Memorial Day 2015-Today Was a Good Day!

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african-american, american history, black history, boy scouts, calvary cemetary, civil war, decoration day, don't duck history, memorial day

Sometimes things don’t go as planned, and this was one of those days. I started breakfast, glanced at facebook, and noticed on a post that there was a Memorial Day celebration and picnic at a cemetary a short distance from my home-that would start in about 30 minutes. One of the speakers mentioned was a person that I’d been wanting to meet for a while. Being both curious about the celebration and seeing the opportunity to meet this person, I ditched breakfast, got dressed, and headed out the door.

2015 Memorial Day, Calvary Cemetery, Norfolk VA

Main entrance, Norfolk VA

I arrived just a few minutes after the start time, and was able to hear the majority of the presentation that was given by Robert C. Watson, Assistant Professor of History & Assistant to the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Hampton University, which is located in Hampton VA. It’s also where I attended college. As you may know, one of the goals of Don’t Duck History is to give a voice to people in American history (and stories in general) who are often overlooked in traditional history textbooks, though it’s open to anyone who understands that sharing history is important. I was so pleased to hear that included in the speakers presentation was “The Importance of Remembering the Forgotten”. Specifically, the story was shared about what some believe to be the beginning of Memorial Day celebrations, a day called “Decoration Day”.

According to historian David Blight*:

During the final year of the war, the Confederates had converted the planters’ horse track, the Washington Race Course and Jockey Club, into an outdoor prison. Union soldiers were kept in horrible conditions in the interior of the track; at least 257 died of exposure and disease and were hastily buried in a mass grave behind the grandstand. Some 28 black workmen went to the site, re-buried the Union dead properly, and built a high fence around the cemetery. They whitewashed the fence and built an archway over an entrance on which they inscribed the words, “Martyrs of the Race Course.”

Then, black Charlestonians in cooperation with white missionaries and teachers, staged an unforgettable parade of 10,000 people on the slaveholders’ race course. The symbolic power of the low-country planter aristocracy’s horse track (where they had displayed their wealth, leisure, and influence) was not lost on the freed people. A New York Tribune correspondent witnessed the event, describing “a procession of friends and mourners as South Carolina and the United States never saw before.”

At 9 a.m. on May 1, the procession stepped off led by 3,000 black schoolchildren carrying armloads of roses and singing “John Brown’s Body.” The children were followed by several hundred black women with baskets of flowers, wreaths and crosses.

Then came black men marching in cadence, followed by contingents of Union infantry and other black and white citizens. As many as possible gathered in the cemetery enclosure; a childrens’ choir sang “We’ll Rally around the Flag,” the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and several spirituals before several black ministers read from scripture. (“The First Decoration Day,” Newark Star Ledger)

I was very pleased to see that several Boy Scout Troops from the area participated in the celebration by placing flags at the markers of each veteran as the veterans names were read; a Boy Scout tradition that was carried out across our country on this Memorial Day weekend. Even more pleasing was that the scouts (who I believe outnumbered other attendees) were introduced to a part of American history that they may likely not see in a school textbook. My guess would be some adults attending may have learned something new as well.

Salute at the placing of the flags.

Flags placed on markers.

No, my day didn’t go as planned. Breakfast was late, and as it turned out the speaker that I had intended to try to meet wasn’t actually there. Lucky for me, I was able to share a bit about the Don’t Duck History project with Assistant Professor Watson after his presentation, and he expressed an interest in speaking about it further. How cool is that?

Robert C. Watson, Assistant Professor of History & Assistant to the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Hampton University:; Tracy Clark, The Real Rubber Duck

And finally, the icing on the cake. Yes, today was a good day!

Homemade, too! It was delicious, by the way. I was even able to take a slice home for “Mr. Duck” to make up for the ditched breakfast!

*The quote from David Blight was found in an article that can be read here: http://www.liberationnews.org/revolutionary-origins-memorial-day-political-hijacking/

The Rosa Parks Statue-Making History in the United States Capitol

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american history, black history, capitol hill, civil rights, don't duck history, rosa parks, statues, women in history

Today is Rosa Parks’ birthday.

Born on February 4, 1913, she is most known in American history as the lady who refused to give up her bus seat one day in Montgomery, Alabama, but there’s so much more! On a trip to Washington, D.C., we (me, the hubby, and grandkids) took a tour of Capitol Hill. Part of that tour included time spent viewing the National Statuary Hall Collection, which is a collection of statues of historical figures presented by individual states. With a twist.

As it turns out, there is a statue of Rosa Parks amongst the statues in the collection, though technically the statue is not part of the collection. Her statue is there due to a special act of Congress, and was not commissioned by any particular state. That’s the twist. Her statue is also the first one that featured an African-American in full length (vs. the busts of MLK, Jr. and Sojourner Truth, for example). That is history!

Rosa Parks statue in the U.S. Capitol. Photo credit: Tracy Clark

Squeaks and quacks:

Check out more about the lady that you probably didn’t read in a history book here: http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/other-statues/rosa-parks

More about her statue here: http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/other-statues/rosa-parks

Check out other statues, busts, and other sculptures at the Capitol here: http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/sculpture

FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/dontduckhistory

 

Some Sat Down. This Lady Stood Up.

Tags

american history, ann dearsley vernon, civil rights, don't duck history, greensboro four, greensboro north carolina, sit ins, woolworth's

One of the goals of the Don’t Duck History project is to give voice to those who are not often featured in American History documentation, and this is a prime example. When we read about civil rights and particularly the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-ins, what is normally presented are the brave African-American college students who boldly, yet peacefully, participated in a movement where equal treatment was the ultimate goal. Certainly, they deserve to be featured for their courage and contribution to positive change.  They were later referred to as the “Greensboro Four”, and their names are Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. and David Richmond.

And then there’s Ann Dearsley-Vernon. Her story appeared on my Facebook page recently, and apparently she’s been hiding in plain view right here in the city of Norfolk VA. Yes, I admit to having a history of living under the occasional rock. So who is she? Well, you should watch the video in the link below, but the quick and dirty is that she and some of her college classmates went to a certain Woolworth’s lunch counter, and upon noticing that African-American (college) students were attempting to be served, she and her classmates stood so that their seats would be available to the other history makers there that day.

Take just a few minutes and watch the video (and read about her story) here.

A relatively recent trip to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History landed me in front of part of the actual counter where that history was made. It had been donated to the museum after the Woolworth’s store closed in 1993. I don’t recall reading about Ann at the museum, so I did a quick Google search about the sit-ins and again, nothing. Now I’m not saying there is nothing out there, but my point is that you will probably have to dig to find it, or actually even know to look for it. Lo and behold, when I googled her name, I came to this blog that tells more about her part of the story. I’ll bet there are many other similar stories that have never been told or not widely known, and my goal is to have a place where those stories can be archived digitally (via a website) as well as some of them ultimately ending up in a book. Thinking ahead, let’s say a series of books.  (I also found this article about her and her attachment to a different museum, as an artist.  Check it out.)

Section of the Greensboro, NC Woolworth’s lunch counter, as displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. 1/2015

Back to the African-American students, well, one in particular; Franklin McCain. He was interviewed by NPR in the link here, and one of the things he mentioned was that there was additional support for their courage that came from outside of the black community on their first day of sitting.  In actuality, many people took the steps that they were comfortable taking, toward positive change.  Many were women, and their stories need to be told, too.  Upon recalling a “little old white lady” looking in his direction, McCain wrongly thought her stare was one of disdain, but he learned he was wrong when she approached them, and said “Boys, I am so proud of you. I only regret that you didn’t do this 10 years ago”. She has a name, too. I wonder what it is so that I can google it.

My journey continues.  Peace, squeaks, and quacks!

FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/dontduckhistory