White Americans Realize that memorial day was started by black Americans!!

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]The first Memorial Day actually was created by African-Ameans celebrating their freedom in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. The story was just almost unbelievable when I first read it. On May 1st, 1865, the Civil War had ended, just ended. People gathered on the old Planters horse track, the racetrack in Charleston, and they held this extraordinary parade. In the last 6 to8 months of the war, the Confederates had converted the infield of that racetrack into an open air prison. And about 260 Union soldiers had died. On May 1st, about 10,000 people marched around the old planters racecourse led by uh some 2 or 3,000 black children carrying arm loads of roses and flowers and singing John Brown's body, followed by black women, black men, and then Union troops. And they marched around the course. And then they gathered in this cemetery that had been created by local black workmen. and they heard preaching from five black ministers.

[00:01:10]According to this article, these are the freed people of Charleston paying tribute to the Union dead.

[00:01:18]That's the first Memorial Day.

[00:01:20]Everything you've been taught about why we celebrate Memorial Day is a sanitized lie. We're told it started in 1968 by a white Union general. But the real story, the real founders were completely erased from history. And they were erased because of want to see. Picture it. May 1st, 1965, Charleston, South Carolina.

[00:01:41]The Confederates had turned a wealthy country club and racetrack into a horrific outdoor prison. 250 Union soldiers died there of disease and exposure, thrown into a mass grave. As soon as the city fell, who do you think went to honor them? It wasn't politicians. It was thousands of formerly enslaved African-Ameans. They didn't just walk by. They spent days digging up those bodies, giving them individual dignified burials and building a fence around them. Right over the entrance, they painted a sign.

[00:02:14]Martyrs of the race course and 10,000 free slaves marched on that track led by 3,000 black children carrying arm loads of fresh roses. They literally decorated those graves. That is the exact day decoration day was born. How did it become Memorial Dayism?

[00:02:34]Of course, as America entered the Jim Crow era, the white establishment and the North and Southside wanted reconciliation. Wanted to shake hands and pretend the Civil War was just a tragic misunderstanding. Completely stripping away the fact that it was fought to end slavery. To make premises comfortable, they wiped the black founders completely out of the textbooks, changed the name, generalizing the meaning, and sanitizing history. barbecue if you want, but don't forget the truth. Memorial Day wasn't born out of government policy. It was born out of the gratitude of freed black Americans honoring the men who died for their emancipation.

[00:03:12]Here's some Memorial Day black history that has tried to erase. So, I know they didn't teach y'all this in school. I know y'all have a 4-day weekend, so y'all are already figuring out if you're going to throw food on the grill or if you're going to go to somebody else's house. Before y'all go, I want to tell y'all real quick about Memorial Day. So, the first ever Memorial Day was organized by former enslaved black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, right after the Civil War ended. It was to celebrate their freedom, right? It was to honor Union soldiers. And they held this huge parade of 10,000 people that were led by hundreds of black children. These freed men actually dug up, exumed, they literally exumed mass graves of black soldiers, identified them all, and gave them proper burials.

[00:03:48]This information, this history was of course later suppressed during the Jim Crow era to promote national reconciliation between the North and the South. But even though we're trying to like reconcile right throughout the late 1900 and the early 20th centuries, black veterans still face ongoing controversy during literal Memorial Day events. Uh like in Pennsylvania in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, there was a Black Grand Army of the Republic post who was forced to march behind a white cadet brigade which led to an organized walk out and protest. Memorial Day is supposed to be about honoring sacrifice, but only if you're white, I guess, because the Trump administration has purged high-ranking black and female officers from senior ranks. Air Force has removed training videos featuring the Tuskegee Airmen.

[00:04:27]Under Trump, the DoD website celebrating Jackie Robinson's military service was removed before we literally had to demand it be restored. This administration has removed twoformational panels honoring black World War II soldiers and liberators in a US military cemetery in the Netherlands. Not even in the US, in the Netherlands. Donald Trump literally ordered Arlington National Cemetery to unpublish and erase dozens of pages of information on black, brown, and women vets. This administration trying to erase the graves of black and Hispanic and women vets at our most famous national cemetery. Let's not even mention how 74% of white veterans get the ratings and the benefits they deserve compared to 61% of black veterans. That's a 14-point gap. So, this draft dodger is doing everything he possibly can to whitewash black military history. And I want y'all to remember that on this Memorial Day. Also, remember everything touched, used, and celebrated in this country was created by black people. We would have nothing.

[00:05:23]We would have nothing at all. We wouldn't even have Memorial Day. If it wasn't for the black community and our ancestors. So, make sure we remember that while we also remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. My name is Augusta Renee and I hope you have the day you voted for. And if you do not vote, you're definitely going to have the day.

[00:05:38]>> I'm not invested in these holidays, but I am invested in making sure that they are not going to be able to erase our history like they are adamantly trying to do in our faces. But you want to answer and you want some knowledge about them gas prices, baby? Well, that answer starts in 1868. See, after the Civil War, black Americans created Decoration Day, what is now called Memorial Day, to honor the fallen soldiers who fought for the freedom that this country was already planning to take away. See, by 1968, the government had a new vision, a new name, and a new meaning. They replaced the narrative with one that erased black grief, black oppression, and instead replaced it with a narrative that kept you divided and confused. They needed us distracted. See, during that same reconstruction era, they dismantled the Freriedman's Bureau. They blocked black land ownership, and they laid the groundwork for every wealth gap that we are living inside of right now. Now, fast forward to today and the petro dollar that was built on that same system is what controls the gas prices because war is profitable. And your poverty, our poverty is a feature. It's not a glitch. It's not a bug. It's part of the system. And the same communities who are paying higher gas prices are the same communities whose history, even about holidays that we're not invested in, is getting rewritten. See, when they rewrite the narrative and rewrite our history, they're not just stealing or erasing our grief. They're stealing the blueprint to understanding why we struggle in the first place. So, yeah, you are invested in gas prices and I'm invested in knowledge and history. And so, these two are the same conversation.

[00:07:19]The more you know, happy Decoration Day.

[00:07:22]>> Yeah. As a reminder, Memorial Day was made by black people following the Civil War in 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. Uh, formerly enslaved black people felt like the Union did not properly commemorate the soldiers. So, instead of doing them dirty, pretty much as black people always do, they then reared them, made a nice setup for them, and then put on a celebration for them.

[00:07:45]Later on, like every other thing related to black people, white people felt like black people should not get credit for this. Now, while there were also many white people who fought for enslaved black people, a large portion of this commemoration was initiated by formerly enslaved black people. But later on, Major General John A.

[00:08:02]>> So, um, for years, uh, many, um, Americans were taught that Memorial Day started as a a patriotic tradition created by military leaders after the Civil War. But now more people are discovering that uh the story may be far deeper than what was written in school textbooks. What many know today as a memorial day was originally called Decoration Day. And according to historians, one of uh the earliest recorded observances was led by formerly enslaved black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina at the end of the Civil War in 1865. So the Confederate army had turned the Washington race course in Charleston into an open air prison camp for captured Union soldiers. Hundreds of those soldiers uh were unalived from you know diseases, starvation and exposure and many were buried in a mass grave.

[00:08:56]But after the war ended, freed black workers and local community members returned to that site and decided uh those men deserved dignity. Yeah. So this is according to my research. By the way, YouTube, this video is for educational purposes only. We are only reacting to what is already outside there online. So, they reportedly dug up uh the bodies, gave the soldiers proper barriers, built a fence around the cemetery, and placed an ark above it.

[00:09:22]That trade matters of uh the race course. Then came something even more powerful. On May 1, 1865, thousands of newly freed up black Americans gathered uh there alongside teachers, missionaries, and uh union supporters.

[00:09:36]Children carried flowers, song filled the air, speeches were given, graves were decorated, Union troops marched in honor of the fallen. That moment became one of the earliest known decoration day ceremonies in American history. But over time, many believe that part of uh the story was pushed aside as the country entered the Jim Crow era. The focus the focus shifted away from uh the role black Americans played in honoring Union soldiers and uh preserving the memory of uh emancipation. Emancipation.

[00:10:10]Historians say the holiday eventually became more generalized and the contributions of uh Freda um black Americans were rarely mentioned in mainstream you know retellings and now decades later people online um once again asking why so many uh never learn this version of uh you know this uh entire history in the first place. So this is why a lot of people, white people, they've learned uh their history, they've checked, you know, they've done their research and they've discovered that uh actually this uh memorial day was started black by black Americans and it was actually called decorations day. They are coming out, you know, to educate other, you know, hear it from the horse's mouth kind of a reaction. Yeah. So, let's just continue watching uh the rest of the clips and I'll come back at the end of this video to give my own final two cents. Make sure you drop your thoughts in the comment section down below. And as usual, if it was your first time to be on this channel, go ahead, subscribe and turn on that notification bell so that every time I upload such videos, you guys will be notified. Let's continue watching. Logan was given credit for creating Memorial Day because as always in America, we cannot have our white citizens, especially our racist white citizens, celebrating a day that was created by black people. So all you people grilling on Memorial Day, enjoy.

[00:11:33]>> And y'all out here firing up your grills getting ready to celebrate a black ass holiday. Yeah, Memorial Day is a black holiday. And it wasn't called Memorial Day, it was called Decoration Day. The reason you don't know that is because a white man tried to steal it and claim it as his own. Same story. Story old as time. The first decoration day was organized in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865 by newly freed African-Ameans.

[00:11:58]You see, they found a burial site where Union soldiers, the same men who had fought for our rights to be free and seen as equal human beings, where the Confederates had just buried them in a mass grave. Nothing, no marker, nothing to tell who's who and what from what. So these freed African-Americans dug them up, gave them proper burials, built a fence around this now cemetery, and held a ceremony to honor them. 10,000 folk showed up, mostly black folk, children saying it was a beautiful thing. So this Memorial Day, as you are dusting off all of your flag code violations, just remember you are about to celebrate a black ass holiday because we black Americans created Memorial Day. But from now on and forever more, it will be called Decoration Day, its true name, before it was stolen by the white man.

[00:12:49]And as you bite into that hot dog and that potato salad with raisins in it, remember that it was largely African-Ameans, black Americans in the South, who were the main majority of observers of Memorial Day. And black Americans would continue to use Memorial Day, even after reconstruction, as a day to give speeches about why we should not rehabilitate the Confederate cause. Just thought y'all would want to know exactly what it is you're celebrating. Power to the people.

[00:13:15]>> So, you mean to tell me black people are the ones that started Memorial Day?

[00:13:20]Well, Decoration Day, that's what it was first called because all the people that died in the Civil War, the soldiers were buried in a pit. Like, they was just thrown in a pit. And formerly enslaved people wanted to bury them properly. So they dug them up, gave them proper burials, put flowers and decorations on the sites, and then had a parade.

[00:13:44]>> So you mean to tell me we wasn't taught this in school? And I really want to know why. Why wasn't we taught this?

[00:13:49]Black people was involved in so many things dealing with history, >> good and bad. A lot of bad, but good as well. So you mean to tell me these people died in war and y'all decided to just throw them in a pit all together?

[00:14:03]just hundreds of people instead of giving them the proper respect that they earned that they deserve. And it took black people to do that.

[00:14:11]>> So, as uh the conversation around u the conversations around history continues to grow online, many people are beginning to realize that some of the stories they learned growing up may not have included the full picture. One topic now gaining uh attention is the origin of Memorial Day or what was once known as Decoration Day. And for many viewers, the discovery has been shocking. So for decades, the common version of the story focused mainly on military officials and national ceremonies that happened years after the Civil War ended. But historians and historical records point to something much earlier, something deeply connected to Freda uh Freda, black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina. So in uh 1865 just after the civil war came to an end, Charleston was still carrying the scars of uh war the Washington race course once used for wealth, social gatherings and horse racing and been has been u transformed by confederate into a brutal open air prison camp for captured Union soldiers. Conditions there were horrific. Hundreds were alive from illness, starvation like I mentioned like you've heard in the other clips and expo exposure and many were buried harshly harshly in unmasked in unmarked mass graves. Then came a moment that historians say deserves far much more recognition than it received. Fred uh freed black Americans uh people who had uh only recently escaped slavery themselves returned to that site and chose uh to honor the the the soldiers.

[00:15:47]They reportedly spent days digging up bodies from the mass graves and giving each soldier a proper burial. They built a cemetery surrounded it with white fence and placed it uh placed an arway at the entrance uh with the words matters of uh the race course. Yeah, I me mentioned that that but they did not stop there. So on May 1st, 1865, thousands are gathered at that cemetery in what they in what many historians now consider one of the earliest decoration day ceremonies ever recorded. Reports described nearly 10,000 people attending the event. Many were formerly enslaved uh black Americans. Some were white missionaries and teachers. There were black uh school children carrying flowers and singing songs. Ministers gave prayers and speeches. Union soldiers marched in remembrance of those who had been unalived. Think about uh the meaning behind uh that moment for a second. These were people who had experienced slavery, violence, and an an unimaginable suffering. Yet instead of responding with hatred, they chose to honor the men who fought and died during the war that uh ultimately helped uh bring an end to slavery. That ceremony was not just about grief. It was about freedom, dignity, and remembrance. Over time, however, historians say that uh that that story slowly faded from mainstream history lessons. As America moved deeper into the Jim Crow era, the country began reshaping how the Civil War was remembered, the role of black Americans in the creation of a decoration day became less visible in textbooks and public discussions. The holiday later became nationally recognized under the name Memorial Day, and many Americans grew up hearing a simplified version of its origin connected primarily to official government declarations made years later. Now to be clear, historians still debate which town or city can officially claim the very first Memorial Day observance. Multiple places across America have made that claim over the years. We're going to stick to the claim, okay, for for the for our sake.

[00:17:59]But what is not debated is that the Charlesstone ceremony absolutely, excuse me, happened and that afraid black Americans played a major role in organizing and carrying it out. That is why uh this uh topic matters so much to people today because uh many are asking themselves why was this part of our story barely mentioned? Why did so many grow up without learning about the black Americans who helped shape one of the country's most important traditions of remembrance? Uh for some this discovery feels like um uncovering hidden uh history. For others it's a reminder that history is often more complicated than the simplified versions taught in classrooms. And for many viewers online, it has sparked larger conversations about uh whose stories get remembered, whose stories get minimized and whose narrative can change over time. At the end of the day, Memorial Day is supposed to be about uh honoring sacrifice and remembering the fallen. But perhaps uh rem remembering the full story should matter as well because uh long before the holiday became associated with cookouts, road trips and retail sales, there were formerly enslaved black Americans walking through Charlesston with flowers in their hands honoring dead soldiers with dignity and humanity during one of those most painful chapters in American history. And whether people agree uh with every detail shared in this video or not, one thing is for certain, one thing is for sure, they are raw in that moment deserves to be remembered. You guys let me know what you think about this entire video in the comments section down below. And um as usual, if it was your first time to be on this channel, guys, please remember to subscribe and turn on that notification bell so that every time I upload such videos, you guys will be notified. And uh just a quick one guys um just a favor on each and every video that I ask uh I'm I'm noticing a lot of people asking why the videos are not going as viral. Yeah, it is up to you my viewers to share my videos with uh as many people as you can in groups on Facebook to help uh you know the video reach its maximum. Yeah, exactly.

[00:20:12]Yeah. So, I'm depending on you guys to do that um you know for your sister. And um I think I've said um most of the things. I will definitely see you in my next video. Please stay peaceful and uh happy should I say happy Memorial Day?

[00:20:28]Should I say that? Okay. Yeah. I'll see you in my next video. Stay peaceful.