This truly brings out the beast in me every time I read something was invented by a group who lived in mudhuts until the white man came along. I feel like the incredible hulk up in here.

According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_day