Do you Know the True Origins of Memorial Day in America?
“The (Civil) War was over, and Memorial Day had been founded by African Americans in a ritual of remembrance and consecration" ~ Dr. David Blight, Sterling Professor of History & African American Studies at Yale University; Author of “Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory”
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“Only in America would we turn a day that began with thousands of newly freed slaves digging graves, placing flowers, holding a service, and crying tears of sorrow for those who died to free them into a day far more associated with the kickoff of summer. There is nothing wrong with barbecuing ribs and eating watermelon in white shorts on Memorial Day. But maybe while doing so, we should also do more to remember those Union soldiers and every lost servicemen and woman that came after them. Maybe we can do a little more to follow the example set by 10,000 newly freed slaves, the work they did, and the religious service they held, and remember them, too. After all, at the time, they didn’t know that their true freedom would only last another 12 years, at least in the South. Perhaps this is why we should teach real history. It does seem to explain why such a large number of people fear so doing” ~Jason Miciak, Associate Editor & Opinion Writer for Occupy Democrat
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On this Memorial Day let us also REMEMBER:
The TULSA RACE MASSACRE HAPPENED ON MEMORIAL DAY IN 1921 (May 31, 1921)
GEORGE FLOYD WAS MURDERED ON MEMORIAL DAY (May 25th 2020)
The BUFFALO TOPS MASS SHOOTING occurred days prior to Memorial Day 2022. Some were shopping for nonperishables in preparation… ( May 14th 2022)
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Read the more 👉🏿 history-filled version of this post 👈🏿on the TFG Patreon Platform which includes access to essential video content :
For and with those who pay to support my work via my TFG Patreon, on that Platform I am sharing critical video conversations from 2022 where I unpack the above-mentioned bullet points with special guests:
On the TFG Patreon supporters will access the heart-to-heart recorded conversation I had with George Floyd’s maternal uncle, Mr. Selwyn Jones on Memorial Day 2022, two years after the terrifying, televised public lynching of his nephew that stunned and forever changed the world. Selwyn is one of the founders of “A Soulful Heart Memorializing George Floyd Jr”. In our convo, Mr. Jones shares poignant and positive family memories re: farming and food traditions in the large, geographically dispersed Jones-Floyd family including vividly fond reflections of his fun-loving nephew “Perry” (George Floyd).
On that same platform, supporters will also access the below video-taped conversation (27 min ) I had with Dr. Patricia Clark days after the horrific Buffalo incident on May 14th, 2022. Shared content of two culinary history scholars — a conversation solely available here that connects critical dots from past to present including related topics like: the history of grocery stores in this nation (and their connection to historic and contemporary lynchings including Ida B. Wells Anti-Lynching Campaign)… food desserts and we address the seemingly odd question: “what the heck did the dismantling of Aunt Jemima have to do with any of this”?
In the meantime, here’s 10 min of my video taped set up to the above-mentioned conversation where I intro those special guests I speak with in an evergreen TFG “Savory & Sweet” Show Memorial Day episode but also provide much of the key historical context on Memorial Day described above in this blogpost. 👇🏾 …
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