Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Pinoy Pod 40

Buffalo Soldier came to the Philippines to fight, instead found new way of life

Pinoy Pod joins the commemoration of Black History Month with a special podcast on a little known chapter in the histories of the Philippines and the United States.

When Filipino revolutionaries resisted the U.S. occupation of the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century during the Philippine-American War, thousands of African Americans were recruited to crush the rebellion.

It was not an easy mission for the black soldiers, most whom were mistreated by their Caucasian officers and came to identify with the plight of the Filipinos. Some of them found it hard to shoot at the brown-skinned rebels fighting for independence. A few of the African Americans defected to the Filipino side.

Evangeline Canonizado Buell is the granddaughter of Ernest Stokes, one of the so-called Buffalo Soldiers who fought and later started a new life in the Philippines.

Buell, who lives in Oakland, recalls her grandfather's experiences in the Philippines in her book "25 Chickens and a Pig for a Bride."

In Part 1 of our interview, Vangie Buell shares her memories of her grandfather and the unusual path that led him to the Philippine islands.

MORE ON PINOYPOD AT SFGATE.COM

LISTEN/PAKINGGAN

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home