Memorial Day Was Created By Freed Slaves In 1865 — And America Erased It From The History Books

Memorial Day Was Created By Freed Slaves In 1865 — And America Erased It From The History Books

Most Americans think Memorial Day started with a general's order in 1868. The real story starts three years earlier — and it starts with Black people. On May 1, 1865 — less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered — freed Black men and women in Charleston, South Carolina organized what historians now recognize as the first Memorial Day in American history. They exhumed the bodies of 257 Union soldiers from a mass grave at a Confederate prison camp. They built a proper cemetery. They erected an archway with the words 'Martyrs of the Race Course.' And then 10,000 people — led by 2,800 Black schoolchildren carrying roses — marched, sang, and honored the men who had died so they could be free. Yale historian David Blight called it 'the Independence Day of a Second American Revolution.' Then white Charlestonians erased it from the record. In this episode of Past Present Pushback, XO, AZ, and CDA tell the full, unedited origin story of Memorial Day — from the Charleston racetrack in 1865, to General Logan's 1868 order, to how the holiday evolved, how its true origins were suppressed, and what it means that the people who invented this tradition to honor freedom were the same people the holiday's official history left out. This is the story they didn't teach you in school. And it deserves to be known. Keywords: Memorial Day origin history, who created Memorial Day, Black Americans Memorial Day 1865, Charleston South Carolina Memorial Day, freed slaves Memorial Day, David Blight Memorial Day, Decoration Day history, true origin Memorial Day, Memorial Day Black history, Past Present Pushback podcast

Old School Discipline vs. New Age Parenting: What The Research Says & What We Actually Think

Every generation thinks they got discipline right. The generation before them thinks they went too soft. And the generation after them wonders why they turned out the way they did. The conversation about how to discipline a child — especially in Black families — has never been louder, more contested, or more personal. Old school said: the belt teaches respect. New research says: it teaches fear. The old way produced grit. The new way produces therapy bills. Or does it? In this episode of Past Present Pushback, XO, AZ, and CDA get into the real conversation about child discipline — old school versus today. The statistics behind what changed. Why it changed. What the four parenting styles actually produce in children long-term. Where the belt fits in the history of Black parenting. Why social media, CPS, and changing laws shifted the whole dynamic. And the honest question three men who were raised the old way have to answer: did it work? And what are we doing differently with our own children? Keywords: Black family discipline 2024, old school parenting vs new age, corporal punishment Black families, how to discipline a child today, authoritative parenting research, belt discipline statistics, Black parenting styles, child discipline generational shift, spanking research 2024, Past Present Pushback podcast

NBA Conference Finals Predictions + Why Politicians Are Stealing Your Vote (And How to Stop Them)

The "Past Present Pushback" crew is back in the studio for an absolute heater of an episode. Today, we’re bridging the gap between sports, strategy, and legacy. ** NBA Conference Finals Breakdown:**The playoffs are down to the final four, and the studio is divided. XO is betting it all on Wembanyama and the Spurs, while AZ is riding with the consistency of the OKC Thunder. Meanwhile, CDA is forced to sit in the "casual corner" after his Celtics were knocked out in the first round. Who takes the series? Tune in for the debate. ** The Political Playbook: Redistricting & Suppression:**We move from the court to the ballot box. We’re dissecting the current state of gerrymandering and the new tactics being used to suppress votes nationwide. We break down the "illusion of helplessness" and, more importantly, the tactical blueprint for fighting back—starting with weaponizing your local, down-ballot elections. ** The Legacy Segment: The Head Start vs. The Grind:**Is it better to hand your children a financial safety net, or does that wealth strip away the "grit" required for them to survive in the real world? We debate the balance between providing financial leverage and forcing your kids to forge their own armor. Join the conversation:Are you riding with the Spurs or the Thunder? How are you organizing in your local community? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! Follow the show:Stay tuned for more high-level strategy, mindset, and "pushback" on the status quo. Subscribe, rate, and share the episode. #NBAPlayoffs #Spurs #Thunder #Wembanyama #VotingRights #GenerationalWealth #FinancialLiteracy #PastPresentPushback #Strategy #Podcast

The Black Panther Party: How They Fed Thousands, Armed Their Community & Were Hunted Down By The FBI

In October 1966, two young men named Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale sat down in Oakland, California and wrote a Ten Point Program. They wanted freedom. Full employment. Decent housing. Real education. An end to police brutality. And they meant every word. What they built from that document became the most feared organization in America — a revolutionary party that fed children breakfast before school, ran free health clinics, organized communities, and patrolled their own neighborhoods armed and ready to defend themselves from the police. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The U.S. government called them the greatest threat to America's internal security. J. Edgar Hoover's FBI launched a secret program called COINTELPRO specifically designed to destroy them. Fake letters. False arrests. Planted informants. Surveillance. And when that wasn't enough — assassination. Fred Hampton. 21 years old. Drugged by an FBI informant. Shot in his bed at 4:45 in the morning. In this episode of Past Present Pushback, XO, AZ, and CDA tell the full story — the founding, the programs, the government's war against them, and what we lost when the party was dismantled. Keywords: Black Panther Party history, COINTELPRO Black Panthers, Fred Hampton assassination, Huey Newton Bobby Seale, Black Panther Party founding, Black Panther free breakfast program, FBI war on Black Panthers, J. Edgar Hoover Black messiah, Black power movement, Black Panther Party dismantled, Past Present Pushback podcast RESOURCES • 'Judas and the Black Messiah' (2021 film) — the Fred Hampton story • 'The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution' (2015 documentary) — Stanley Nelson • 'Black Against Empire' by Joshua Bloom & Waldo Martin — definitive history of the BPP • National Archives — Black Panther Party documents — archives.gov • NMAAHC Black Panther Party exhibit — nmaahc.si.edu • Zinn Education Project — COINTELPRO teaching resources — zinnedproject.org

Provident Hospital: The Black Doctor Who Built America's First Black Hospital — And Performed Open-Heart Surgery Inside It

In 1889, a young Black woman named Emma Reynolds wanted to become a nurse. Every nursing school in Chicago turned her away because of her race. Her brother went to a Black surgeon named Dr. Daniel Hale Williams for help. And what happened next changed the history of American medicine forever. In 1891, Dr. Williams opened Provident Hospital — the first Black-owned and operated hospital in the United States, with an integrated staff and a nursing school that trained Black women when no one else would. Two years later, inside those same walls, he performed one of the first successful cardiac surgeries in medical history — on a Black man with a stab wound to the heart — without X-rays, without antibiotics, without blood transfusion. And the world almost missed it entirely. In this episode of Past Present Pushback, XO, AZ, and CDA tell the full story. The founding. The heart surgery. The decades of survival against financial pressure, segregation, and institutional neglect. The painful closure in 1987. And the reopening in 1993 that gave the South Side its hospital back. This is Black excellence before it had a name. And it deserves to be known. Keywords: Provident Hospital Chicago history, Daniel Hale Williams open heart surgery, first Black hospital United States, Emma Reynolds nursing school, Black medical history, Chicago South Side hospital, Black doctors history, Provident Hospital 1891, Black excellence history, Past Present Pushback podcast • Provident Hospital Chicago — cookcountyhhs.org/provident • National Museum of African American History & Culture — nmaahc.si.edu • International Museum of Surgical Science (Chicago) — imss.org — includes Provident Hospital exhibit • WTTW Chicago 'DuSable to Obama' — Provident Hospital documentary segment — wttw.com