Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy

by David Zucchino

George Henry White was the last black U.S. Representative from North Carolina for ninety-one years—until Eva Clayton was elected in 1992

Before the 1898 coup, Wilmington was 56 percent black. That percentage dropped precipitously in the years after 1898. The 1900 federal census listed Wilmington as 49 percent black. The rate continued to plunge—from 47 percent in 1910 to 40 percent in 1930, 35 percent in 1950, 33 percent in 1990, and just 18.3 percent by 2018.

The state’s school textbooks, presided over by white supremacists, ensured that the enduring myths of 1898 were passed down to each new generation of white pupils.

the purported spontaneous white response to a black riot was instead a carefully planned coup d’état that restored white supremacy.

Edmonds’s revelations had no lasting effect on Wilmington’s white mythology, which had hardened like shellac in the years after 1898.

More than a few whites said they bore no personal responsibility for their ancestors’ actions. Some asked why the city was heightening racial tensions by dredging up ancient history. But many black residents resented white descendants who refused to acknowledge the lasting damage inflicted on Wilmington’s black community.