Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Featured

    TSU Unveils Historical Marker Honoring Alumnus

    Article submittedBy Article submittedApril 5, 2018No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    l-r; Lt. Col. Paul Coakley, a U.S. Army veteran and president of the Nashville Chapter of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers with Dr. Glenda Glover, TSU President with the new historical marker for Lt. William McBryar. Photo submitted
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — Tennessee State University recently unveiled a historical marker honoring alumnus and Medal of Honor recipient, Lt. William McBryar.

    A number of lawmakers, military officials, and TSU officials attended a ceremony for the unveiling of the marker, which is located outside Kean Hall on the university’s main campus.

    Among those attending the event were state Sen. Thelma Harper; state Rep. Dr. Rev.Harold Love, Jr.; former TSU President Dr. Melvin Johnson; former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean; and Mr. Phil Ponder, a representative from the Office of U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper.

    In her welcome, TSU President Glenda Glover called McBryar “a role model for all of us.”

    “We’re pleased that we can recognize him as our own, and honor him in this manner,” Glover said following the event. “This unveiling is historical. There are so few African Americans who have made this type of achievement.”

    Lt. Col. Paul Coakley, a U.S. Army veteran and president of the Nashville Chapter of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers, was the keynote speaker. He said he, and other soldiers, are where they are today because of soldiers like McBryar.

    Lt. Col Paul Coakley, Nashville Chapter President National Association of Buffalo Soldiers, gives keynote address. (photo by John Cross, TSU Media Relations)

    “They sacrificed … so that we can do what we do today,” Coakley said.

    McBryar, a Buffalo Soldier, was posthumously honored at a special Veterans Day program at TSU last year. He was awarded America’s highest military decoration for his actions on March 7, 1890, during the Cherry Creek Campaign in the Arizona Territory. According to his citation, McBryar was distinguished for “coolness, bravery and marksmanship” while his 10th Cavalry troop was in pursuit of hostile Apache warriors.

    Dating back to the Civil War, there have been 3,498 Medal of Honor recipients. Of that number, 90 are black – and Lt. McBryar is one of them.

    “Medal of Honor recipients … are some of the most outstanding people in all of our nation’s history,” Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper said at the Veterans Day program. “I’m so proud that a TSU graduate received that medal.”

    McBryar went on to serve with the 25th Infantry in the Spanish-American war and fought at El Caney, Cuba. He also saw action in the Philippine Insurrection before demobilizing in San Francisco.

    In 1906, after leaving the military, McBryar moved to Greensboro, North Carolina as a civilian and there he married Sallie Waugh, a nurse. Three years later, he worked as a watchman at Arlington National Cemetery and as a military instructor at what is now Saint Paul’s College.

    Portrait of Lt. William McBryar

    In 1933, with a desire to complete his degree, McBryar attended Tennessee State Agricultural & Industrial College. He graduated the following year, at age 73, with an agriculture degree, finishing a college education that started at Saint Augustine’s University before he enlisted in the military.

    McBryar went on to write for “The Bulletin,” a publication at Tennessee State, addressing issues related to social justice and developments in Germany.

    In the May 1935 issue of the publication, McBryar writes in part:

    “What is the nature of that human weakness which seeks justice for itself and denies it to others? What is it within us which causes us to shudder at cruelty in the brute creation and to accept it with complacency among human beings? Why is justice glorified for one race as the supreme good and denied to another? It is a mental conception of the human which cannot be explained.”

    McBryar died in 1941 at the age of 80. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Article submitted

    Related Posts

    Emmett Till National Monument May Be Removed Under Trump Admin

    June 28, 2025

    TSU, State, reach agreement to reallocate $96M to school

    June 26, 2025

    TSU student lands prestigious internship at Harvard Medical School

    June 25, 2025

    Cohen’s District Director was “an Extremely Talented Administrator”

    June 23, 2025

    Black Americans Face Unequal Burden as U.S. Inches Closer to War

    June 22, 2025

    Newman AME Church Celebrates 106th Birthday of Mrs. Early Patsy Montgomery

    June 21, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Business

    Charlotte Knight Griffin Takes Office as TBA President-Elect

    June 30, 2025

    EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth

    June 19, 2025

    FUNdraising Good Times Report from Neighborhoods USA Conference in Jacksonville

    June 4, 2025
    1 2 3 … 384 Next
    Education
    Education

    Austin Peay’s MPH program receives $27K for childhood literacy initiative. Community LIFT Project to be implemented at Head Start centers this fall

    By Ethan SteinquestJune 30, 2025

    CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s Master of Public Health program is on a…

    TSU, State, reach agreement to reallocate $96M to school

    June 26, 2025

    TSU student lands prestigious internship at Harvard Medical School

    June 25, 2025

    FAMU stakeholders file lawsuit to prevent Marva Johnson’s confirmation as the university’s 13th President

    June 21, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/