(Please
enjoy this reprised edition of “Break
It Down!” This post was originally published May 30, 2012
at: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com,
and reposted May 27, 2015 at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com as Memorial Day: What Your Teacher Never Told You!)
OK,
so Memorial Day was earlier this week. You may be
familiar with my holiday week philosophy, which is: make it easy on the
readers, who are always otherwise engaged, no matter the holiday. Of
course, in the process, I am also giving myself a break. That makes for a
natural win-win scenario.
With
that overarching thought in mind, I will endeavor to
apply three elementary rules of communication:
- Utilize
the KISS Principle, AKA, Keep It Short & Simple(also Keep It Simple Stupid)
- Convey
new or “not widely circulated” information
- Always
remember to emphasize points 1 and 2 above
Memorial Day is a federal holiday to honor America’s fallen soldiers. It originated after the Civil War. Falling between Easter and Independence Day, it is often equated with a late spring break, or a pre-summer respite.
The
weekend typically includes a cornucopia of
sports. For example this week included the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, the NBA Finals, College Men’s Baseball playoffs,
and College Women’s Softball competition,
among others.
With
the plethora of activity always thrown into the mix, the holiday is sometimes
almost lost in the shuffle. But wait; Memorial Day has a special cultural significance.
In fact, it is because of that nexus we should pay special homage to this late spring holiday.
The
first well-known observance of a Memorial
Day type was held May
1, 1865 in Charleston,
South Carolina. Over 250 Union soldiers that had been prisoners of war, died
in Charleston, and were
quickly buried in makeshift graves. A group of blacks, mostly freedmen,
organized the observance and led cleanup and landscaping of the burial site.
Most
of the nearly 10,000 people
who attended were freedmen and
their families. Of that number, 3.000 were
children, newly enrolled in freedman’s schools. Mutual aid
societies, black ministers, and white Northern missionaries were also in attendance.
David W. Blight, Professor of American History at Yale University,
and Director of the
school’s Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, &
Abolition, described the day this way:
“This was the first Memorial Day. African Americans invented
Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina. What you have there is black
Americans recently freed from slavery announcing to the world with their
flowers, their feet, and their songs what the War had been about. What they
basically were creating was the Independence Day of a Second American
Revolution.”
Professor Blight conceded there is no evidence that
the Charleston event
led directly to the establishment of Memorial
Day across the country. But the record is clear they
formed the earliest truly large-scale event, complete with media
coverage. Their effort was the prototype, if not the catalyst.
Having
said that, I believe I honored the rules established above for this
post:
- Told
this story in a direct and
uncomplicated fashion
- Presented
information I am confident most readers did not know
- Recognized points 1and 2, were accomplished and closed the
post
Enjoy
your bonus time, and be sure to reflect on “Memorial Day: What Your Teachers Never Told You! (Edition III)”
I’m
done; holla back!
Read
my blog anytime by
clicking the links: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or
/http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.
A
new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information
on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:
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