COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina Senate leader is defending a photo he posed for wearing a Civil War uniform alongside two blacks in servants' costumes reminiscent of slavery.

Senate President Pro-tem Glenn McConnell said the photo taken in Charleston last week was an innocent moment among friends. The Charleston Republican is well-known as a Civil War enthusiast and re-enactor.

He says the National Federation of Republican Women's conference asked him to arrange re-enactors to depict parts of the state history.

A black Gullah-Geechee cultural group was among the re-enactors to demonstrate the mid-1800s.

Some say the picture evokes the oppression of blacks. McConnell says it shows how far the state has come.

The NAACP's Joe Darby says McConnell has an "unfortunate" world view.