Anderson Center for the Arts is bringing back its film series spotlighting Black military service, pairing screenings with artifacts from the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum to confront decades of historical erasure.
“Portraits of Patriotism: Part 2” returns Wednesday, June 24, at The Gregory School/African American History Research Center, a fitting backdrop as the building that once housed the city’s first public school for Black children in Freedmen’s Town.
“The Buffalo Soldiers, we know that they were the first Black professional soldiers in the United States,” Tovar said. “Their legacy is one of patriotism with honor, but they also faced racial violence, a truth that textbooks have historically whitewashed.”
-Dr. Michelle Tovar, director of education at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 9:30 a.m., with the program starting at 11 a.m. It builds on a May 21 kickoff featuring veterans Brandon Bonton and Kenneth Morris, which drew community members into a conversation about what patriotism looks like when told through Black voices.
Allison Retina Stewart-Creeks, director of artistic programs at the Anderson Center for the Arts, said the inaugural event made clear the series needed a second chapter. This time, the Buffalo Soldiers serve as the anchor, Black servicemen who defended a nation that did not fully serve them back, with the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum and The Gregory School joining as presenting partners.
Film and visual art convey hidden histories more effectively than classroom lectures, Stewart-Creeks said. At the series’ March kickoff exhibition, the center featured a Nigerian artist whose work responded to how international audiences view American patriotism, proof, she said, that the questions extend beyond U.S. borders.
“So many of our ancestors’ generations have fought for this country. To be able to now give light and a platform to the people who have literally fought for this country, and share a space where they can talk about what patriotism means to them, that visibility was insightful, Steward-Creeks said. “I was able to see kids in the room who looked at these veterans as heroes,” she said, adding that those professions do not always feel accessible to young people now.
Joining the conversation is Dr. Michelle Tovar, director of education at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, who has spent four years developing curriculum and tours that connect the museum’s history to present-day audiences. A historian and Latina in a space often associated with Black history, Tovar said her role also reflects cross-cultural representation. The museum now operates as a bilingual space for Spanish-speaking visitors.
Tovar pushed back on the idea that Buffalo Soldiers’ history begins and ends with the post-Civil War frontier era. The museum’s scope runs from Black soldiers in the Revolutionary War through today’s Afghanistan veterans, and increasingly includes Afro-Latino service members.
“The Buffalo Soldiers, we know that they were the first Black professional soldiers in the United States,” Tovar said. “Their legacy is one of patriotism with honor, but they also faced racial violence, a truth that textbooks have historically whitewashed.”
Tovar said the museum is widening its focus beyond the soldiers to include the families who waited for them, and the toll of service, including mental health struggles and suicide, is approached in a trauma-informed way. She called the partnership a natural fit, since film reaches young audiences already steeped in short-form video.
“We encourage young people to ask their elders and their families,” she said. “Maybe they have military experience they never talked about.” She added that film inspires young people to preserve and tell their own family stories.
The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, founded in 2001 by Vietnam veteran Capt. Paul J. Matthews is closed for renovations and expects to reopen around Veterans Day. Tovar said the rebuilt space will add exhibits highlighting women and Afro-Indigenous service members, pieces visitors will not find in a standard history class.
Stewart-Creeks said she hopes the series continues beyond this chapter, potentially expanding to include more international artists responding to American patriotism. For now, she is focused on a free morning where Houston families can sit with veterans, see their stories on screen, and ask questions directly.
“It’s the summertime. They [Young attendees] have so many things they could be doing,” Steward-Creeks said. “But having these opportunities, where they see military professionals on screen and then meet them and ask questions, is a great start toward getting young people thinking about service and family history.”
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SIDE BAR
Black Military History Sites
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
3816 Caroline St, Houston, TX 77004
Camp Logan Historic Marker (Memorial Park)
Memorial Drive and S Picnic Lane, Houston, TX 7700
The 1870 Yates House (Sam Houston Park)
Physical Address: 1000 Bagby St, Houston, TX 77002.
