Historically speaking.....
We watched Hang Em High last night and wondered about the prison guards. Seemed like they were all black. Was this accurate? Were these former Buffalo Soldiers who were given positions in the federal prison?
Judge Isaac Parker was a Unionist and abolitionist during the Civil War. Hiring former slaves to act as guards may have been a sort of personal affirmative action program for his court, in a way. One thing is beyond dispute. The guards were brave, loyal, honest and effective in their jobs. Later, a black man named Bass Reeves became the first black deputy US Marshal. Reeves actually arrested his own son for murder, when the need arose. I'm waiting for a film about Bass Reeves- his is a story that deserves to be remembered.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
That's a nice touch.
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