Memorial Day and Black America’s Contribution

By Kariem Haqq

On May 1, 1865, nearly 10,000 people, mostly black ex-slaves and Union Colored Troops (including the Massachusetts 54th Infantry), along with white northern missionaries, gathered in Charleston, S.C. They gathered to honor and commemorate the valor of 257 dead Union soldiers who had been held as prisoners of war in the outdoor prison at the Charleston Race Course (Washington Race Course and Jockey Club). Also included in the gathering were 3,000 black school children newly enrolled in Freedmen’s schools. The bodies were dug up out of a mass grave behind the grandstand about two weeks prior. Black people worked on the bodies to prepare them for a proper burial as a gratitude for the dead soldiers fighting and dying for their freedom. They cleaned up and landscaped the burial ground and built an enclosure and an archway at the entrance labeled “Martyrs of the Race Course.” The ceremony included a parade, placing flowers on the burial field, prayer, and songs of praise (‘John Brown’s Body,’ ‘We’ll Rally around the Flag,’ the ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’ spiritual hymns, etc.). Afterward, there was a picnic, speeches, and soldier drills. Years later, it would be called the “First Decoration Day.” It would be called “Decoration Day” for more than 100 years. This was due to Union General John Logan, commander-in-chief of a Union veterans’ organization called the Grand Army of the Republic. He issued a decree that established what was then named “Decoration Day” on May 5, 1868. He declared it “designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.”

In 1966, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y. to be the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Then, in 1971 congress established “Memorial Day” as the official federal holiday to honor all Americans who have fallen in U.S. wars.

Although the Memorial Day celebration today honors all soldiers who died to defend America and establish freedom before and even after the Civil War, its origin is in the war fought to free black people from slavery in America. The Memorial Day Celebration was a direct result of the gratitude of former slaves, and this legacy should be perpetuated by all Americans, especially black Americans who were directly impacted by the courageous and sacrificial efforts of the soldiers, dead and alive.  They helped to free black people from chattel bondage. The Memorial Day Celebration should be a special day of celebration for black America.

Today the site used is named Hampton Park after Confederate General Wade Hampton, who became S. Carolina’s governor following the Civil War.