Memorial Day was first celebrated by newly free Black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina at the end of the Civil War. Following the evacuation of Confederate troops, black workers dug up the remains of 257 Union soldiers, gave them a proper burial, and built a cemetery around the site to honor their sacrifice. To dedicate the cemetery, the community organized a parade of 10,000 people, described in a New York Tribune account as “a procession of friends and mourners as South Carolina and the United States never saw before.” At the front of the parade were 3,000 Black children, laden with roses and singing “John Brown’s Body". SHARE to honor those who paid the ultimate price to secure our freedoms.
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