Why Memorial Day Has Special Significance for African Americans

The Root ^ | May 25 2015 | THEODORE R. JOHNSON III

[nickcarraway]

They have long been overrepresented in the military, serving and dying for a country that has not always celebrated their freedom or rewarded their sacrifice.

Memorial Day is a sacred occasion when we pay tribute to all the military men and women who have died in service to the United States. It is also an observance that owes its creation to blacks. This tradition began when newly freed slaves decorated the grave sites of Civil War soldiers as a way to honor those who had fought for their freedom. But blacks were not just passive bystanders. Many of volunteered to serve in the military, ensuring they were active in reshaping the United States to be truer to its founding principles.

It is for this reason that Memorial Day should hold special significance for all black Americans, but especially for those who are veterans or serving in the military today. As the country memorializes the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, it is important to remember that thousands of them were black Americans who were treated as second-class citizens in the country for which they fought. But they voluntarily served, anyway, because of their belief in their and in the hope that their display of devotion to the nation would result in gains for all black Americans.

From the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts, black men and women have served with dignity and honor. And many would not or could not live to see the progress the country has made. Black service members have lived in a United States where their people were lynched, segregated and forbidden any involvement in the political process.

Yet they still went off to battle because they believed black people would never be equal in the United States if they didn’t

[Norm Lenhart]

The rarest of Americans today is one simply believing themselves to be ‘American” without some one-upmanship/victimhood qualifier attached.

[Paladin2]

I thought the over representation largely went away with the all volunteer forces.

[Flag_This]

"I thought the over representation largely went away with the all volunteer forces."

My understanding was that blacks were slightly over-represented in the Army during Vietnam era, but slightly under-represented in the combat arms.

[kevslisababy]

I second your comments!

[A_Former_Democrat]

I’d wonder about the stats for the two world wars . . .and D Day, Iwo Jima, Okinawa

And the Civil War . . .

Let’s see how “disproportional” the numbers really are

[MagUSNRET]

Thank you, Sir!

[Hiro Protaginast]

I’m not trying to belittle their service and sacrifice for their country, but now it seems with everything they invented in ancient egypt, they also invented memorial day. Like blacks were the first to ever decorate graves of soldiers.

[fr_freak]

My understanding was that blacks were slightly over-represented in the Army during Vietnam era, but slightly under-represented in the combat arms.

In my experience in the 1990's as a grunt, this was definitely true, by a wide margin. And it is a well-known fact that Special Forces have few black men.

[beelzepug]

Your opening sentence was likely echoed by most everybody reading it. Thanks for saying what needed to be said.

[PghBaldy]

It did, at least those who die seem to be white and/or mostly Hispanic from what I can tell, according to pictures of the men.

[Flag_This]

When I was at Benning in the 80s, blacks were definitely highly represented in the drill cadre, but that wasn’t the case once I got out of basic and AIT.

[ansel12]

The over representation is in support units, not in combat deaths, even in the Vietnam war, the black male age group was just barely under represented.

In Special Operations, they account for only about 1.5%, and when the San Diego Union did their report on that, it was across the board, all Special Ops units, all branches.

[PotatoHeadMick]

I understood the group that has always been over-represented in the US military was Southern whites of Scotch-Irish ancestry.

I have no idea if that is true.

[Paladin2]

Whiskey Rebellion....

[Chickensoup]

In Special Operations, they account for only about 1.5%

_____________

They cannot swim. Heavier bone density. I understand they flunk the swim tests.

[ansel12]

Here is a way that someone could make an argument about Vietnam, since in Vietnam blacks died at a higher rate than they were percentage of in-country.

88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian, 10.6%
(275,000) were black, 1.0% belonged to other races

86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (including Hispanics)
12.5% (7,241) were black.
1.2% belonged to other races

170,000 Hispanics served in Vietnam; 3,070 (5.2%) of whom died there.

86.8% of the men who were KIA were Caucasian
12.1% (5,711) were black; 1.1% belonged to other races.
14.6% (1,530) of non-combat deaths were black
34% of blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms.

Overall, blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in Vietnam when the percentage
of blacks of military age was 13.5% of the population.
http://www.mrfa.org/vnstats.htm

[CASchack]

I am really tired of hearing over and over again how (blacks, gays, muslims, etc.) helped build and sacrifice for this country. The lion’s share of the work and sacrifice came from from white Europeans who emigrated and assimilated. This dividing of people into different groups is killing the country. Rewriting history doesn’t make something true, although a generation of poorly educated and highly indoctrinated Americans believe the lie.

[Svartalfiar]

Huh? this article makes no sense. Why would Blacks (who this article is referring to, not African-Americans)feel more special than most on Memorial Day? What about this holiday is more dear to them than whites or Asians? Last I checked, whites make up the majority of the military, and a huge majority of military dead.

Before the Hyphens Came