We drove the Hana Ranch VW thing to the pools and back.
You know that Lowell Thomas and Charles Lindbergh had large tracts on Maui and their efforts to keep the a portion of Maui underdeveloped resulted in deliberate neglect of that road.
Talk about a narrow treacherous potholed third world track with blind curves lubricated by crushed wild guava. Once was enough.
PS The indigenous folk at Hana told us the legend of the “Seven Sacred Pools” was tourist bunkum.
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