Black History

150th anniversary of Civil War: Few blacks on hand

2:02 PM on 04/12/2011

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Civil War re-enactors fire a 21-gun salute at Fort Johnson, near Fort Sumter, to commemorate the moment the first shots of the Civil War were fired 150 years ago in Charleston, S.C. on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Alice Keeney)

BRUCE SMITH,Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Cannon fired around Charleston Harbor in South Carolina before dawn, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War. Only a handful of blacks attended two key events in the state Tuesday despite organizers' attempts to include all groups.

The cannon thudded as the sun rose, re-enacting the Confederate bombardment of Union-held Fort Sumter in 1861. A concert of somber music preceded the re-enactment on Charleston's Battery.

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Some national representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People cautioned that annniversary events may lead to a romanticizing of the antebellum South and slavery. But the civil rights group says it appears the National Park Service has adopted a thoughtful approach for its events.

Neither the concert nor the re-enactment was sponsored by the National Park Service.