PLANT CITY, Fla. – In the midst of the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, the newly-formed Buffalo Sistahs put on quite a show at the nearby Winn Dixie.
- Country line dancing group Buffalo Sistahs formed in November
- Group comprised of women between 54 and 78 years old
- Goal of the group is share little know U.S. military history
The group of country line dancers formed in November.
“When people see us perform, they are astonished that these old women. Okay. I think the youngest is about 54 and the oldest is 78 and we got moves,” founder Jeraldine Williams said.
Williams is proud of how diverse the group has become. They all met at the local YMCA line dance class.
“We are also ethnically ambassadors for race mixing in Plant City. We have an Asian. We have Puerto Ricans. We have an East German. We have an African American. And the others are Anglos. And we mix and enjoy and we can show people that you can and we can disagree without being disagreeable,” Williams said.
Besides dancing, Williams said the other purpose of the group is to raise awareness of little known United States military history such as the fact that there was a female serving with the Buffalo Soldiers named Cathay Williams. She enlisted however as William Cathay.
“It’s not in the history books, people just don’t know. She did serve," Williams said. "She made a contribution and we need to know.”
The group performs all over, spreading the news about not only Cathay Williams but also the Borinqueneers, a Puerto Rican regiment in the United States Army.
To contact the group, email Jeraldine Williams at socialjere@gmail.com.