Buffalo Soldiers Honor Past, Present During HOG Rally

 Hungry riders pack up their gear in time for lunch Saturday after completing their ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Hungry riders pack up their gear in time for lunch Saturday after completing their ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“Buffalo Soldiers” were the first African-American soldiers who served 143 years ago in the first black cavalry regiments after the Civil War. They were located in Louisiana and Kansas and were named by the Plains Indians, whom they occasionally battled with – out of respect for the buffalo that they prized.

In the late 1860’s, these soldiers served by building roads and escorting wagon trains and stage coaches through hostile territory. Today, members of a Roanoke motorcycle club honor those ground breaking African-Americans by paying tribute to their lives.

They did so this past weekend when the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club sponsored a gathering coinciding with the Harley Owners Group (HOG) rally in Roanoke. The 70-member Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Roanoke sponsored a biking event at the American Legion in Salem. It drew numerous bikers from as far away as New York and Florida.  The event was held to honor those first African-American soldiers in the 9th & 10th US Cavalry Regiments, who served their country – like many of these club members continue to do today.

Aaron “T-bone” Thompson, President of the Roanoke Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, pauses for a photo in front of the American Legion in Salem.
Aaron “T-bone” Thompson, President of the Roanoke Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, pauses for a photo in front of the American Legion in Salem.

After a guided motorcycle tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway, more than 100 bikers were treated to an afternoon lunch and then an evening dance at the Legion Hall.

Aaron “T-bone” Thompson, President of the Roanoke Buffalo Soldiers club, explained: “Our club has two main goals.  One is to educate the general public about the role that the Buffalo Soldiers played in American history immediately after the Civil War.  The other is … to enjoy motorcycling – and for others to just see that bikers are good people.”

Money raised during the event would go “primarily to the Harrison Museum of African-American Culture in Roanoke since they are in need right now,” Thompson said.

The museum hopes to move into vacated space at Center in the Square, but that will take several million dollars. In past years, the Buffalo Soldiers have given the proceeds to charities like MDA, the Women’s Shelter and the American Cancer Society.

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