Remembering with Power: The True Origins & Evolution of Memorial Day

THEY KNOW THE TRUTH. WHY DON'T YOU?

(Dedicated to My Dear Sister, Shirley McElroy Ray)

Dear QUEENS 🌺,

As we move through the seasons of advocacy, healing, and power-building, we pause this Memorial Day not just to remember, but to reclaim. In this “Welcome to the Queendom” edition, we tell the story of how Memorial Day was born, reshaped, and too often whitewashed, and why we, as members of a liberatory network, must honor the truth with pride.

🌱 The Seed: Birth from Black Love and Labor (1865)

Before the flags. Before the parades. Before the three-day weekend barbecues.

There was a procession of love—10,000 newly freed Black men, women, and children in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865. They gathered to rebury 257 Union soldiers who had died in captivity at a Confederate prison. They built an arch inscribed “Martyrs of the Race Course,” covered the graves with flowers, sang spirituals, and held the first public Memorial Day ceremony on American soil.

This was not just a funeral. It was a declaration.

A declaration that Black lives—sacrificed, enslaved, and newly freed—mattered. The war for freedom did not end in silence. Our ancestors gave us Memorial Day not as a day of war, but of reckoning and reverence.

🕊 The Spread: From Decoration Day to National Mourning

Just three years later, in 1868, Union General John A. Logan, influenced by these grassroots commemorations, formalized "Decoration Day" to honor Civil War soldiers. The date chosen was May 30, when flowers bloomed freely across the country.

In cemeteries across the North and South, women’s clubs, many led by widows and mothers, gathered to lay wreaths, sing, and pray.

But let’s not forget:

- The South held separate Confederate Memorial Days.

- The North commemorated Union dead only.

- And Black contributions were largely erased from mainstream narratives by the turn of the century.

Lesson Learned: Even sacred days can be segregated. Truth can be hidden in plain sight. That’s why telling the full story matters, especially when Black hands and hearts built the foundation.

⚖ Evolving Into a National Holiday — and a Battle Over Meaning

Following World War I, Memorial Day expanded to include all fallen U.S. soldiers, and in 1971, it became a federal holiday—moved to the last Monday in May for convenience. Over time, traditions shifted:

- Flags planted at every grave in Arlington National Cemetery.

- National parades and presidential wreath-layings.

- And sadly, a drift toward sales, summer kickoffs, and forgetfulness.

Some veterans cried out: "This is not a day for games and revelry… but for memory and tears."

In 2000, Congress tried to reclaim the spirit by creating the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 p.m.—a minute of silence for the fallen. Still, the deeper truth often goes unspoken.

🔥 Nuance & Truth: What We Must Remember

Linked ARMS, our work is rooted in truth-telling. That means facing hard facts:

- Black people didn’t just participate in Memorial Day—they originated it.

- The founding story reflects resistance, liberation, and community care.

- The evolution of the holiday also tells a story of erasure, militarization, and competing agendas.

To honor our ancestors, we must speak the whole story, not just the part that fits the flag.

👑 Why This History Matters Today — Welcome to the Queendom

When we uplift the full history of Memorial Day, we are not dividing—we are illuminating. We are reclaiming our rightful space in national memory.

And as Black women, families, and providers in the field of early learning, healing, and community restoration, we model for our children and communities how remembrance can be revolutionary.

We remember, therefore we resist.

We remember, therefore we heal.

We remember, therefore we rise.

💐 In Remembrance, In Power

Let this Memorial Day be more than a moment. Let it be a movement—to reclaim truth, elevate our legacies, and keep pushing forward for equity, justice, and freedom.

From Charleston’s Race Course to the front lines of policy, we carry their memory.

With deep gratitude and unwavering commitment,

Mary Curry

Co-President, Linked ARMS Association