Memorial Day — Time to Remember Veterans Who Have Served Our Country
There is an overlooked history of Memorial Day. This day honors our Veterans, but there is a story of enslaved Africans that has not been told. Historian and Pulitzer winner has told the story of enslaved Black men when an organized commemoration of them was held after the Civil War on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina hundreds died and were buried in unmarked graves. This is recorded in a book called “Race and the Civil War” written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Blight in 2001.
They were finally given a proper burial by the residents of Charleston. Their story needs to be told every Memorial Day. There are many other stories that need to be told also such as the following. A Black man named Crispus Attucks was the first person to die in the American Revolution on March 5, 1770. He led the attack against the British. Before becoming involved in the war he spent 30 years at sea after escaping slavery in Farmington, Massachusetts when he was about twenty-seven years old. There is a statue in his honor in Boston, Massachusetts.
Black sailors fought bravely along with Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The visit of the Tall Ships several years to Buffalo featured a Tall Ship called “The Niagara” which was one of the ships of Commodore Perry. One of the Veterans of the War of 1812 was a Black man named Robert “Frankie” Franklin. He built a log cabin at the site of the Connecticut Street Armory on Niagara Street in Buffalo. You can see a plaque in his honor at this site erected by the Afro-American Association of the Niagara Frontier, the City of Buffalo, and the Buffalo History Museum.
Harriet Ross Tubman was a Veteran of the Civil War. She lived from 1820 1913. Harriet Tubman was a Union Army scout, a spy, and a nurse. In 1863, she led the Union Army on a raid that freed 750 slaves. She received a Military Pension after the war and used the money to purchase the Tubman Home for the aged and homeless Blacks. Harriet Tubman was given a full military Funeral. In Memory of her great contributions a movie will be released named “Harriet” on November 2, 2019. There is a school in Buffalo named The Harriet Ross Tubman School.
There is a Monument in Buffalo named in Honor of Jesse Clipper. It is located on Michigan Avenue and William Street in The Jesse Clipper Square. Jesse Clipper was the first African American to die in World War 1 from Buffalo, New York. This monument also pays tribute to the Black soldiers from Western New York who fought in every war of the United States. Every Veterans and Memorial Day local Veterans Groups and elected officials meet here for a special program in honor of Jesse Clipper. Mrs. Eva M. Doyle was the first teacher in Buffalo to organize programs at the site of the Jesse Clipper Monument with students from the Buffalo Public Schools in honor of our African American Veterans.
In 1940, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr, became the first Black General in the U.S. Military. He lived from 1877 1970. His career spanned 50 years. He saw action in the Spanish American War, World War 1 and World War 11. He received many military honors including the Bronze Str and the Distinguished Service Medal. During World War 11 his son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. led America’s first Black fighter pilots.
Michelle Janine Howard became the Commanding Officer of the USS Rushmore in 1999. The USS Rushmore was a “Smart Ship” with the latest technology. It could be set on autopilot. However, Commander Michelle Howard always kept a watch on the ship. In November 2000, she left command of the ship to go to the Pentagon to work with the Joints of Staff. Commander Howard has received many awards from the Navy for her outstanding leadership. She is still living today with her husband and her dog named Sage.
I am saluting my Late husband Romeo Doyle Muhammad this Memorial Day who was a combat Veteran in the Korean War. He has a plaque at the African American Veterans Monument at Canalside along with hundreds of others. Salute to our Veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country!!