Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Buffalo Soldiers bikers club rides on
Members carry the spirit of African-Americans who served the country
About a dozen parked motorcycles gleamed under the morning sun outside a church on an early Saturday morning. Down the street, their riders, dressed in bright yellow shirts and black vests, distributed boxes packed with food to needy families.
They are the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club Miami Chapter, a group of about 25 motorcyclists who ride together and give back to the community. And they take their name from history. The original Buffalo Soldiers were AfricanAmerican troops in the U.S. Army’s 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments who served their country along the western frontier after the Civil War.
“We call our motorcycles ‘iron horses’ and we
“We are a club that does good for the community.” Sheila Cockfield, one of the founding members of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club Miami Chapter
ride and we pay homage and respect to those 9th and 10th cavalry regiments,’’ said chapter President Robert Garland, who rides a Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
Among their chapter activities, these bikers with a cause also visit schools, libraries and festivals to share the historical significance of the Buffalo Soldiers regiments that went on to fight in the Spanish-American War in 1898 and other conflicts, including both world wars.
“For a lot of people, it’s the first time hearing about the Buffalo Soldiers,’’ said Lenora Banks, a Miramar resident and postal employee who has been a member of the nonprofit group since 2009, along with her husband, Gary Banks.
“For some people, they know the history sometimes better than we know the history. We are trying to carry on that lineage,” she added, taking a break from packing eggs, meats, cinnamon buns and crackers in boxes for families at the Harvest Fire Worship Center Food Bank in Miami Gardens.
It’s said the “Buffalo Soldiers” name originated from the very American Indians who fought against them after the Civil War. Theories suggest it may have had something to do with the soldiers’ style of dress or hair. Another theory said the name came from the soldiers’ bravery.
“It was those Indians, the Cheyenne, who said this group of black fighters fight like buffalo. They fight with the ferocity of the buffalo,’’ said Garland.
The soldiers adopted the name, and the buffalo symbol became part of the crest for both regiments.
Launched in 2006, the South Florida group is a spinoff of the National Association of the Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club, which started in 1993 in Chicago. In all, there are more than 100 chapters, and members travel across the country for annual meetups.
The bikers bear a logo, of a black soldier, on their motorcycles, helmets, license plates and bracelets. Upon seeing the group’s logo, they say people often misunderstand their club name.
“Are you all from Buffalo, N.Y.?’’ Garland cited from memory.
However, he and other members turn that mistaken identity into a positive.
“Those are just opportunities to educate and tell people about the Buffalo Soldiers,’’ he said.
Their matching yellow shirts and black vests draw attention out on the road.
“We call it ‘colors.’ We wear our vests with our patch on the back,’’ said Mona Sconiers, a Fort Lauderdale member whose biker name is “Hi Klazz.”
Each member has a nickname. The club also has an “H20” and “EZ.” Garland is known as “Kruzn.”
“We ride in a staggered formation. We are not side by side, like CHIPS,’’ added Garland, who lives in unincorporated Miami-Dade and is a 29-year veteran with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
He and his wife, Kathy, joined about three years ago. They said they liked the camaraderie of the group, the fellowship for riding motorcycles, the opportunity to share history and help others.
One of the group’s founding members, Sheila “SunSloper” Cockfield, said one of her motivations was to help change the stigma of motorcycle clubs.
“Motorcycle clubs are known for being negative. We are not a gang,’’ said Cockfield, a retired law enforcement officer who lives in southwest Miami-Dade. “We are an organization. We are a club that does good for the community.”
The club gathers every Saturday, either for a regular meeting or for a charitable event.
Earlier this month, they spent a Saturday at the AfricanAmerican Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, where they discussed how the Buffalo Soldiers drove cattle, helped build roads and telegraph lines, and protected settlers in stagecoaches and wagons from attacks.
They also passed out cards that read: “From the Indian Wars to World War II, the Buffalo soldiers willingly fought, bled and died for our Nation … They played a major part in building the West and making it safe for the westward expansion.”
At the Miami Gardens church on another Saturday, they helped package 3,000 pounds of food for more than 250 families. As they worked, Claudette Scott, director of the food pantry at Harvest Fire Worship Center Food Bank in Miami Gardens, looked on with a smile.
“It’s great having them here serving, because they are giving back to the community, so we love them for that,’’ she said.
Once they were done at the food bank, the group ambled back to their motorcycles. In the church parking lot, they held hands in a circle and said a prayer.
Then they mounted their motorcycles and rode off to make an appearance at the Everglades Seafood Festival in Everglades City.