More Than History: Community. Heart.
Dear Friend,
This message is different from the others I’ve sent, it is more personal, vulnerable, honest and intentional. Because of that, it felt right to open this letter simply as, friend.
As we close out our capital campaign and prepare for our reopening and an eventful 2026, I’ve been challenged to really reflect on our mission and the impact of our work. There’s a quote that has always stayed with me: “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”
For me, that is our why.
It speaks to the responsibility we share to not only protect history, but to care for the people connected to it. And that’s why the work of this museum matters so deeply to me.
When I think about what gives me the most pride, it is the impact we make on the people who walk through our doors. I want students to enter this museum with pride and curiosity, not obligation — to find not only the story of the Buffalo Soldier, but a full view of the Black military experience that you simply will not find told this way anywhere else.
Storytelling is what we do. We are the through-line that cannot be erased. And our priority, always, is to make an indelible impact on every person who enters our space by offering an unforgettable experience that resonates long after they leave.
But my vision for this museum goes even deeper.
I want this to be a place where people come not only to learn, but feel supported. A place where creativity, wellness, education, and connection live side by side. A place where veterans, families, neighbors, and young people know they belong.
In other words:
We are a museum — and more.
Built for history.
Built for community.
Built with heart.
People laugh when I quote rapper Biggie Smalls, the great “philosopher”, but he once said, “It was all a dream.” And truly, that is where our foundation begins. This museum exists because a man from La Marque, Texas — my grandfather — saw an unmet need and decided he would be the one to fill it.
The freedoms we cherish are because these men and women made sacrifices.
I am because they had the courage and the tenacity to put country first.
Our work is important — but more than that, it is our responsibility.
There is a moment I’ve never forgotten: July 2020. Post-George Floyd. A time of civil unrest, anger, and collective grief. I went to sleep one night around 11:30 p.m. and woke up from a dream that disturbed me so deeply I couldn’t remember the details, only the message:
“Protect the legacy.”
I wrote those words down immediately.
A few hours later, I woke again to calls and texts telling me that our building had been defaced with racial slurs. That was the moment I understood my why — not as CEO, not as the founder’s grandson, but as someone entrusted with a legacy that cannot be abandoned or softened.
Legacy is not about what is left to us or for us.
Legacy is about how we continue to develop what has been passed on.
It’s about the way you make people feel long after the moment has passed.
It’s about how you show up.
And it’s about leaving that honored thing better than you received it.
That is the heart of this year’s theme:
More Than History: Community. Heart.
Even as our building undergoes renovation, we are expanding educational opportunities for students, deepening creative and wellness-centered programming, and strengthening our connection to veterans, families, and neighborhoods across Houston.
We are building a museum that is not only a place of remembrance, but a place of belonging.
But we cannot do this alone.
Your support ensures that we continue to protect this legacy as history, but also as a living, breathing commitment to the community we serve.
Thank you for allowing me to show up with vulnerability.
Thank you for standing with us.
And thank you for being part of what we are building together.
With deep gratitude,
Desmond Bertrand-Pitts
Chief Executive Officer
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum