The National Park Service shared the story of a local Black Grand Army of the Republic being placed behind a white cadet brigade during the 1898 Memorial Day parade in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

Memorial Day is one of the United States' most solemn federal holidays. It is dedicated to honoring and mourning U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the Armed Forces.

Memorial Day's hidden history: How Black Americans started the day of remembrance One of the earliest Memorial Day observances occurred on May 1, 1865. Organized by freed slaves and white ...

One of the earliest known celebrations of Memorial Day can be traced back to formerly enslaved persons and white missionaries in Charleston, South Carolina. One of the earliest known celebrations ...

Memorial Day 2025 should remember Black veterans who faced lynching and violence after military service, with at least 35 documented cases from 1865-1950.

But after 1877, with the rise of Jim Crow, Black Memorial Day participation was pushed to the margins. White narratives dominated, focusing on reconciliation and romanticizing the Confederacy.

The origin story of Memorial Day begins in the aftermath of the Civil War. In Charleston, South Carolina, thousands of formerly enslaved Black Americans organized a Memorial Day commemoration for ...

Memorial Day's hidden history: How Black Americans started the day of remembrance One of the earliest Memorial Day observances occurred on May 1, 1865. Organized by freed slaves and white ...