“In Beaufort County, including St. Helena Island, the town of Port Royal, and the city of Beaufort, many existing historic objects demonstrate the transformative effect of emancipation and reconstruction.”
– President Barack Obama, January 12, 2017
When we consider the pain of 2017, please remember that President, Barack Obama established the Reconstruction Era National Monument here in Beaufort County, SC on January 12, 2017. He took this action because this is where freedom from slavery blossomed in the first year of the Civil War.
Of course, the tale of Reconstruction includes the story of how rights once won by freedmen were lost again. After a decade or two of efforts to create racial fairness and progress, another half century of racism prevented the healing of wounds caused by America’s cruel systems of discrimination.
For too long, the people of the United States have been too willing not to face the horrid history that is slavery, when men were allowed to own, beat, work to death, or kill another man or woman for their own enrichment or amusement. President Obama recognized that it was time to come to terms with our Nation’s racial history.
What was true a year ago when the President created this monument is even more true today – that we have to build bridges between us by sharing the truth about our past.
I am so grateful that President Obama’s understanding of America’s racial struggles led him to create the Reconstruction Era National Monument.
The significance of this region to the Reconstruction story was described by President Barack Obama on January 12, 2017 in his proclamation establishing the Reconstruction Era National Monument:
“In and around Beaufort County during Reconstruction, the first African Americans enlisted as soldiers, the first African American schools were founded, early efforts to distribute land to former slaves took place, and many of the Reconstruction Era’s most significant African American politicians, including Robert Smalls, came to prominence. African American political influence and land ownership endured there long after setbacks in other regions.
In short, events and people from Beaufort County illustrate the most important challenges of Reconstruction — crucial questions related to land, labor, education, and politics after the destruction of slavery — and some early hopeful efforts to address them. ( … ) The significant historical events that transpired in Beaufort County make it an ideal place to tell stories of experimentation, potential transformation, hope, accomplishment, and disappointment.”
– President Barack Obama
Because this history is so unique and compelling and relevant to our nation’s current struggles, I decided to write a historical fiction book describing the first years of freedom from slavery here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
If you would like to know more about this book, or purchase it, please enjoy the rest of this website.
This was a significant event for our town. The real impact will be seen in the decades to come.