PRESS RELEASES
Protest Poem “Note on Memorial Day” uses Trump administration’s flagged words to challenge censorship and Anti-Black Erasure
NOTE ON MEMORIAL DAY
Black American origins of Memorial Day holiday are uplifted while challenging and confronting Anti-Black Erasure During Federal DEI Rollbacks of 2025.
May 1, 2026
Merrifield, Virginia, USA
America celebrates its 250th birthday, and 100 years of Black History commemorations in 2026. This year also marks 165 years since the U.S. Civil War began on April 12, 1861. Four years later, Black people in Charleston, South Carolina created the first known large scale war memorial ceremony on May 1, 1865.
Note on Memorial Day (2025) is a protest poem by Abbie Cienna in response to attacks on First Amendment rights in the USA, and specifically, a systematic Anti-Black Erasure of U.S. history. She wrote the poem after a 2025 contest challenged writers to create original poems using a predetermined set of words and phrases inspired by those that were flagged for removal from U.S. government webpages and in research papers during the Trump administration. Note on Memorial Day (2025) includes 22 out of 101 of those “forbidden” words and phrases. In the poem, an ancestral narrator uses alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, and rhythm to tell the story of events surrounding a magnificent Decoration Day ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1, 1865. It's a remarkable, though widely unknown, story of resilience and patriotism during The Civil War. Decoration Day evolved into what we now know as Memorial Day, which became a federal holiday in 1971. In Note on Memorial Day (2025), the narrator reaffirms Black heritage while challenging and confronting acts of erasing Black contributions from U.S. history. The title is a nod to Langston Hughes' poem, Note on Commercial Theatre (1940) in which Hughes critiqued the systematic erasure of the Black American experience from Blues music during his time. The narrator in Hughes’ poem ends with a passive reflection. In contrast, Note on Memorial Day ends with a dynamic warning for the audience.
Author Quote:
“I learned of Decoration Day while compiling a calendar of Black holidays. Historian David W. Blight has been a leading figure in revealing information about the erasure of the events surrounding the Decoration Day ceremony on May 1, 1865. Blight’s work served as a starting point for my research. Unfortunately, due to continued suppression of the facts, many have never learned this portion of history. I believe that Note on Memorial Day can play a role in increasing awareness and furthering the discussion.” - Abbie Cienna
Contact Information:
Website: https://abbiecienna.com
Email: [email protected]
News/Updates: https://abbiecienna.kit.com/newsletter
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@abbiecienna
Check out an audio performance of Note on Memorial Day on YouTube
About Abbie Cienna:
Abbie Cienna (si·en·na) aka Chantel Aberdeen (1973-) is a multidisciplinary artist, and author of the poem “Note on Memorial Day.” Her work confronts Anti-Black Erasure and uplifts Black heritage, examining and exploring forms of liberation. Upcoming projects include a wall calendar of Black Liberation Emancipation Abolition and Freedom Days, and a book about the history of Black freedom of speech and press in the United States. Abbie Cienna was born in Brooklyn, NY, has lived in 6 states, and has documented her U.S. and Caribbean ancestry back into the 19th century. For more, visit abbiecienna.com.
Media Contact:
Review copies of the poem are available upon request.
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