This painful and incendiary moment in Wilmington's history has impact far beyond the bounds of her city limits. A Raleigh news outlet was instrumental in the event. The 1898 coup d'etat in Wilmington - the only successful overthrow of a domestic government in Americha history - is examined in a new documentary.
Description from PBS:
American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina's largest city in 1898 -- the only coup d'etat in the history of the US. Stoking fears of "Negro Rule," self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington's democratically-elected, multi-racial government. Dozens of Black residents were murdered, and thousands were banished. The story of what happened in Wilmington was suppressed for decades until descendants and scholars began to investigate. Today, many of those descendants -- Black and White -- seek the truth about this intentionally buried history.
PBS has created many educational resources based on research to help share and examine this painful moment in our history. View their 1898 event timeline here. View the feature on Wilmington's Black citizens at that time here.
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WCGS member Ed Webb attended the special screening and discussion of the documentary in Wilmington at Thalian Hall last week. These were his thoughts:
"My wife and I had the chance to see the NC premiere of the upcoming PBS American Experience documentary film American Coup: Wilmington 1898 at Thalian Hall in Wilmington this past Thursday (Nov. 7). Some of the 1898 events occurred in Thalian Hall so the film was even more impactful. It is a film worth watching for NC history with a Raleigh relationship (the News and Observer role in inciting the overthrow, for example). And there’s a touch of genealogy in the film as descendants of blacks and whites involved in the coup participated in the film. Some of these descendants were in the audience Thursday night)."
Watch it for NC History's sake.
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