African American Contributions to Memorial Day
National Mall and Memorial Parks
“Louisiana furnished 24,000 Black men to help put down the rebellion. You talk about strewing flowers upon the graves of our departed Comrades. Who are the ones that do it down South but the Black people?” – Comrade Boyle of Louisiana, speaking before a national gathering of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1907.[1]
“The Constitution that governs us was sustained by the sword and bayonet. The Black soldier played an important part, and as an evidence of their valor, look at yonder graves.” – M.C Maxfield, speaking at a DC Memorial Day ceremony in 1911.[2]
The Origins of Memorial Day
At the April 1901 dedication of the General John A. Logan Memorial, speakers like President William McKinley and New York Senator Chauncey Depew spoke of the nation’s debt to General Logan for his General Order No.11, which in 1868 formalized the annual floral decoration of the graves on Memorial Day, also referred to as Decoration Day.[3] While there is a historical debate over where and when the very first observation of Memorial Day took place, one of the earliest recorded observations of the holiday indisputably took place in Charleston, South Carolina, in the closing days of the Civil War.On May 1, 1865, the freed people of Charleston gathered at the old racetrack to decorate the graves of 257 Union prisoners of war who had been hastily buried by the retreating Confederate army. The largely African American crowd watched the men of the 35th and 104th United States Colored Troops (USCT), along with the men of the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, perform drills before listening to speeches addressing the meaning of the long and bloody war. When the ceremonies were finished, the crowd dispersed to lay flowers on the graves of the men who had died fighting for Union and for liberty.[4]
African American Memorial Day Observations From Reconstruction to World War I
In the decades following the Civil War, the role of African Americans in the celebration of Memorial Day remained a large one, especially in the South. Throughout the Reconstruction era, African Americans made up the vast majority of the day’s observers in the South, as the decoration of Confederate graves was still policed by the occupying federal forces.[5] After Reconstruction’s end in 1877, African American orators used Memorial Day speeches to decry efforts to rehabilitate the Confederate cause. In 1878, speaking before a crowd of New York Union veterans on Decoration Day, Frederick Douglass proclaimed that “There was a right side and a wrong side in the late war which no sentiment ought to cause us to forget, and while today we should have malice toward none and charity toward all, it is no part of our duty to confound right with wrong, or loyalty with treason.”[6]Through the 1880s and well into the 1910s, African American veterans claimed a prominent position in the observation of Memorial Day, with local Black Grand Army of the Republic posts regularly leading services in DC’s Columbian Harmony Cemetery.[7] When a Black G.A.R post was placed behind a white cadet brigade at the 1898 Uniontown, Pennsylvania Memorial Day parade, the Black veterans left the procession in protest – and there was such outrage that at the next year’s Memorial Day parade, that Black post marched at the head of the procession.[8]
In 1898, in the spirit of reconciliation between North and South, President McKinley opened the National Cemeteries to the Confederate war dead. In the aftermath of the Spanish American War and the First World War, Memorial Day grew to be a holiday that honored all American war dead, not just those that fell in defense of the Union.[9] Despite the reconciliatory mood of the country at large, many Union veterans, Black and white, believed that Memorial Day should exclusively honor the Union’s dead. The year prior to the dedication of General Logan’s statue, the Maryland Department of the Grand Army of the Republic refused an invitation from President McKinley and Governor John W. Smith to attend the Memorial Day dedication of the Maryland State Monument on the Antietam National Battlefield. The monument was dedicated to all Marylanders present at Antietam, both Confederate and Union, and Department Commander John R. King objected to the “perversion” of a holiday that “was a day set apart sacred to the memory of our own dead.”[10]
theGrio.com (@theGrio) posted at 11:45 AM on Mon, May 26, 2025:
Rep. Charles Rangel has died at 94.
From Harlem to the halls of Congress, Rangel’s bold voice helped shape Black political power for nearly 50 years—and he never backed down from a fight.
Read his full obituary #OnTheGrio 🕊️:
https://t.co/h63i1OcHk3
(https://x.com/theGrio/status/1927043310289388007?t=D0l9m-QZBYecJlC1Z8KmTA&s=03)
Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) posted at 10:49 AM on Mon, May 26, 2025:
One of the last times Congressman Charles B. Rangel joined us at the National Action Network House of Justice was to help celebrate my birthday in 2023, introduced by NAN’s beloved EVP Attorney Michael Hardy, my brother who we lost last year.
I was just a teenager when I met Charlie Rangel, and he never stopped fighting from the battlefield, to the halls of Congress, to Lenox Avenue. Even in retirement, he was still that firehorse he spoke about, ready to jump in when the bell rang.
On this Memorial Day, we honor Congressman Rangel not only as a statesman and Harlem icon, but as a decorated veteran of the Korean War who served this country and our people with unmatched courage and conviction.
Rest well, Congressman, say hello to Mike for me❤️🕊️
#CharlieRangel
#RIP
https://t.co/0xwLp5mTmB
(https://x.com/TheRevAl/status/1927029328631505349?t=cHt5ZGpH__8_GS9t_DZJqg&s=03)
Barack Obama (@BarackObama) posted at 9:35 AM on Mon, May 26, 2025:
On Memorial Day, we remember the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform and their families have made to preserve our freedom. May we always strive to honor the strength and resolve they’ve shown our country.
(https://x.com/BarackObama/status/1927010601756201302?t=v9_xBjuP5tCjTOfmzXBV9Q&s=03)
Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) posted at 9:05 AM on Mon, May 26, 2025:
On this #MemorialDay we give our respect and honor to the Black Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for a nation that did not respect or honor them when they returned. Thank You 🙏🏾 https://t.co/6iOLfIvUSu
(https://x.com/etanthomas36/status/1927003161866158524?t=1RPnnNf05y65BxEgD4PFMQ&s=03)
RIP 🙏🏽 😔
rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) posted at 9:29 AM on Mon, May 26, 2025:
Statement on the Passing of Congressman Charles B. Rangel
With deep sorrow and profound respect, the family of The Honorable Charles B. Rangel announces his passing on May 26, 2025, at the age of 94.
A towering figure in American politics and a champion for justice, equity, and opportunity, Congressman Rangel dedicated over four decades of his life to public service. Representing what is now New York’s 13th Congressional Districts from 1971 to 2017, he was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African American to chair the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. The final living member of Harlem’s Gang of Four political coalition, Charlie was affectionately known as “The Lion of Lenox Avenue.”
Born on June 11, 1930, in Harlem, New York, Congressman Rangel rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential voices in American legislative history. A decorated Korean War veteran, he returned home to earn degrees from New York University and St. John’s University School of Law, beginning a lifelong pursuit of justice, civil rights, and community empowerment.
Throughout his career, Congressman Rangel fought tirelessly for affordable housing, urban revitalization, fair tax policies, and equal opportunities for all Americans. His legacy lives on through the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at The City College of New York, which continues to inspire and train new generations of public servants.
Congressman Rangel, who was pre-deceased by his beloved wife, Alma, is survived by his son, Steven Rangel (Adelina), daughter Alicia Rangel Haughton (Howard), three grandsons, Howard R. Haughton, Joshua R. Haughton and Charles R. Haughton, and a host of family and friends. Private services will be held followed by a public Celebration of Life. Details will be shared in the coming days.
The Rangel family extends its heartfelt thanks for the outpouring of love and support during this difficult time.
https://t.co/7eTbzEgkvD
(https://x.com/rolandsmartin/status/1927009311290425594?t=HRgLiEnKqot2Ikeg-YcrSA&s=03)
Happy Memorial Day🌞🤗
Good Morning Everyone😊😊😊