On Memorial Day 2024: Guinness Designation Sheds Light on Untold Story of Black Civil War Soldiers

By Amber V. Smith | Trice Edney Wire Dr. Frank Smith, founding director, African American Civil War Memorial (TriceEdneyWire.com) – One of the nation’s most significant war memorials sits at the top of the U Street Corridor Metro exit in Washington, DC, oddly planted in front of a few houses and an office building. You could almost miss it among the daily raucous in the neighborhood. Earlier this year, on the first day of Black History Month, the Guinness Book of World Records declared the African American Civil War Memorial as having the “most names on a war memorial”. Located in Northwest D.C. at 1925 Vermont Ave.,the memorial lists the names of more than 209,000 Black Union soldiers and their White officers. It’s a recognition that tells a much deeper story. “For more than 25 years we’ve worked hard to tell the story of these important soldiers,” said Dr. Frank Smith, founding director of the African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation. “Their stories have been forgotten by this country and this international designation helps the world understand its importance.” Smith says it was not until his teenage years that he learned of the contributions of African Americans during the...