BUFFALO, N.Y. — This week and leading up to Veterans Day, we celebrate the service of women and men in our armed forces.
Among those celebrations was a gathering Tuesday at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park to honor Black veterans.
Kneeling on their hands and knees, folks scrub away, cleaning military-style dog tags that honor living and fallen Black veterans as a celebration.
"Today is a special day in a special place," said Dewitt Lee, co-founder of Black Veterans Day.
Nov. 7 has been declared Black Veterans Day in The City of Buffalo. It was a proclamation signed by Mayor Byron Brown.
"It's just a small gesture of saying we appreciate you and we thank you for all that you've done," Lee said.
It was on Nov. 7, 1775, when the English offered to free slaves who joined the British army during the American Revolution. Soon after, that forced Americans to allow Blacks, free and enslaved, to serve in the Revolutionary Army.
This year is also the 75th anniversary of the executive order to desegregate the U.S. military.
"Every ethnicity that sacrificed and served for this country and that went through all of the obstacles just to fight for a country at many times didn't fight for them. So, we think that story cannot be forgotten and it must be celebrated," Lee told 2 On Your Side.
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