From Decoration Day to Memorial Day: How Black Americans Shaped a National Holiday To Honor Their Fallen Heroes

Picture this: it’s May 1865, the Civil War’s just wrapped, and Charleston, South Carolina, is buzzing with the fresh air of freedom. Newly freed Black folks—barely out of chattel slavery’s grip—decide to throw a party for the ages, but not the kind with punch and cake. No, they’re digging up the bodies of 260 Union soldiers, tossed into mass graves by Confederate forces, and giving them proper burials. Then, they stage a massive parade, with children, preachers, and soldiers, decking those graves with flowers. This, my friends, is the birth of Decoration Day, the original “OG” Memorial Day. It was Black Americans who lead the charge with a mix of reverence, defiance, audacity. There wouldn’t have been a “Memorial Day” without Black people. Fast-forward to 2025, and that legacy still ripples through how we honor America’s fallen, especially the Black soldiers who’ve been holding it down since day one.

HOW IT STARTED

Decoration Day: The Black-Led Kickoff
Let’s set the scene. Charleston’s Washington Race Course, once a fancy racetrack, had become a grim Confederate prison camp where Union soldiers—many of them Black heroes from units like the 54th Massachusetts—died in droves from disease, starvation, or worse. The Confederates didn’t bother with proper burials, just dumped them in unmarked pits. Enter the newly freed Black community, who knew about these unmarked graves, the unsung heroes buried there, and also knew if they didn’t exume and honor these heroes no one would. They spent days digging up and reburying 260 fallen soldiers in individual graves, each one marked with respect. On May 1, 1865, they threw a parade that was part funeral, part victory lap—up to 10,000 strong Black folks, with children singing “John Brown’s Body,” preachers dropping scripture, and flowers piling up like a botanical avalanche. A New York Tribune reporter called it a “procession of friends and mourners,” and you better believe it was a vibe.
This wasn’t just a memorial; it was a statement. These Black Americans, some still learning what American freedom really meant, were honoring their heroes who died to end the savagery of antebellum slavery. They turned a site of unmarked death into a shrine for the supreme sacrificed, kicking off what we now call Decoration Day, named for the flowers (or “decorations”) laid on graves. Historian David W. Blight calls this the “First Decoration Day,” and it’s no coincidence it happened in a city where Black resilience was the backbone of post-war rebuilding, Charleston, SC.
From Decoration to Memorial: The Evolution
By 1868, the idea of decorating soldiers’ graves caught on, thanks to General John A. Logan, who made it official with a call to honor the Civil War dead every May 30. But let’s be real: Logan was riffing off what Black Charlestonians had already set in motion. As the years rolled on, Decoration Day expanded to honor all American soldiers killed in any war, from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam to Afghanistan. By the 20th century, it morphed into Memorial Day, cemented as a federal holiday in 1971, moved to the last Monday in May for that sweet long weekend. What we now call “Memorial Day”.

While the holiday went national, the Black origins got sidelined by mainstream mayonnaise media re-tellings, like a plot twist nobody wants to spoil. America tried to make this holiday for its own, and wash its foundation “white”. Forget Charleston and once again conveniently leave Black contributions out of its history books. Despite the disrespect, Black communities never stopped commemorating their fallen, from the United States Colored Troops of the Civil War to the Harlem Hellfighters of World War I, who were out here dodging bullets and racism at the same time. Over 180,000 Black soldiers fought for the Union, with thousands dying, and in every war since, Black service members have been in the thick of it! Memorial Day’s roots and its ongoing meaning owe a lot to their sacrifice.

2025: HOW IT’S GOING

Fast-forward to May 2025, and Memorial Day is still a big deal—barbecues, flags at half-mast, and ceremonies at places like Arlington National Cemetery. But let’s not sleep on how Black soldiers’ legacy keeps the holiday grounded. Take the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., where folks gather to honor the Colored Troops who didn’t just fight for the Union but for their own freedom. Or check out events by groups like the National Association of Black Veterans, who keep it 100 by celebrating Black fallen heroes while calling out the military’s historical neglect of Black contributions.

This year, posts online are buzzing with folks reminding everyone of Decoration Day’s Black roots, with one user quipping, “Charleston’s freedmen started Memorial Day, and now people are grilling burgers and waving flags. Don’t forget who set the table.” Another X post shared a meme of a Black Union soldier with the caption, “Decoration Day was our flex—respect the OGs.” These digital nods keep the history alive, while legacy media tries hard to gloss over it. Black soldiers’ stories—from the 54th Massachusetts getting their due in Glory to modern-day heroes like Army Sgt. La David Johnson, killed in Niger in 2017—remind us that Memorial Day isn’t just a holiday; it’s a debt owed to the blood spilled to keep America, America by the foundational Americans, Black people.

Revealing the Real
Here’s the revealing part: Black soldiers didn’t just fight and die for America; they shaped how we remember this day and how all soldiers are honored. That Charleston parade wasn’t just about Union heroes; it was about Black folks claiming their place in a nation that wasn’t fully ready to claim them back. Every war since—World War II’s Tuskegee Airmen who fought valiantly against the Nazis. Vietnam’s Black GIs facing draft disparities, or Iraq’s Black troops navigating post-9/11 patriotism—has seen Black Americans give their lives, often while battling racism at home. Memorial Day’s Black origins remind us that this holiday isn’t just about flags and speeches; it’s about a community that turned grief into a national tradition, demanding respect for the fallen and the living.

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