Black Soldiers Were the Real Heroes at San Juan Hill. And They Got No Credit.
Author Jerry Tuccille on Teddy Roosevelt, 'buffalo soldiers,' and the legacy of racism in the military.
President Theodore Roosevelt and his 'rough riders' are remembered as heroes of the Spanish-American war—a "total fabrication" according to Jerry Tuccille, author of the recent book, The Roughest Riders: The Untold Story of the Black Soldiers in the Spanish-American War.
Tuccille says that black troops, also known as 'buffalo soldiers', did the heavy fighting at the infamous Battle of San Juan Hill, but racism and Roosevelt's giant ego led them to be left out of the official story.
"America loved [black troops] when they were war fodder," but later "white people [feared] and resented them," says Tuccille, who has also written books about the libertarianism, and published the very first biography of Donald Trump.
Tuccille sat down with Reason TV's Nick Gillespie to discuss the "buffalo soldiers," Roosevelt's big cover up, and the legacy of racism in the military.
About 13 minutes.
Camera by Todd Krainin and Joshua Swain. Edited by Amanda Winkler.
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