
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 6, 1995                   TAG: 9502060075
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BLACK AMERICANS' ROLES GET STAMP OF APPROVAL

Fried catfish, collard greens, barbecue ribs and corned beef and cabbage were a few of the items on the menu for the food-tasting contest that opened Sunday's ``Buffalo Soldiers - Unsung Heroes'' black history program at Roanoke's main post office.

Joyce Young, who was there to see her 15-year-old daughter, Erika, perform with the magnet school dancers, gave the nod to the barbecue ribs when asked her opinion of the best dish.

The post office's seventh annual black history event honored black cavalrymen and infantrymen who were known as buffalo soldiers to the Native Americans of the post-Civil War American West.

The buffalo soldiers were the first black soliders to serve in peacetime, escorting settlers, cattle herds and railroad crews and protecting mail runs. Later they participated with courage and patriotism in U.S. military actions from the Spanish-American War through the Korean War. They were honored with a 29-cent stamp issued last April.

Last year, 200 people turned out for the post office's black history event and even more were expected Sunday. Jason Diggs of Christiansburg, secretary of the employee committee that planned the event, said it has been growing every year and nearly has outgrown its venue, the employee-training room on the main post office's second floor.

The late William Evans, the post office's former human-resources director, organized the committee that put on the first event in 1989, said Valerie Crouse of Roanoke, chairman of this year's committee. The event is for the public but also promotes better understanding among the post office's diverse work force, said Crouse, a 25-year postal employee and customer service manager.

Roanoke Postmaster Billy W. Martin talked about the buffalo soldiers and other black Americans who have been honored with U.S. postage stamps, helping people understand blacks' contributions to U.S. society.

Bessie Coleman, the first black woman aviator, will be honored with a stamp this April, Martin said. Coleman, who flew only 20 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight, was a stunt and exhibition pilot. She died in a plane crash at 33, before she was able to realize her dream of starting a flight school for young black Americans.

Roanoke Vice Mayor John Edwards and Rep. Bob Goodlatte dropped in Sunday.

The Republican congressman said it was significant that the event was held at the post office on Rutheford Avenue, which was the site of a former black neighborhood that was obliterated by urban renewal. Black history, Goodlatte said, is not only what happened to famous blacks but also what has happened to blacks right here in Roanoke.

by CNB