Celebrated on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is often perceived as the start of the summer season. While many see Memorial Day as a day of leisure and a fun long weekend, the purpose of the festivity is to honor those who gave their lives in service for the US regardless of their military status (for that there is Veterans Day on November 11).
The origins of Memorial Day are often debated, and many cities like claiming they are the birthplace of this solemn and important celebration. While many events similar to what we consider Memorial Day today did happen around the same time in different cities in the US, history tends to forget that there was a major event that took place just weeks after the end of the Civil War and that inspired homages that are still carried away on Memorial Day.
The Black Origins of Memorial Day
The Civil War was one of the most devastating conflicts the US had seen until then, over half a million soldiers from both sides died, some in battle, most of them from disease. The country had been divided for such a long time, and families were tired of such a violent conflict that decimated the nation. It’s estimated that about 2% of the time’s population passed.
The war ended in April 1865, by May 1, a group of former slaves held a parade in Charleston, South Caroline to celebrate emancipation and honor those who gave their lives for the cause. Charleston hosted one of the most emotional and solemn events the country had seen, and it’s often forgotten by history mainly because once slavery was abolished, segregation and racism took their place.
According to the historian, David W. Blight, an article at The New York Tribune even called the celebration the “First Decoration Day” when they reported that over 10,000 former slaves held an impressive parade formed by children, missionaries, members of the Black Union battalions, and religious leaders through the streets of Charleston. But even those who remember this story fail to forget the most emotional and inspiring bit.
When the war ended, confederates turned the Washington Race Course and Jockey Club into an outdoor prison for black people. Union soldiers were kept in the worst conditions and over 250 black prisoners died of disease. They were buried with no consideration in a mass grave. Later that year, black women visited the site to rebury the fallen and pay their honors. They placed a fence that read “Martyrs of the Race Course.”
In the New York Tribune, as mentioned, the event was called “a procession of friends and mourners as South Carolina and the United States never saw before.” In the following years, cities all over the country started celebrating Decoration Day with big and solemn parades to honor those fallen in the war. And as time passed, the Charleston celebrations passed into oblivion.
Decoration Day
The first nationwide Decoration Day was celebrated on May 30, 1868. The festivity got its name mainly because, besides the parades, the most important part of the celebration was ‘decorating’ with flowers the graves of those who fought in the Civil War.
After WWI, the country mourned the loss of over 100,000 soldiers, and Decoration Day passed to honor all those who had passed defending the country. During the 20th century, the name also changed to Memorial Day; a day to remember those fights and those who believed in their causes.
In 1971, Congress made Memorial Day an official national holiday, but they changed the date from May 30 to the last Monday of May to make it a long weekend to celebrate. Controversially, the festivity has now shifted into a long weekend to have barbecues and play sports, also many stores offer discounts and special events, thus forgetting the real purpose of the celebration.
In recent years, there have been many petitions to change the date back to May 30 to maintain the solemn nature of Memorial Day. But in fact, there should be petitions to retell the real origins of the festivity, to praise all of those who fought for equality and freedom and whose stories have been forgotten and erased.
Read more:
Grace Wisher: The overlooked history of the black girl who helped create the American flag
The First Black President in America Was Vicente Guerrero 180 Years Before Obama
