Citizen.Coping: "When Charleston fell, one of the first things those emancipated men and women did was to give the fallen Union [POW's] a proper burial. They exhumed the mass grave and reinterred the bodies in a new cemetery with a tall whitewashed fence inscribed with the words: “Martyrs of the Race Course.” 1/

"When Charleston fell, one of the first things those emancipated men and women did was to give the fallen Union [POW's] a proper burial. They exhumed the mass grave and reinterred the bodies in a new cemetery with a tall whitewashed fence inscribed with the words: “Martyrs of the Race Course.” 1/

One of the Earliest Memorial Day Ceremonies Was Held by Freed African Americans | HISTORYwww.history.com At the close of the Civil War, people recently freed from slavery in Charleston honored fallen Union soldiers.

Then May 1, 1865, 10,000 formerly enslaved people with some white missionaries staged a parade around the race track. 3,000 Black schoolchildren carried bouquets of flowers and sang “John Brown’s Body.” The 54th and other Black Union regiments were there. Black ministers recited Bible verses.

In the 10 days leading up to the first Memorial Day, roughly two dozen African American Charlestonians reorganized the graves into rows and built a 10-foot-tall white fence around them. An archway overhead spelled out “Martyrs of the Race Course” in black letters. - historian David Blight #BlackSky

The Overlooked Black History of Memorial Daytime.com Historians like the Pulitzer Prize winner David Blight have tried to raise awareness of freed slaves who decorated soldiers' graves in 1865

.

And even though the first Memorial Day was HIGHLY POLITICAL, Jim Crow started the machinery to transform it into "apolitical mourning"—without reflection on the justness of the wars themselves. So now, mourning with little thought of how the sacrifice compares to the intent and outcome of each war.

Heartbreaking bsky.app/profile/prop...

"Sgt. Kennedy Sanders’s belongings were shipped home to her parents after she was killed: Dog tags, identification cards, Polaroids of her family. Gold jewelry.." The items offered a glimpse into the person, soldier and daughter that Kennedy was and who she had hoped to become. Gift Link #BlackSky

A Soldier’s Final Journey Homewww.nytimes.com Sgt. Kennedy Sanders was killed in a drone attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan. A collection of photos offers a glimpse into her life.

Post