Buffalo, a 73-year-old homeless man in the East Bay, has been spending what little he has on preserving Black American history.
Buffalo joined the Black Panther Party in 1968. Since then he said he has preserved stacks of documents, books, news clippings and memorabilia.
"Someone like Buffalo, with the wisdom that he's had and everything that he's done, should be the last person in our society that's without shelter," said attorney Beilal Chatila, who considers Buffalo a mentor.
Buffalo each month gets $450 in Social Security benefits. Most of the money goes to the rent for a storage unit housing the historic memorabilia belonging to the Black Panther Party.
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"We'll never get value for our artifacts in this system as it is now," Buffalo said.
Chatila has created a GoFundMe page to help Buffalo find stable housing, which will allow him to curate his memorabilia and pass along the history to the next generation of community activists.
"I'm not speaking for myself as much as I'm speaking for the dead and those not yet born," Buffalo said.
