The Truth About Memorial Day...Martyrs Of The Race Course... Black History Is American History

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

sus flores a nuestros muertxs

The phrase translates to "their flowers to our dead." It refers to a pivotal 1865 event where formerly enslaved Black Americans in Charleston, SC, exhumed 257 Union prisoners of war from mass graves and gave them a proper burial. They enclosed the site under an archway reading "Martyrs of the Race Course".

 

On May 1, 1865, a procession of 10,000 people—led by 3,000 Black schoolchildren carrying armfuls of flowers—marched to the cemetery to decorate the graves. This profound act of remembrance is widely recognized by historians as the very first celebration of Memorial Day (originally called "Decoration Day")

The "Martyrs of the Race Course" were 257 Union prisoners of war who died in 1865 at a makeshift Confederate prison in Charleston, South Carolina. Newly freed African Americans exhumed their bodies from a mass grave, gave them proper individual burials, and dedicated the site. 

On May 1, 1865, these freedmen—alongside white missionaries and teachers—hosted a massive parade to consecrate the cemetery, which is now widely recognized by historians as the first Memorial Day celebration. 

The Historical Context

• The Prison Camp: During the latter stages of the Civil War, the Confederate army transformed the elite Washington Race Course and Jockey Club into an open-air outdoor prison for captured Union soldiers.
• The Tragic Toll:
  Due to harsh conditions, disease, and starvation, at least 257 Union soldiers died and were hastily cast into a mass grave behind the grandstand.
   

The Restorative Action

• In early 1865, after the Confederate forces evacuated Charleston, local newly freed Black Americans took it upon themselves to honor the Union soldiers.
• Black workmen carefully exhumed the bodies, laid them in individual plots, and built a ten-foot white fence around the site.
• They erected an archway at the entrance bearing the inscription: "Martyrs of the Race Course". 

The First Decoration Day

• On May 1, 1865, an estimated 10,000 people (the vast majority being freed slaves) gathered at the racetrack to honor the deceased.
• The procession was led by 3,000 Black schoolchildren carrying armloads of roses and singing the abolitionist anthem "John Brown's Body".
• Black women carrying wreaths and crosses, Union regiments, and Black ministers reciting scripture followed the children.
• After dedicating the cemetery, attendees held picnics in the track's infield, mirroring the community gatherings we associate with the holiday today.

The Truth About Memorial Day Holiday

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

Kofi Bilal Mahmud Eid AlFitr 1443 A.H.

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