The National Day of Mourning is an annual protest held each Thanksgiving in the United States.
The protest started in 1970, when a group labelled the United Native Amnericans of New England buried Plymouth Rock. They were protesting the European colonization of America, characterizing it as land theft and genocide. Since than a protest group has gathered each year in Plymouth, Massachusetts to mark Thanksgiving as a day of infamy.
In 1968 this protest errupted in violence and arrests were made. More recent protests have been held on Coles Hill, overlooking but not at Plymouth Rock. The originators have been joined by black, Hispanic, and even gay rights activists in protest. Typically several hundred protesters appear.
Since 1921 (the 300th year after the first Thanksgiving) some Plymouth residents stage a reenacment of Thanksgiving each year. They gather at a church on the site of the Pilgrims original meeting house, in 17th century costume. After prayers and a sermon, they march to Plymouth Rock. This annual even had even becme something of a tourist attraction.
For nearly twenty years the two groups arrived at their destination at different times. But in 1968, they met. The Day of Mourning protesters fell into the Pilgrim parade after the reenactors, shouting slogans and reportedly grabbing bibles from them. Police moved in to separate the two groups. Reports of the incident vary widely, but there were no serious injuries and only about 20 or 30 arrests,1968 violence
