When you think of Memorial Day, you think of BBQ, picnics, trips to the beach and throwback mixes on the radio. But the First Memorial Day was a bit different. Check out this little known fact here.

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Back in the day, several hundred thousand men served & died in the Union Army to end slavery and preserve the Union.

Memorial Day was actually started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.

Now that's what I call a proper Memorial Day!!

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