The U.S. Army has set aside the convictions of 110 black soldiers accused in the 1917 Houston Riots. The announcement came in a ceremony that took place at the National Buffalo Soldiers Museum, where each of the soldiers' names was reverently called and a bell tolled in their honor. Brigadier General Ronald D. Sullivan, as he detailed the events leading to the mutiny, explained how the all-Black Buffalo Soldier Regiment members faced "racist provocations and physical violence" in a city under Jim Crow, reported by Houston Public Media
Harris County has followed suit with a resolution passed by its Commissioners Court to honor these soldiers, a century overdue for justice. "It is 100 years late, but on behalf of Harris County I want to issue an apology to these soldiers," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo stated, explicitly conveying the sentiments of county officials at a news conference, as per Houston Chronicle.
Clerk Clyde Lemon of the Houston NAACP Veterans quoted, "It is never too late to do right,"
Congressman Al Green indicated that upgrades to honorable discharges were for the soldiers wrongfully smeared by history, telling Houston Public Media, "The undersecretary was here today, who took it upon himself to announce... that the descendants of these men who were treated in a dishonorable way would receive benefits."
