The Buffalo Soldiers and the Philippine-American War

The Philippine-American War (1899-1902) was a controversial war. Many Americans did not support it, including anti-imperialists like Mark Twain. Others did. In response to the war, the English writer Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem The White Man’s Burden, in which he encouraged the United States to “take up the White Man’s burden” to maintain colonial control of the Philippines as a way to bring progress to the Filipino people. The great irony of this phrase though was that African American troops – the Buffalo Soldiers – made up part of the force used to “take up the White Man’s burden.” To discuss the service of the Buffalo Soldiers in the Philippines during this period, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted Jeff Acosta, a former curator of the MacArthur Memorial and a history professor at Tidewater Community College. He is also a member of the Filipino American National Historical Society National Board of Trustees and the Filipinio American National Historical Society - Hampton Roads.


Join us for a FREE event at 10:00AM EST on February 3, 2024, as we mark the upcoming 125th anniversary of the Philippine-American War with a series of lectures and an unveiling of the MacArthur Memorial's copy of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's 1899 declaration of independence. The Filipino American National Historical Society - Hampton Roads and the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater are co-sponsors of this event.

Event sign up:
Philippine-American War Remembrance Event

Not able to attend in person? Receive a post-event email with a link to a recording of the event and a new MacArthur Memorial Collections guide for the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War.  Email: macarthureducation@norfolk.gov. 

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