Uncovering the Complex and Black History of Memorial Day in Charleston

Black people in Charleston, SC, may have held the first Memorial Day celebration in 1865, just weeks after the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Thousands of newly freed Black people held a parade and placed flowers on the graves of Union soldiers who had helped liberate them from slavery. However, White Southerners made sure that the day wasn't remembered at all, and the event was forgotten within a few decades. The portrayal of the Civil War and its aftermath was controlled in the South by groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Ladies’ Memorial Association, as well as Confederate veterans.