Spotlight- Hero of the Great Outdoors- Shelton Johnson: Like many of our Heroes this month, Shelton Johnson is a big advocate for getting minorities out into National Parks and other natural areas. Growing up in inner-city Detroit, Johnson dreamed of nature and mountains. He began working in the National Parks system in Yellowstone while working on an MFA program at the University of Michigan.
While working as an interpreter at a variety of National Parks, Shelton Johnson kept trying to come up with ways to connect the kids he was leading, kids from backgrounds just like his own, inner-city kids, to nature. He eventually ended up working at Yosemite National Park, where his research led him to the history of the Buffalo Soldiers. Since then, he has told the story of the Buffalo Soldiers in print, on camera and in person.
He tracked down descendants of the Buffalo Soldiers, authored an award-winning website and has received mounds of praise from civic groups and government. He developed a character, Sergeant Elizy Boman, whom he dramatically portrays during evening programs and daytime ranger walks in Yosemite. This living history performance is titled, “Yosemite Through the Eyes of a Buffalo Soldier, 1904.” He also wrote and maintains a segment on the Buffalo Soldiers on Yosemite National Park's official website.
Shelton Johnson has been included in documentaries on the Buffalo soldier, including: “Shelton Johnson in Legacy of the Buffalo Soldier” DVD Ken Burns Documentary Mini-series: “The National Parks: America's Best Idea” His website can be found here: http://shadowsoldier.wilderness.net/ He wrote “Gloryland”, published by Sierra Club Books in 2009
