Veterans Day Weekend Program Honors Legacy of Black World War I Combat Unit The Harlem Hellfighters

Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11 to honor military veterans – living and deceased – who served in the United States Armed Forces.& The federal holiday, once called Armistice Day, features patriotic parades, programs, and other celebratory military-themed events on local, state, and national levels, all paying tribute to the brave men and women who fought adversarial forces to defend the people, allies, and interests of the United States of America. While Veterans Day was created to honor the nation’s military veterans, it has not always paid proper tribute to millions of Black Americans who have served in the nation’s wars and military conflicts on U.S. and foreign soil. & However, over this Veterans Day weekend, an epic program was held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center to remember and honor the heroics of the Harlem Hellfighters, the famed all-Black combat unit that fought courageously during World War I (1914 – 1918) across Europe’s western and eastern fronts.& Organized and presented by producer, director, screenwriter, educator, author, and native Detroiter Heather Buchanan, the Veterans Day weekend program paid homage to the Harlem Hellfighters through original songs and music by...