During their 1896 excursion from Fort Missoula, Mont., to Yellowstone National Park, riders of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, led by 2nd Lt. James A. Moss, at top, pose on Minerva Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs. (World History Group Archive)
Texas State Parks are debuting a free-to-the-public virtual series of programs that highlight Black history throughout the month of February. The programming includes accounts of “The Iron Riders: Blazing A Trail for Modern Mountain Bikers;” “Stewards of Yosemite: The First Black Park Rangers;” and “Courage Has No Color: Black Firefighters and the Big Burn.” The series will culminate with a live interactive trivia challenge (on the Kahoot App) on February 27th at 6:00 PM.
“Black history is really everyone’s history, and our rangers want to support Black History Month by bringing more diverse stories to the forefront of Texas State Parks for our visitors,” states Jessica Lagalo, the Outdoor Education and Outreach Manger for Texas State Parks. “The awareness that African Americans were some of the first Park Rangers, the first Forest Firefighters, the first Mountain Bikers is so incredibly relevant to the history and stewardship of Texas State Parks. Without the efforts of Black Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Companies, much of the infrastructure of Texas State Parks would not be here today.”
The 15 programs of the online series will be broadcast live from the Buffalo Soldier Heritage Outreach Program Facebook page at 6:00 PM on select weekdays, while Saturday programs will be live streamed at 1:00 PM from Texas State Parks. Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Cedar Hill State Park, Brazos Bend State Park, and Tyler State Park are among the locations included.
For a complete list of programs, please see the list here. For more information, please visit the Texas State Parks and Wildlife Department website here.
