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When snapshotted, the stories in Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts resemble American mythmaking at its finest. There’s a 500-mile horseback protest ride to Washington, D.C., a woman warrior disguising herself as a man to escape enslavement, and a courageous open-field firefight.
The anecdotes here, however, are the real thing. And for those unfamiliar with the lives and legacies of the figures responsible for these stories—Charles Young, Cathay Williams and Moses Williams—Buffalo Soldiers aims to shed light.
The new documentary by Vancouver, Wash., filmmaker Dru Holley premiered on PBS on June 12 (and audiences can catch it on World Channel on June 19). Buffalo Soldiers embraces the tall task of chronicling a century of overlooked military history, exploring the personal and political conflicts that arose when Black Americans found then-unparalleled opportunities within the armed forces while forced to fight in imperialist wars.
We caught up with Holley to discuss the documentary’s origins, highlighted heroes and educational aspirations.
WW: Did you grow up with any image of the Buffalo Soldiers in your mind?
Dru Holley: I was a college guy and definitely Bob Marley was playing and incense was burning. And I remember a movie called Posse, directed by Mario Van Peebles, one of my film inspirations, that had a Buffalo Soldier in it.
Where does this documentary start?
I was volunteering for the Langston Hughes [Institute] at their 2018 Juneteenth celebration [in Seattle] and brought my 6-year-old daughter with me while I captured footage. And I hear her say, “Ooo, horsies!” And from the camera, I see these gentlemen from straight out of the Old West, dressed in 19th century Black regiment uniforms [the Buffalo Soldiers of Seattle, who are featured in the film].
She was like, “Who are they, Dad?” It was probably my deep ancestral roots slapping me and saying, “Yo, these are the Buffalo Soldiers,” but I was stumped and a little sad that I didn’t know this history and that she probably wouldn’t be taught it. So I thought it was my job to pass this story on to others.
How did you think about fitting this vast history into one hour?
That was really hard. We started a project called Buffalo Soldiers of the Pacific Northwest, but we were leaving out a whole history, so we couldn’t have it be only Pacific Northwest stories. Moses Williams’ story was always a part of it. He’s buried right down the street from me in the Post Cemetery [in Vancouver]. I pass his grave almost every day. He was always going to be the protagonist.
Charles Young was also a very significant Buffalo Soldier. Moses Williams’ story was that connective tissue to the West, and Young’s was that connective tissue to the turn of the century and when America tried to establish an empire across seas. Then, Cathay Williams’ story didn’t necessarily fit with that, but her story needed to be told, especially in this day and age.
Researchwise, was Williams’ story tougher to unearth than Young’s?
Definitely buried deeper. There are a lot of myths about her—and no images that we could find whatsoever. Our depiction of her was made from our creative producer Iana [Amauba’s] head. She’s also a Portland native and a great animator.
What are your educational hopes for the film at a time when some states don’t want racism acknowledged in their schools’ history curriculum?
I feel very honored for this project to combat that erasing of history, and I’m happy I get to be in the fight. Our history is more than what is presented to us. Look deeper into it. In my community specifically, we’re taught we only have this slavery background. And there is that, but we were also badass cowboys and warriors.
What’s it like to have the film on PBS?
When I set out to make this project, I was like, “Man, if I could just get it on PBS”; $450,000 later, fundraising, crying at night, feeling like I’m playing myself most of the time…it’s like having a baby and now it’s going to go be an adult and live their life.
SEE IT: Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts arrives on World Channel on June 19. More information at buffalosoldiersmovie.com; full film also available on YouTube.