While the typical Memorial Day weekend may consist of beach trips and cookouts, and relaxation, the true purpose of the holiday— inspired by celebrations hosted by freed African Americans— is to remember and honor the sacrifice and service of members of the U.S. Armed forces.
For Marquette Milton, a staffer at the African American Civil War Museum and Memorial in Northwest Washington, D.C. and an owner of a tour company, combining celebration with commemoration is what Memorial Day is all about.
“I think people should do both,” Milton, 33, said to The Informer. “During the Memorial Day weekend, they can pay respect to those who lost their lives in service to the country and celebrate them.”
Known as the unofficial launch of the summer season, Memorial Day is a great opportunity for camaraderie, but Milton noted the importance of also uplifting African Americans’ historic contributions to the annual Monday holiday—this year on May 26— in the 19th century after the Civil War.
“Learning about the past can be a part of our future as Blacks,” said Milton, who serves as a Civil War soldier reenactor. “We are Americans too. We built this nation, and we saved this nation.”
The Black Origin of Memorial Day
On May 1, 1865, the freed people of Charleston, South Carolina gathered at a racetrack to decorate the graves of 257 Union prisoners of war who had been buried unceremoniously by the Confederate Army in retreat, according to the National Park Service.
The crowd, made up mainly of African Americans, watched the men of the 35th and 104th United States Colored Troops, along with the men of the noted 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, perform drills before listening to speeches addressing the meaning of the Civil War, the longest and bloodiest war Americans have ever engaged in.
When the observances were done, the crowd proceeded to lay flowers on the graves of the men out of respect for their service to the Union.
“Those ceremonies became known as Decoration Day,” said Frank Smith, the executive director of the African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation and Museum. “Similar ceremonies took place later in places such as South Georgia and Mississippi. They laid flowers on graves of Black and white Union soldiers in the South. They were soldiers for our freedom. Those soldiers helped transform the South from a slavocracy to a democracy.”
Three years post-Civil War, in 1868, Memorial Day was formalized by Union General John A. Logan in his General Order No. 11, with the annual floral decoration of the graves as the highlight.
In the decades that followed, Memorial Day evolved. To promote a spirit of reconciliation between the north and south in 1868, President William McKinley opened the national cemeteries to Confederate soldiers, according to the National Park Service. Later, Americans from all sections of the country who fought together in the Spanish American War and World War I, created the momentum for Memorial Day to become a day of celebration to honor all American who were killed in the line of duty.
Nevertheless, the Black contribution to the development of Memorial Day was not ignored, even during the racial segregation that persisted in the late 19th to mid 20th century.
According to the National Park Service, M.C. Maxfield touted the contributions of African American soldiers in a June 3, 1911 edition of The Washington Bee, a Black-owned newspaper.
“The Constitution that governs us was sustained by the sword and bayonet,” said Maxfield, speaking at a 1911 District Memorial Day ceremony. “The Black soldier played an important part, and as an evidence of their valor, look at the yonder graves.”
D.C. Celebrates Memorial Day Remembering Those Who Gave Their Lives
Smith, 82, said the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum will host a Memorial Day commemoration on the May 26 holiday.
“There will be a wreath-laying ceremony,” he said. “We used to get a contingent of Black men on motorcycles– known as the Buffalo Thunder, in remembrance of the Buffalo Soldiers who fought for the United States Army on the American frontier in the 1800s –to come by the Sunday before Memorial Day, but I don’t know about this year. We would also get presidential recognition, but this year we shall see.”
Smith said the actual museum, located east of the memorial on Vermont Avenue NW, will not re-open to the public until the fall due to some construction issues.
Another popular site for those interested in honoring African Americans who died in war is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Northwest. The memorial includes the Three Servicemen statue, a bronze sculpture created by Frederick Hart depicting a group of soldiers and featuring one African American— the first representation of a Black person on the National Mall.
The Department of Defense has reported that 7,243 African Americans died during the Vietnam War that occurred on a large scale from 1965 to 1973.
Essentially, 12.4% of all casualties in Vietnam were Black even though they were only 10% of those enlisted. Black soldiers fighting in Vietnam did so while the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) took place in the U.S., a fact noted by many in the service.
“We are fighting over here against the Viet Cong and at home against discrimination,” said Captain Clifford Alexander Jr. in the May 26, 1967 edition of Time Magazine. “Together we can win in both places.”
Milton said Memorial Day is special for African Americans because “we have always been willing to fight for our country even when we aren’t treated right.”
“The first casualty of the American Revolutionary War was a Black man,” emphasized Milton, speaking of Crispus Attucks, who died in 1770. “We were the ones who helped America win the Battle of New Orleans and we helped the Union win the Civil War. We are Americans too.”
