<em>Photo above: Myra Parker, center left, of the Beaufort Mass Choir, leads the dancing while the choir sings during the one-year anniversary celebration of the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Monument on Friday, Jan. 12, at The Arsenal on Craven Street. Photos by Bob Sofaly.</em>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><i>Ceremony marks year anniversary of Reconstruction Era National Monument&nbsp;</i></h2>
[caption id="attachment_34810" align="aligncenter" width="2897"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/RES2939.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-34810"><img class="size-full wp-image-34810" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/RES2939.jpg" alt="U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) describes his childhood woking on his family’s packing shed on St. Helena Island near Penn Center. Sanford was the keynote speaker during the ceremony marking the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Monument, which is part of the National Park Service, and is comprised of four sites: Darrah Hall and Brick Baptist Church on St. Helena Island; Camp Saxton at Fort Fredrick in Port Royal; and the old firehouse in downtown Beaufort." width="2897" height="2051"></a> U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) describes his childhood woking on his family’s packing shed on St. Helena Island near Penn Center. Sanford was the keynote speaker during the ceremony marking the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Monument, which is part of the National Park Service, and is comprised of four sites: Darrah Hall and Brick Baptist Church on St. Helena Island; Camp Saxton at Fort Fredrick in Port Royal; and the old firehouse in downtown Beaufort.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_34811" align="aligncenter" width="2957"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/RES2600.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-34811"><img class="size-full wp-image-34811" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/RES2600.jpg" alt="Artist Sonja Griffin Evans, left, describes some of the finer points of her painting after its unveiling to honor the park’s anniversary. Evans calls her piece “Mine Eyes have seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord.” The Reconstruction Era monument is dedicated to commemorating the period from 1861 - 1900 when nearly 4 million African Americans, newly freed from bondage, sought to integrate into a free society and the educational, economic and political life of the country." width="2957" height="1804"></a> Artist Sonja Griffin Evans, left, describes some of the finer points of her painting after its unveiling to honor the park’s anniversary. Evans calls her piece “Mine Eyes have seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord.” The Reconstruction Era monument is dedicated to commemorating the period from 1861 - 1900 when nearly 4 million African Americans, newly freed from bondage, sought to integrate into a free society and the educational, economic and political life of the country.[/caption]