Freed African Americans started what we now know as Memorial Day on May 1, 1865. After the Civil War ended they wanted a way to honor their dead who died in Confederate prison camps. It took 2 weeks for them to actually dig up all of the 257 Union soldiers. Black People have always been apart of America. We have built this country just like everybody else. We need to celebrate our accomplishments and contributions to society even as we face a current administration that doesn’t seem to value us. The wonderful thing about history, however, is the fact that it is there for us to learn from, we have to be diligent enough to go searching for it.