Memorial Day was started by Black People on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.
The Zinn Education Project published an article about
Memorial Day, or “Decoration Day”, written by David W. Blight. According to
him, "The First Decoration Day" was led by people who had recently
been freed from slavery in Charleston, SC on May 1, 1865.
At the end of the Civil War, "Thousands of black
Charlestonians, most former slaves, remained in the city and conducted a series
of commemorations to declare their sense of the meaning of the war. The largest
of these events, and unknown until some extraordinary luck in my recent
research, took place on May 1, 1865. During the final year of the war, the
Confederates had converted the planters’ horse track, the Washington Race
Course and Jockey Club, into an outdoor prison. Union soldiers were kept in horrible
conditions in the interior of the track; at least 257 died of exposure and
disease and were hastily buried in a mass grave behind the grandstand. Some
twenty-eight black workmen went to the site, re-buried the Union dead properly,
and built a high fence around the cemetery. They whitewashed the fence and
built an archway over an entrance on which they inscribed the words, “Martyrs
of the Race Course.” "
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| Black Soldiers who gave their salaries to establish Lincoln College as a Historical Black University for Agriculture |
Here is another account…
"Memorial Day holds a special place for many Americans,
especially those who serve in the nation’s military. While past and current
members of the armed forces are most certainly honored, what few realize is
that the practice of celebrating America’s soldiers gained popularity due to a
group of freed Blacks in the South.
In the town of
Charleston in South Carolina, the celebration of what was called “Decoration
Day” was held to give respects to fallen soldiers from the Union ...Army in the
North. The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, with the Union victorious over its
Confederate foes. In order to celebrate the victory and honor the dead, on May
1 of that year around 10,000 freed Black men and women gathered in historic
Hampton Park.
The group placed
flowers on the graves of unknown soldiers, a practice held often in times of
war. The event caught the attention of the nation, and it was largely
understood by Whites to be a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation
passing in 1863. However, it was far more than that for those gathered. The
town was a Confederate stronghold, and over 250 soldiers died as prisoners
there as Union forces began to overtake the region. The Confederate soldiers
buried the dead in unmarked graves and fled in fear. The freed Blacks who came
to the Decoration Day event viewed those soldiers as martyrs who died
selflessly for their freedom. While their were Black soldiers in the Union
Army, the celebration was in honor of all who fought for the winning side.
David Blight, a
history professor at Yale University, has credited the Black population of
Charleston as the inventors of the first Memorial Day celebration although
other cities have made similar claims in attempts to dispute Blight’s research.
Still, most historians agree that it is at least the first widely recognized
celebration of fallen soldiers in history."
D.L. Chandler
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| Any Student of African Decent can receive a full ride scholarship in the school of Agriculture at Lincoln University. |
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| Angolanaut |
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| Chokwe Lumumba |
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| Sasteh Meter |
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| Student Minister Captian Vincent Muhammad, Khalifa Abdul Muhammad, City Council Carol Coe, Sasteh Meter Mosley, Nuta Beqsu(Adenike Amen-Ra) and Sister Julie Muhammad |
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The Zinn Education Project published an article about
Memorial Day, or “Decoration Day”, written by David W. Blight. According to
him, "The First Decoration Day" was led by people who had recently
been freed from slavery in Charleston, SC on May 1, 1865. 
