by V. Mohammed

(NNPA)—Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. It is believed to have been initially proclaimed in 1868 to commemorate fallen Union and Confederate soldiers. The roots of the Memorial Day holiday, however, reach further back to Black South Carolina, where newly freed slaves expressed gratitude for the Yankee invasion that became the Civil War.

EXPRESSING GRATITUDE—Kai Bentley, 4, of Yorktown, Va., and his father, Air Force Master Sgt. Durell Bentley, were the first to arrive at Hampton National Cemetery to begin placing flags at each of the graves in the cemetery May 27, in Hampton, Va., in preparation of Memorial Day. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Bill Tiernan)

According to Black and White historians, those Black South Carolinians, “understood the necessity for celebrating the legacy of fallen soldiers who fought to make them free,” said Civil War historian Carroll Gibbs of the Carter G. Woodson Association for the Study of African Life and History in Washington, D.C.

NEW YORK (AP)—CNN anchor Don Lemon has come out as a gay man in his new book, a disclosure he knows comes at a risk.

While Lemon's memoir, titled "Transparent," also covers his journalism career, he's prepared for much of the reaction to focus on more personal matters, which include growing up without a father and his revelation that he was sexually abused as a child.

In his book, the 45-year-old Lemon writes of having lived with "dark, ugly secrets" that took him years to bring into the light.

Being Black made being gay feel even worse, he said in an interview Monday, "because of how the Black community perceives a gay person. An African-American male is taught that he has to be masculine.

DON LEMON

(NNPA)—Miss Wisconsin USA Shaletta Porterfield has surrendered her crown as she faces identify theft charges. The 26-year-old beauty queen allegedly forged signatures of three business representatives on advertising contracts at a marketing company where she worked last summer, according to various Wisconsin-based newspapers.

The scheme was uncovered August 2010 when a former boss was asked to proof ads she hadn’t purchased, prompting her to alert authorities. She’s pleaded not guilty to misappropriating identity information to obtain money.

Shaletta Porterfield

Week of May 28 to June 3

May 28

1936—Betty Shabazz, the widow of Black nationalist leader Malcolm X, was born on this day in Detroit, Mich. Shabazz was born Betty Jean Sanders and raised by foster parents. She attended Tuskegee Institute (now university) and became a registered nurse. In 1994, she created a national controversy when she linked Nation of Islam leader Min. Louis Farrakhan to the assassination of Malcolm X. However, she and Farrakhan reconciled in 1995 and she spoke at the historic Million Man March. She died June 23, 1997 as a result of injuries received in a house fire set by her grandson.

BETTY SHABAZZ, COUNTEE CULLEN