The Black History of Memorial Day

The Black History of Memorial Day on Doing the Do in Business with Ms. June uncovers the powerful and often forgotten role Black Americans played in the creation of Memorial Day after the Civil War. This compelling podcast episode takes listeners back to 1865 in Charleston, where formerly enslaved Black Americans organized one of the earliest known Decoration Day ceremonies to honor fallen Union soldiers.

Through rich storytelling, historical facts, and emotional reflection, Ms. June explores how Black soldiers, freedmen, churches, and communities helped shape America’s traditions of remembrance and patriotism. The episode discusses the origins of Decoration Day, the sacrifices of Black Union troops during the Civil War, and how Memorial Day eventually became a federal holiday in 1971.

Listeners will also learn about historical controversies, erased narratives, and the struggle to preserve Black contributions within American history. With powerful commentary, sponsor segments, and detailed historical references, this episode challenges audiences to look beyond cookouts and sales and remember the true meaning of Memorial Day — sacrifice, freedom, remembrance, and honor.

This podcast is a moving tribute to courage, legacy, and the enduring power of historical truth.

"Doing the Do" in Business
Hosted by Ms. June

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Doing the Do in Business with Miss June. This is your podcast for culture, community, business, history, and empowerment. We bring it all together. I'm your host, of course, Miss June. And today's episode is about reflection, remembrance, truth telling, and a little bit about some historical revelations. As many Americans prepare for cookouts, family gatherings, and long weekends. Today we're taking a deeper look at the true origins of Memorial Day, and specifically the powerful and often overlooked role that black Americans play in the creation of this national holiday. Today's episode is titled The Black History of Memorial Day. First and foremost, to all of our veterans who have served, and those who are still serving, thank you for your service. Well, today I will discuss just a little bit about when did Memorial Day begin, why was it created, who helped create it, and also how did the formerly enslaved black Americans, how did they honor the fallen Union soldiers? And then, of course, I will touch base really quickly on the official federal recognition of the holiday, and no conversation is complete without some controversies and some debates surrounding its history. So today is just a quick little story or presentation, I'd say, about freedom, sacrifice, dignity, and perhaps memory and truth. Now, to my knowledge, when many people think about Memorial Day, they really think about hey, this is the unofficial beginning of the summer. They think about sales, grilling, road trips, and of course those silly mattress commercials that just float around everywhere. I had to throw that in. But truthfully, Memorial Day was never intended to simply be just another three-day weekend or a vacation day. Memorial Day was created to honor military men and women who died while serving in the military in support of the United States of America. So I didn't know this, I'm recently learning this myself, but originally Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day. So where did this come from? Well, this holiday emerged after the Civil War. As you and I both know, this was the deadliest war in American history. This war lasted for what four years from 1861 to 1865, and between roughly they say 620,000 to 750,000 Americans died in the Civil War. And so families across the entire nation, they were devastated. And in some instances, you had entire communities that lost fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, friends, cousins. And so graves started really covering the American landscape. And then people began to decorate those graves of these fallen soldiers with wreaths, flowers, flags, notes, photos. And these acts of remembrance, as we begin to put this together, this became the foundation of what we now call Memorial Day. But here's something that many history books have failed to acknowledge for decades, years. Some of the earliest documented Memorial Day observances were actually organized by formerly enslaved black Americans. So today we're gonna take a quick look at that snapshot and what it looks like. If you've just joined us, you're inside doing the do in business with Miss June, and this portion of the show is sponsored by Shownuff's Premium House Blend Seasoning. Shownuff's House Blend Seasoning delivers rich flavor that works great on seafood, chicken, vegetables, pasta, and more. Visit their website at www.greerfamilyfoods.com. Also, this part of the show is sponsored by Show Consulting, helping businesses grow through strategy, leadership, branding, and organizational development. So we're gonna take a quick break and don't touch that dial. We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_03 4:49

You can escape a traffic jam. Know what else you can't escape? Seasonal allergies. And you might think you can avoid that coffee stain until really you can't escape a lot of things in life. But you can escape pre-diabetes. Prediabetes captures one in three adults. There are usually no signs of prediabetes. In fact, most people don't even know they have it. But with early diagnosis, you can change the outcome and prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Take action by taking the one-minute risk test at do I have prediabetes.org. You might not be able to escape having this song stuck in your head. But you can escape pre-diabetes. Go to do I have prediabetes.org today. Brought to you by the Ad Council and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SPEAKER_02 5:49

Hey Dad, how do airplanes fly? What's in this box? Is this tree good for climbing? How are babies made? What does this thing do?

SPEAKER_04 5:59

Kids are curious about everything, including guns. Talking to them about gun safety in your home is a good first step, but you can do more. Always keep your guns locked and unloaded and stored separately from ammunition. Safe gun storage saves lives. Learn how to make your home safer at nfamilyfire.org. That's nfamilyfire.org brought to you by nfamilyfire, Brady and the ICA.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Welcome back to another edition of Doing the Do in Business with Miss June. If you've just joined us today, we are talking about Memorial Day, specifically the black history of Memorial Day, and how African Americans contributed to this national, federal, major holiday, as you call it. Now, one of the most significant events connected to the origins of Memorial Day, because remember, we're building a little foundation here. That event occurred in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865. Now, this was at the end of the Civil War, and you had the formerly enslaved black Americans, they were in Charleston, and they organized what many historians now recognize as the earliest Memorial Day ceremonies in American history. Now, here's the story, just in a nutshell. During the Civil War, Confederate forces they used the Washington Race Course and Jockey Club in Charleston. Now, this was used as a prison camp for captured Union soldiers. The conditions were horrific. Hundreds of Union soldiers died there from disease, exposure, neglect. Then they were buried in a mass grave behind the racetrack. That's like they were put in like a big hole or really big potter's field, as they call it. Well, after the Confederacy collapse in 1865, newly freed black residents of Charleston they decided, you know what? These soldiers, they need dignity, they deserve dignity. So what happened was you had about 10,000 black Charlestonians, I guess that's what they call it, you know, like North Carolinians, charlatans, whatever. They organized this massive tribute, and this was huge. They actually actually exhumed the bodies, meaning they dug them up, and then they reburied the soldiers in a proper fashion. They even took it a step further and they built a fence around this uh cemetery and they put this big archway over it that reportedly read martyrs of the race course. So then on May 1st, 1865, you had all these people, I mean thousands, they gathered for a remembrance ceremony. You had black kids that carried flowers, you had the black women singing hymns, you had the Union soldiers marching, and of course, no funeral procession or funeral observation or memorial will be complete without ministers and preachers praying. So you had these families honoring the dead, and all of this, this event happened before Memorial Day was officially established nationally. Now, for many historians, this ceremony represents one of the first organized Memorial Day commemorations in America. Now there is a historian, his name was David Blight, he was of Yale University. He later helped bring national attention back to this event after it had been erased from mainstream historical narratives. And see, that erasure is going to tell us something important. It tells us that the origins of Memorial Day are deeply tied to black freedom, black humanity, and black remembrance. Because for formerly enslaved people, honoring Union soldiers meant honoring the people who helped destroy slavery. The Civil War was not abstract for black Americans, it was personal because freedom itself was on the line. Now, if you really, really, really do a deep dive here, black soldiers, they indeed played a major role during the Civil War. You had nearly 180,000 black men that served in the Union Army, and then you had another 20,000 that served in the Union Navy. Now, many of these uh military soldiers they joined after President Lincoln freed the slaves by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863. And one of the very first black, famous military units, you've heard it, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, these soldiers, buddy, let me tell you, they faced extreme discrimination. Their pay was even lower than the white soldiers. And these are the soldiers that were assigned to the most dangerous, dirtiest, nasty duties. Now, if the black soldiers happened to be captured by the Confederate forces, they were tortured, executed, or they were put back into slavery. But guess what? They kept fighting anyway. They stayed. They kept fighting. Now their bravery, it did change the public perception and of course, you know, strengthened strengthened the union's causes. And then fame uh not famous, I almost called him famous. He was famous. Frederick Douglass, he was an advocate that strongly supported black enlistment. And here's a quote that Frederick Douglass was famous for being quoted as saying, and I quote, Once you let the black man get upon his person, the brass letters of the U.S., let him get an eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket. There is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship. End quote. Because you have to understand, black soldiers were not only fighting to preserve the Union, they were fighting for freedom, recognition, and at that time what you would call full humanity. And after the war, black communities became some of the strongest supporters honoring the fallen union troops. If you've just joined us, you're inside another edition of Doing the Do in Business with Miss June. And this portion of the show is brought to you by Small Black Business International Magazine, where small black businesses receive global visibility, recognition, and celebration. Gonna take a quick break and then when we come back, we're gonna talk about how Memorial Day became a national holiday. Stay tuned, we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Hear that? That's the sound of your life. Perfectly imperfect. Beating in rhythm to the world you've created. But every time you drive after drinking, music gets drowned out. Your life sounds pretty great. Don't let a buzz ruin it. Buzz driving is drunk driving. Don't drive buzzed. A message from Nitsa and the Ad Council.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Hey Dad, how do airplanes fly? What's in this box? Is this tree good for climbing? How are the babies made? What does this thing do?

SPEAKER_04 13:57

Kids are curious about everything, including guns. Talking to them about gun safety in your home is a good first step, but you can do more. Always keep your guns locked and unloaded and stored separately from ammunition. Safe gun storage saves lives. Learn how to make your home safer at nfamilyfire.org. That's nfamilyfire.org brought to you by nfamilyfire, Brady and the Ad Council.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Welcome back to Doing the Do in Business with Miss June, and I am your host, first and foremost, to all of our veterans who have served and those who are currently serving, as well as to the families of those who have fallen. Thank you for your service on this Memorial Day weekend. If you've just joined us today, we're having a brief discussion about Black History and Memorial Day. And we've just been laying a little bit of foundation. Of course, Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summer, but we talked a little bit about the original holiday as it was known as Decoration Day, which emerged after the Civil War. We touch based really briefly about how this significant event launched in Charleston, South Carolina, because a lot of black soldiers were just buried in a big field, and then their bodies were pulled up, exhumed as they call it, and they were giving a formal ceremony. The black kids carried flowers, hymns were sang, people marched, and of course the ministers were praying because this was a way they decided that these fallen soldiers deserve dignity and proper honor. Also, touch face really quickly about how blacks played a role in the Civil War with over 180,000 in the Union Army and over 20,000 in the Navy. And of course, you know, back in those days, our black soldiers, black people always experienced discrimination, the worst jobs. So it was the same in the military when our black soldiers were in the military. So before the break, I did say that when we came back, I'm gonna touch base on how Memorial Day became a national holiday. Now the official push for a national remembrance day came shortly after the Civil War. Now this was in 1868. General John A. Logan was the leader of an organization called the Grand Army of the Republic. He issued what was known at that time as General Order No. 11. Now, this order designated May 30th as a national day to decorate the graves of the Union soldiers. So that's why this holiday became known as Decoration Day. So why was the date May 30th selected? Some historians they believe that this date was selected as a universal date because all across the country the flowers will be in full bloom. And as you know, you heard me say earlier that the early observances included communities visiting cemeteries. They would place flowers on the graves and they would hold ceremonies. Now, over a period of time, this tradition continued to expand. So even today, they still place flowers on the graves of the military. At the military cemeteries, individual graves of their loved ones, and even at the tomb of the unknown soldier up in DC, they placed flowers there. So the flowers and May, you know, it ties in together. Now, after World War I, Memorial Day, it went from honoring the Civil War dead to honoring all military personnel who died in service. Then let's fast forward. Let's get up to 1971. In 1971, Memorial Day became an official federal holiday through what's called the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This was signed by then President Richard Nixon. So what that meant was the law moved several holidays to Mondays, and this was by design in order to create three-day weekends for federal workers. So now today, here we are, current year. This is why Memorial Day is now observed on the last Monday in May instead of always being on May the 30th. Of course, you did have some veteran groups that actually opposed the change. So why did they oppose it? Some veterans actually believed that turning Memorial Day into a long weekend commercialized and weakened the sacred meaning of the holiday. And you know, to tell you the truth, many people today they still debate that issue. So it makes you wonder: has America really forgotten the true meaning of Memorial Day? You know, that's a question that continues, in my opinion, of course, that continues to come up every year. Well, if you've just joined us, you're inside doing the do in business with Miss June, and we're talking about Memorial Day, and we are talking briefly about the history of Memorial Day and also the role that African Americans and black soldiers played in this holiday. So we're gonna take a quick break and then we're gonna come back with something I mentioned at the top of the show. What were some of the controversies? What are some of those historical debates? And what were some of the attempts of erasure of this federal holiday? Don't touch that dial. We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_05 20:22

You know, you could hit pause when you needed to, or hit rewind. Like that time you knocked down that wasp's nest. Or that time you forgot to roll up your windows in the car wash.

SPEAKER_04 20:36

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_05 20:37

Yeah, a remote control would have come in handy then. Well, life doesn't always give you time to change the outcome, but pre-diabetes does. With early diagnosis and a few healthy changes like managing your weight, getting active, stopping smoking, and eating healthier, you can stop prediabetes before it leads to type 2 diabetes. It's easy to learn your risk. Take the one-minute test today at doihabrediabetes.org. Life doesn't come with a remote control. So you're on your own with the wasps. You have the power to take control of pre-diabetes. Visit doIHAPPrediabetes.org today. That's doihabrediabetes.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and its pre-diabetes awareness partners.

SPEAKER_06 21:20

You served behind the desk. You served in combat. You did four years and got out. You were drafted. You gave 20 years.

SPEAKER_08 21:28

You gave exactly what your country needed.

SPEAKER_06 21:31

You are a veteran.

SPEAKER_08 21:32

You are a veteran.

SPEAKER_07 21:34

You are a veteran. And you deserve support.

SPEAKER_08 21:37

If you're struggling with life after service, don't wait. Reach out.

SPEAKER_07 21:42

Find resources at va.gov slash reach.

SPEAKER_08 21:45

Brought to you by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ad Council.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Welcome back to Doing the Do in Business with Miss June. That would be me, you know. I am your host. Today we're talking about the black history of. Of Memorial Day. And of course, I certainly want to say again thank you so much for your service to all the veterans who are serving those who have served and the families that, of course, you know, you serve with the veterans, so your military, you're all serving. So thank you for your service. Just laid a little foundation and talked a little bit about the history of Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summers, how most people think of it. Just touch base on a few little foundational areas about the first observance was in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865. And at the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved black Americans in Charleston organized what many historians now recognize as one of the earliest Memorial Day ceremonies, one of the first Memorial Day observations. And of course, the origins of Memorial Day are deeply tied to Black freedom, black humanity, and certain black remembrance. In 1868, General John A. Logan, he was the leader of the Grand Army of the Republic. He issued the general order number 11. The fourth Monday of the month, no, the fourth Monday of May, rather, was designated as a national day to decorate the graves of the Union soldiers simply because of the weather and the flowers would be blooming all across the country. In 1971, it became an official recognized holiday signed in by Richard Nixon, and it was moved to be on Mondays so everyone could get a three-day weekend. Now let's talk about some of the controversies surrounding the Memorial Day history. One major debate centers on one question: Who truly started Memorial Day? Now there are more than two dozen towns and cities across America claiming to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. Columbus, Mississippi, Waterloo, New York, Richmond, Virginia, Carmindale, Illinois, Charleston, South Carolina. They all have historical claims. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson officially declared Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day. But many historians, they are arguing that, you know, this story is much more complicated because some believe that the contributions of black Americans in Charleston were initially, well, intentionally rather minimized for decades during the Jim Crow era. Why? Because Reconstruction era, black patriotism challenged the racist narratives of the times. Think about it. You have former slaves, former enslaved people honoring Union soldiers as liberators. This was a powerful statement. This connected black freedom directly to the Union victories. Some historians argue that as segregation and what they call lost cause mythology, as this spread across the South, many black contributions to the Civil War remembrances were deliberately pushed aside. Now, here comes a conspiracy theory. Some people claim that Memorial Day was stolen or politically rewritten to erase their black history and the black history involvement completely. Then historians they like to reject the idea of a single coordinated conspiracy. But you have many scholars that do agree that historical erasure absolutely happened through selective storytelling, omission, and unequal recognition. Now this is important. Because as we know, history is often shaped not only by what is said, but hey, also by what is unsaid. And for many years, the black origins connected to the Memorial Day holiday, they were not discussed in schools or public conversations. But thankfully, we have so many more historians, educators, museums, and cultural institutions, they are now bringing these stories back into the public. And when it really boils down, Memorial Day is ultimately about sacrifice. And black Americans have sacrificed tremendously in every American conflict, from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, to World War I to World War II, to Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. Black service members have fought for freedoms abroad while they face discrimination at home. The story of Memorial Day reminds us that patriotism and protest have often existed side by side in black history. Black Americans have historically demanded that America live up to its promises, and many gave their lives while doing so. Today, black veterans' organizations, churches, civic clubs, and families continue Memorial Day traditions across the country.