NEWSLETTER
Metropolitan Pima Alliance
The Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Plaza is being recognized by the Metropolitan Pima Alliance (MPA) as a Project Making a Difference at its 2022 Common Ground Awards this Friday, April 29.
The Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Plaza is located at the Quincie Douglas Neighborhood Center and honors those African-Americans who served in the U.S. Army from 1866-1948. They served with distinction, with several receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for their courage, heroism, and commitment to the United States. This effort was six years of work and collaboration between the Greater Southern Arizona Area Chapter (GSAAC) 9th and 10th Cavalry Horse Association, Tucson Ward 5 Council Member Richard Fimbres, the City of Tucson, and the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation department to put the project forward as part of the list for the City of Tucson ballot measure known as Proposition 407.
“The Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Plaza is great for our Community. Tucson recognizes those African-Americans who served in the U.S. Army,” said Council Member Fimbres. “Jon Covington and the GSAAC came to my office in early 2015 to discuss the Buffalo Soldiers and the effort to get a memorial built.” Fimbres went on to state, “I informed and educated the Mayor and the City Council about the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial project, requesting it to be included as part of Proposition 407 and to have it in the first phase of the proposition. I want to thank my colleagues on the Council for their support.” With the voters approval of Proposition 407 in 2018, Tucson's Buffalo Soldiers Memorial became the first voter approved and funded memorial of its kind in the United States.
"This is a memorial project that was well worth the financial investment of the Tucson voters and GSAAC membership,” said Jon Covington of GSAAC. “The planning and work the team did in building a memorial, that consisted of a shaded plaza in front of the Quincie Douglas center with a granite monument, seating, and six information plaques with the history of the Buffalo Soldiers in six months time was phenomenal. This memorial truly does capture the Tucson spirit."
The MPA Common Ground Awards, presented at their annual ceremony, recognize community leaders, projects and events demonstrating collaboration to the overall benefit of the community. More than 250 projects have been recognized. Some of this year's honored finalists include the following projects and programs: AZ Stitch Lab, the Sunshine Mile Overlay, City Center Adaptive Reuse, Shirley C. Scott Southeast Houghton Area Recharge Project (SHARP), and Thrive in the ‘05.