1 00:00:07,900 --> 00:00:12,400 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,000 CAROL ANDERSON: The story of the Wilmington coup 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,966 is so important for American history. 4 00:00:17,966 --> 00:00:23,600 ♪ ♪ 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,600 ALFRED MOORE WADDELL (dramatized): Men, the crisis is upon us. 6 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,233 You must do your duty. 7 00:00:29,233 --> 00:00:32,033 This city, county, and state 8 00:00:32,033 --> 00:00:35,066 shall be rid of Negro domination once and forever. 9 00:00:35,066 --> 00:00:39,000 You are the sons of noble ancestry. 10 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:40,833 You are Anglo-Saxons. 11 00:00:40,833 --> 00:00:42,700 You are armed and prepared. 12 00:00:43,966 --> 00:00:46,866 LUCY MCCAULEY: It was never discussed. 13 00:00:46,866 --> 00:00:48,733 Nobody told us anything 14 00:00:48,733 --> 00:00:51,966 about what had happened in our own town. 15 00:00:51,966 --> 00:00:54,066 I remember there sort of being whispers, 16 00:00:54,066 --> 00:00:55,566 talking about a race riot. 17 00:00:55,566 --> 00:00:57,633 MAN (dramatized): "We, the undersigned, 18 00:00:57,633 --> 00:01:00,300 "citizens of the city of Wilmington 19 00:01:00,300 --> 00:01:01,866 "and County of New Hanover 20 00:01:01,866 --> 00:01:03,866 "do hereby declare that we will no longer 21 00:01:03,866 --> 00:01:06,866 "be ruled and will never again be ruled 22 00:01:06,866 --> 00:01:08,400 by men of African origin." 23 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,233 KIERAN HAILE: It wasn't talked about, 24 00:01:11,233 --> 00:01:12,800 it was deliberately covered up. 25 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:14,400 We still have to contend with 26 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,733 120 years of silence and fear. 27 00:01:17,733 --> 00:01:20,200 FRANK ARTHUR DANIELS: Why has North Carolina 28 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:22,433 buried and avoided this story? 29 00:01:22,433 --> 00:01:25,633 We always bury the things that we're ashamed of. 30 00:01:25,633 --> 00:01:29,733 DAVID ZUCCHINO: It was the only armed overthrow of an elected government. 31 00:01:29,733 --> 00:01:34,666 Black citizens were murdered with impunity. 32 00:01:34,666 --> 00:01:37,200 No one was ever held accountable or held responsible. 33 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,900 PEYTON HOGE (dramatized): We have taken a city 34 00:01:39,900 --> 00:01:42,033 as thoroughly, 35 00:01:42,033 --> 00:01:45,300 as completely as if captured in battle. 36 00:01:45,300 --> 00:01:47,600 It has been redeemed for civilization, 37 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,433 redeemed for law and order, 38 00:01:50,433 --> 00:01:54,900 redeemed for decency and respectability. 39 00:01:54,900 --> 00:01:56,933 ANDERSON: This was a coup based on 40 00:01:56,933 --> 00:02:01,266 the devaluation of African American citizenship. 41 00:02:01,266 --> 00:02:03,233 What Wilmington tells us 42 00:02:03,233 --> 00:02:06,600 in that larger scope of American history 43 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,233 is how fragile American democracy is. 44 00:02:20,433 --> 00:02:24,466 ♪ ♪ 45 00:02:24,466 --> 00:02:27,800 WOMAN: ♪ Mother, my dear mother ♪ 46 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,033 ♪ What rapture did you feel? ♪ 47 00:02:32,033 --> 00:02:36,466 ♪ Your daughter smiling in your arms ♪ 48 00:02:36,466 --> 00:02:39,566 ♪ Just after the repeal ♪ 49 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,133 ♪ First-born out of slavery ♪ 50 00:02:45,133 --> 00:02:48,300 ♪ Your hopes to me affixed ♪ 51 00:02:49,533 --> 00:02:54,100 ♪ Newborn cries sweet lullabies ♪ 52 00:02:54,100 --> 00:02:57,000 ♪ So long ago in 1866 ♪ 53 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,200 ♪ Lashes still stinging, yet your songbird bringing ♪ 54 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,100 ♪ The life that salvation redeems ♪ 55 00:03:05,100 --> 00:03:10,266 ♪ Echoes still ringing, but your sunshine singing ♪ 56 00:03:10,266 --> 00:03:15,866 ♪ Of freedom no longer in dreams ♪ 57 00:03:18,633 --> 00:03:20,466 ROBIN KELLEY: In the years after the Civil War, 58 00:03:20,466 --> 00:03:24,300 we have the end of chattel slavery as we know it. 59 00:03:24,300 --> 00:03:28,000 Four million people formerly held in bondage 60 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:29,366 are now citizens. 61 00:03:29,366 --> 00:03:34,400 They have the marks of the lash on their backs, 62 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:39,500 and they settle in this city that's on the rise. 63 00:03:41,566 --> 00:03:43,533 ANDERSON: The best way to understand Wilmington 64 00:03:43,533 --> 00:03:47,633 is to understand that coming out of the Civil War, 65 00:03:47,633 --> 00:03:49,066 you have Reconstruction. 66 00:03:49,066 --> 00:03:52,266 ♪ ♪ 67 00:03:52,266 --> 00:03:54,866 KIDADA WILLIAMS: Reconstruction was the process 68 00:03:54,866 --> 00:03:57,066 by which the nation tried to 69 00:03:57,066 --> 00:03:58,600 come to terms with the end of slavery 70 00:03:58,600 --> 00:03:59,966 and the end of the Civil War, 71 00:03:59,966 --> 00:04:03,433 to bring the seceded states back into the Union 72 00:04:03,433 --> 00:04:05,966 and to try to make good on the promises 73 00:04:05,966 --> 00:04:09,300 of the original founding by integrating newly freed 74 00:04:09,300 --> 00:04:11,366 African Americans more fully into the nation. 75 00:04:12,366 --> 00:04:14,666 The end of slavery means 76 00:04:14,666 --> 00:04:15,966 that they can have access to their families, 77 00:04:15,966 --> 00:04:18,766 that they can work and get... be paid for it. 78 00:04:18,766 --> 00:04:21,066 That they can have schools, that they can have churches, 79 00:04:21,066 --> 00:04:23,600 their own businesses, land. 80 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,833 A lot of historians have likened it to 81 00:04:27,833 --> 00:04:29,933 a second American Revolution. 82 00:04:31,766 --> 00:04:35,266 Before 1898, Wilmington exemplified 83 00:04:35,266 --> 00:04:36,933 the spirit of Reconstruction. 84 00:04:38,466 --> 00:04:41,633 Wilmington was the state's largest city. 85 00:04:41,633 --> 00:04:44,000 LERAE SIKES UMFLEET: As one of the few open ports 86 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:45,966 for international travel 87 00:04:45,966 --> 00:04:48,033 and traffic in North Carolina, 88 00:04:48,033 --> 00:04:50,900 this was a very prosperous city. 89 00:04:50,900 --> 00:04:55,166 The railroad system drove back country items 90 00:04:55,166 --> 00:04:56,433 straight into the port in Wilmington 91 00:04:56,433 --> 00:04:58,133 and then out into the rest of the world. 92 00:04:58,133 --> 00:05:01,200 So tar pitch and turpentine, 93 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,833 the things that came from the forests of North Carolina, 94 00:05:04,833 --> 00:05:07,400 really drove some of this economy. 95 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,533 The Sprunt Cotton Compress here in Wilmington, 96 00:05:11,533 --> 00:05:12,833 they were one of the largest exporters 97 00:05:12,833 --> 00:05:16,066 of cotton in the world by this time. 98 00:05:17,266 --> 00:05:21,400 KELLEY: Wilmington was one of those important centers 99 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,333 for newly freed people to find opportunity. 100 00:05:24,333 --> 00:05:27,600 There was really no other major city in the South 101 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:29,133 like Wilmington. 102 00:05:29,133 --> 00:05:32,900 First of all, it had a majority Black population of 56%. 103 00:05:34,266 --> 00:05:37,366 SANDERS: They have the opportunity to compete with whites 104 00:05:37,366 --> 00:05:41,533 for well-paying jobs for both skilled and unskilled labor. 105 00:05:41,533 --> 00:05:43,066 So we see African Americans 106 00:05:43,066 --> 00:05:45,466 working as brick masons, 107 00:05:45,466 --> 00:05:47,300 blacksmiths, carpenters. 108 00:05:47,300 --> 00:05:49,300 ANDERSON: You have folks who are stevedores 109 00:05:49,300 --> 00:05:51,000 working on the docks. 110 00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:54,466 You're having the Black leadership 111 00:05:54,466 --> 00:05:56,166 that have college degrees. 112 00:05:56,166 --> 00:05:58,133 There was a professional class there 113 00:05:58,133 --> 00:06:01,966 of doctors and teachers and lawyers. 114 00:06:01,966 --> 00:06:05,000 You've got the array of hardworking Black folk, 115 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,100 up and down the class line. 116 00:06:07,100 --> 00:06:09,533 It was a real community. 117 00:06:09,533 --> 00:06:11,100 ♪ ♪ 118 00:06:11,100 --> 00:06:13,900 ZUCCHINO: One interesting aspect of Wilmington was that 119 00:06:13,900 --> 00:06:18,466 Blacks sold items at the city market downtown 120 00:06:18,466 --> 00:06:20,233 alongside whites. 121 00:06:20,233 --> 00:06:22,600 And this was highly unusual. 122 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,766 SANDERS: They are operating on terms of equality. 123 00:06:24,766 --> 00:06:27,300 White vendors are having to compete 124 00:06:27,300 --> 00:06:29,900 with Black vendors for customers. 125 00:06:29,900 --> 00:06:32,433 And one of the most prominent Black businessmen 126 00:06:32,433 --> 00:06:33,533 in the 1890s 127 00:06:33,533 --> 00:06:35,700 was a man by the name of Isham Quick. 128 00:06:37,766 --> 00:06:39,500 My name is Inez Campbell-Eason. 129 00:06:39,500 --> 00:06:40,866 I am the great-great-granddaughter 130 00:06:40,866 --> 00:06:42,400 of Isham Quick. 131 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,000 He was born in 1843. 132 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,600 At the end of slavery, 133 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:48,466 he sojourned up to North Carolina, 134 00:06:48,466 --> 00:06:49,766 ended up in Wilmington. 135 00:06:49,766 --> 00:06:54,533 He was a wood and coal dealer at the time. 136 00:06:54,533 --> 00:06:58,366 He also chartered a Black-owned bank 137 00:06:58,366 --> 00:07:01,133 called the Metropolitan Trust Company. 138 00:07:01,133 --> 00:07:04,933 This was quite significant, that African Americans 139 00:07:04,933 --> 00:07:07,866 had not only began to acquire large sums of money, 140 00:07:07,866 --> 00:07:11,433 but that they were able to invest them in Black banks. 141 00:07:11,433 --> 00:07:16,233 We see large numbers of Black business owners, 142 00:07:16,233 --> 00:07:18,033 large numbers of Black homeowners. 143 00:07:18,033 --> 00:07:19,733 Wilmington is essentially a promised land 144 00:07:19,733 --> 00:07:21,600 for African Americans. 145 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,666 ♪ ♪ 146 00:07:23,666 --> 00:07:28,100 WOMAN: ♪ The ladies and gentlemen ♪ 147 00:07:28,100 --> 00:07:32,100 ♪ Stroll down the old Broadway ♪ 148 00:07:32,100 --> 00:07:35,733 ♪ Resplendent, transcendent ♪ 149 00:07:35,733 --> 00:07:40,733 ♪ They took your breath away. ♪ 150 00:07:40,733 --> 00:07:43,866 ♪ ♪ 151 00:07:43,866 --> 00:07:47,833 UMFLEET: The Sadgwar family in Wilmington went back generations. 152 00:07:47,833 --> 00:07:50,466 SANDERS: They were one of the most prominent 153 00:07:50,466 --> 00:07:52,800 Black families in Wilmington. 154 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,066 Frederick Sadgwar 155 00:07:55,066 --> 00:07:56,733 was a renowned carpenter, 156 00:07:56,733 --> 00:07:58,500 providing cutting-edge 157 00:07:58,500 --> 00:07:59,966 construction services 158 00:07:59,966 --> 00:08:02,266 to both Black and white residents here in Wilmington. 159 00:08:02,266 --> 00:08:04,900 These are civic-minded people. 160 00:08:04,900 --> 00:08:06,466 They're involved in their churches. 161 00:08:06,466 --> 00:08:09,466   They are raising these extraordinary 162 00:08:09,466 --> 00:08:12,200 families of children who go off to be educated 163 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,700 as soon as that becomes possible. 164 00:08:14,700 --> 00:08:18,866 There is this deep soil of Black cultural achievement 165 00:08:18,866 --> 00:08:21,866 here in Wilmington. 166 00:08:21,866 --> 00:08:23,733 My name is Kieran Haile, and I am 167 00:08:23,733 --> 00:08:26,100 the great-great-grandson of Alex Manly, 168 00:08:26,100 --> 00:08:29,500 who was the editor and publisher 169 00:08:29,500 --> 00:08:31,666 of "The Daily Record," 170 00:08:31,666 --> 00:08:35,866 which was the only Black-owned daily newspaper at the time. 171 00:08:35,866 --> 00:08:39,100 KELLEY: It was the main source of Black news 172 00:08:39,100 --> 00:08:40,733 for the Black community, 173 00:08:40,733 --> 00:08:42,400 not just in Wilmington, but across the state. 174 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,533 ALEX MANLY (dramatized): "In North Carolina, 175 00:08:44,533 --> 00:08:46,666 "the Negro holds the balance of power, 176 00:08:46,666 --> 00:08:48,666 "which he can use to the advantage of 177 00:08:48,666 --> 00:08:50,766 "the race, state, and nation, 178 00:08:50,766 --> 00:08:54,000 "if he has the manhood to stand on principles 179 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,100 "and contend for the rights of a man. 180 00:08:57,100 --> 00:08:59,733 Alex Manly, 'The Daily Record.'" 181 00:08:59,733 --> 00:09:03,166 He owned an entire platform for media. 182 00:09:03,166 --> 00:09:05,066 Because of that, 183 00:09:05,066 --> 00:09:08,433 white business owners, white people around town 184 00:09:08,433 --> 00:09:11,666 interacted with him and tried to be in his favor. 185 00:09:11,666 --> 00:09:14,500 And it had white and Black subscribers, 186 00:09:14,500 --> 00:09:16,200 which is unusual at this time. 187 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:20,233 You had white businesses regularly advertising in it. 188 00:09:20,233 --> 00:09:21,900 A.W. RIVENBARK (dramatized): "The Colored People of Wilmington 189 00:09:21,900 --> 00:09:24,600 "buy as good goods as the white people. 190 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:28,400 "My experience with them for 25 years has taught me so. 191 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,666 "I am making preparations to fill your orders 192 00:09:31,666 --> 00:09:33,433 "for the holiday trade. 193 00:09:33,433 --> 00:09:36,200 Respectfully, A.W. Rivenbark." 194 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,466 SANDERS: Alexander Manly is born immediately after 195 00:09:39,466 --> 00:09:41,766 the Civil War, in 1866. 196 00:09:41,766 --> 00:09:46,233 SULLIVAN: His grandfather had been the governor of North Carolina: 197 00:09:46,233 --> 00:09:47,733 Governor Charles Manly. 198 00:09:47,733 --> 00:09:50,566 One of the women he had children with was 199 00:09:50,566 --> 00:09:53,366 Alex Manly's grandmother, Melinda. 200 00:09:53,366 --> 00:09:56,300 You know, the term "mistress," you know, is what you'll find 201 00:09:56,300 --> 00:09:57,600 in the record, but, 202 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,533 it was probably something uglier than that. 203 00:09:59,533 --> 00:10:01,466 His mother and father, 204 00:10:01,466 --> 00:10:04,233 who had been enslaved by Governor Manly, 205 00:10:04,233 --> 00:10:07,766 were emancipated prior to the Civil War. 206 00:10:07,766 --> 00:10:10,933 SANDERS: Alexander Manly could have passed for a white man. 207 00:10:10,933 --> 00:10:13,366 Unless he outright 208 00:10:13,366 --> 00:10:15,666 told someone that he was Black, 209 00:10:15,666 --> 00:10:18,100 most people would assume that he was white. 210 00:10:18,100 --> 00:10:21,933 He is able to go to Hampton Institute in Virginia, 211 00:10:21,933 --> 00:10:25,366 where he receives training in both painting and printing. 212 00:10:25,366 --> 00:10:27,633 And after finishing Hampton, 213 00:10:27,633 --> 00:10:30,733 he relocates to Wilmington. 214 00:10:30,733 --> 00:10:34,366 He worked alongside Frederick Sadgwar, 215 00:10:34,366 --> 00:10:36,300 helping to paint houses. 216 00:10:36,300 --> 00:10:37,633 And on one particular day, 217 00:10:37,633 --> 00:10:40,433 a young woman is walking along the street 218 00:10:40,433 --> 00:10:42,600 and looks up and waves, 219 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:44,800 and Alexander Manly turns to his boss 220 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:46,733 and says, "Did you see that young woman? 221 00:10:46,733 --> 00:10:48,633 I would love to get to know her." 222 00:10:48,633 --> 00:10:51,100 And Frederick Sadgwar does not then admit that 223 00:10:51,100 --> 00:10:53,200 that's his own daughter, but he essentially 224 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:55,000 just tells Alexander Manly, you know, "Keep working." 225 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,766 And so he keeps trying to run into her 226 00:10:57,766 --> 00:10:59,433 at all of these different places, 227 00:10:59,433 --> 00:11:00,933 and she's not there. 228 00:11:00,933 --> 00:11:03,066 And after several failed attempts, 229 00:11:03,066 --> 00:11:06,066 while attending an event at the Gregory Normal School, 230 00:11:06,066 --> 00:11:07,833 the young woman appears on stage. 231 00:11:09,500 --> 00:11:12,533 Carrie Sadgwar attended Fisk University 232 00:11:12,533 --> 00:11:14,833 as part of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. 233 00:11:14,833 --> 00:11:16,766 He's gonna do this the right way. 234 00:11:16,766 --> 00:11:19,033 So he gets a letter of introduction from a pastor. 235 00:11:19,033 --> 00:11:22,500 PRISCILLA HAILE: Alex was known to be charismatic. 236 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:23,666 I've heard a lot about 237 00:11:23,666 --> 00:11:24,966 his fiery nature. 238 00:11:24,966 --> 00:11:27,033 I've heard a lot about his tenacity. 239 00:11:27,033 --> 00:11:29,966   His confidence was, was borderline arrogance, 240 00:11:29,966 --> 00:11:34,866 but he was so well-intentioned that it was okay. 241 00:11:34,866 --> 00:11:38,533 SANDERS: They develop a very strong relationship, 242 00:11:38,533 --> 00:11:40,566 and at some point, they get engaged. 243 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:43,700 He realizes that he's got more going on 244 00:11:43,700 --> 00:11:45,100 than being a house painter. 245 00:11:45,100 --> 00:11:46,433 The way that his mind works, 246 00:11:46,433 --> 00:11:47,833 the things that he thinks about. 247 00:11:47,833 --> 00:11:50,433 SANDERS: And Alexander Manly, 248 00:11:50,433 --> 00:11:52,033 along with his brother, Frank, 249 00:11:52,033 --> 00:11:55,300 assume the editorship of the newspaper. 250 00:11:55,300 --> 00:11:57,933 KELLEY: It wasn't considered a radical newspaper, 251 00:11:57,933 --> 00:11:59,100 at least not initially. 252 00:11:59,100 --> 00:12:01,933 ZUCCHINO: Alex wrote some exposés. 253 00:12:01,933 --> 00:12:04,433 One was about the treatment of Black patients 254 00:12:04,433 --> 00:12:06,466 in horrible conditions in the Black wards of the hospital. 255 00:12:06,466 --> 00:12:08,400 And he also does things about 256 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,733 the lack of public services, like paved roads. 257 00:12:11,733 --> 00:12:14,566 And you begin to see improvements 258 00:12:14,566 --> 00:12:16,166 in the Black community 259 00:12:16,166 --> 00:12:19,100 based on the kinds of agitation that he's doing. 260 00:12:20,300 --> 00:12:23,300 And through his newspaper, Manly is able to advocate 261 00:12:23,300 --> 00:12:25,900 for the advancement of African Americans, 262 00:12:25,900 --> 00:12:27,866 not just in Wilmington, but the advancement of 263 00:12:27,866 --> 00:12:30,500 African Americans across the state of North Carolina, 264 00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:32,066 and within the South. 265 00:12:32,066 --> 00:12:35,866 ♪ ♪ 266 00:12:35,866 --> 00:12:38,400 It's during Reconstruction 267 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:40,400 that we get the 14th Amendment, 268 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,300 guaranteeing citizenship to African Americans. 269 00:12:42,300 --> 00:12:45,933 And then we have this 15th Amendment 270 00:12:45,933 --> 00:12:47,400 that said that one's right to vote 271 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,300 could not be abridged on the basis of race. 272 00:12:49,300 --> 00:12:51,566 So it's the 15th Amendment 273 00:12:51,566 --> 00:12:54,033 that gives Black men access to the ballot. 274 00:12:54,033 --> 00:12:56,900 During Reconstruction, 275 00:12:56,900 --> 00:12:58,933 we see numerous Black men able to hold 276 00:12:58,933 --> 00:13:02,033 public office at multiple levels of government. 277 00:13:02,033 --> 00:13:04,000 We see Black men 278 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,066 serving in the North Carolina General Assembly. 279 00:13:07,066 --> 00:13:09,966 North Carolina would send Black men to Congress. 280 00:13:09,966 --> 00:13:11,400 We saw African American men 281 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:15,333 not only being able to take part in the political process, 282 00:13:15,333 --> 00:13:17,000 but serving in the halls of power. 283 00:13:18,566 --> 00:13:19,933 (crowd shouting) 284 00:13:19,933 --> 00:13:21,733 WILLIAMS: What we have during Reconstruction 285 00:13:21,733 --> 00:13:23,966 is a lot of white anger 286 00:13:23,966 --> 00:13:26,200 at Black people seizing their freedom. 287 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,133 You've got a lot of the white population 288 00:13:28,133 --> 00:13:29,966 that is very frustrated 289 00:13:29,966 --> 00:13:31,800 with not only losing slavery, 290 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,533 but seeing African Americans 291 00:13:34,533 --> 00:13:37,700 go from being enslaved people to thriving, 292 00:13:37,700 --> 00:13:41,466 to becoming landowners, to serving in office. 293 00:13:41,466 --> 00:13:43,533 The Confederacy felt 294 00:13:43,533 --> 00:13:46,800 that it had been overthrown, 295 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,100 and it was trying to take power back. 296 00:13:50,100 --> 00:13:52,300 WILLIAMS: That war is still going on. 297 00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:53,900 This war after the Civil War. 298 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:56,000 This war on African Americans' freedom. 299 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,400 ANDERSON: Black men having the right to vote 300 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,700 just angered white supremacists 301 00:14:04,700 --> 00:14:06,600 eight ways to Sunday. 302 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:11,033 And so you had massive intimidation at the polls. 303 00:14:11,033 --> 00:14:12,900 This is where you get the rise 304 00:14:12,900 --> 00:14:14,666 of white domestic terrorism 305 00:14:14,666 --> 00:14:17,700 in the form of the KKK, the Ku Klux Klan. 306 00:14:18,766 --> 00:14:22,400 WILLIAMS: You've got these organized attacks on Black people, 307 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,066 a lot of assassinations 308 00:14:24,066 --> 00:14:27,366 on Black voters and Black office holders, 309 00:14:27,366 --> 00:14:29,733 home invasions where they're deliberately targeting 310 00:14:29,733 --> 00:14:31,800 African Americans who are very successful. 311 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:37,366 ♪ ♪ 312 00:14:37,366 --> 00:14:39,466 Unfortunately, you know, Reconstruction ends prematurely. 313 00:14:39,466 --> 00:14:43,233 ♪ ♪ 314 00:14:43,233 --> 00:14:45,966 The removal of troops from the South 315 00:14:45,966 --> 00:14:47,600 ushered in the end of Reconstruction, 316 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,100 and white supremacists are once again able to regain power. 317 00:14:51,100 --> 00:14:54,600 Democrats and Republicans of 1898 318 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:57,066 are not the Democrats and Republicans 319 00:14:57,066 --> 00:14:58,800 of the 21st century. 320 00:15:00,733 --> 00:15:04,733 ANDERSON: Remember, what we had coming out of the Civil War 321 00:15:04,733 --> 00:15:07,333 was that Lincoln was a Republican, 322 00:15:07,333 --> 00:15:09,966 and the Republican Party was founded 323 00:15:09,966 --> 00:15:12,433 on an anti-slavery platform. 324 00:15:14,466 --> 00:15:17,800 UMFLEET: That meant that most African American voters 325 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,633 were going to vote for the Republican candidates. 326 00:15:21,700 --> 00:15:24,733 The Democrats were the Klan members, 327 00:15:24,733 --> 00:15:28,300 the Democrats were the slave owners, the enslavers. 328 00:15:28,300 --> 00:15:34,200 ♪ ♪ 329 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,833 They were deeply committed 330 00:15:36,833 --> 00:15:40,000   to denying citizenship rights to African Americans. 331 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,100 The Democratic Party 332 00:15:42,100 --> 00:15:45,433 holds the state in the 1870s throughout the 1880s. 333 00:15:45,433 --> 00:15:48,700 It's really not until the 1890s 334 00:15:48,700 --> 00:15:51,033 that you begin to see 335 00:15:51,033 --> 00:15:53,633 the Democrats again lose their power. 336 00:15:53,633 --> 00:15:54,933 (crowd shouting) 337 00:15:54,933 --> 00:15:57,166 There's a depression that takes place in 1893. 338 00:15:57,166 --> 00:15:59,633 White farmers are suffering. 339 00:15:59,633 --> 00:16:01,400 These white farmers felt that 340 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,900 the Democratic Party was beholden to, 341 00:16:03,900 --> 00:16:05,433 to the banks and the railroads 342 00:16:05,433 --> 00:16:07,666 and the moneyed interests. 343 00:16:07,666 --> 00:16:08,933 And they bolt from the Democrats 344 00:16:08,933 --> 00:16:11,233 and join the Populists, 345 00:16:11,233 --> 00:16:13,733 which is a third party. 346 00:16:13,733 --> 00:16:18,066 Neither the Republican Party nor the Populist party 347 00:16:18,066 --> 00:16:20,700 had the voting power 348 00:16:20,700 --> 00:16:23,300 to unseat Democratic Party candidates 349 00:16:23,300 --> 00:16:26,100 if they were running in a tri-part election. 350 00:16:26,100 --> 00:16:28,466 ZUCCHINO: So they form an alliance, 351 00:16:28,466 --> 00:16:32,166 white Populists and Black and white Republicans. 352 00:16:32,166 --> 00:16:34,566 This became known as Fusion. 353 00:16:34,566 --> 00:16:38,100 We see a political alliance between African Americans 354 00:16:38,100 --> 00:16:40,066 and working class white people. 355 00:16:41,100 --> 00:16:43,033 ZUCCHINO: The Populists were as racist 356 00:16:43,033 --> 00:16:45,100 as any of the members of the Democratic Party, 357 00:16:45,100 --> 00:16:46,733 but their economic interests 358 00:16:46,733 --> 00:16:50,666 were so strong that they were able to set that aside. 359 00:16:50,666 --> 00:16:53,033 It's not some kumbaya moment, 360 00:16:53,033 --> 00:16:55,166 we've gotta be really clear about that. 361 00:16:55,166 --> 00:16:57,266 It was a pragmatic moment. 362 00:16:57,266 --> 00:17:00,233 ♪ ♪ 363 00:17:00,233 --> 00:17:03,233 So both in 1894 and in 1896, 364 00:17:03,233 --> 00:17:06,666 this Fusionist coalition of Black and white men 365 00:17:06,666 --> 00:17:09,566 are able to sweep the North Carolina General Assembly. 366 00:17:09,566 --> 00:17:12,166 KELLEY: North Carolina elects a Fusion governor, 367 00:17:12,166 --> 00:17:13,566 Daniel Russell. 368 00:17:13,566 --> 00:17:18,400 They send George White to Congress, 369 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:20,100 and they start to pull back 370 00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:22,233 all the things that the Democrats did 371 00:17:22,233 --> 00:17:23,366 to reduce democracy. 372 00:17:23,366 --> 00:17:24,566 So, for example, 373 00:17:24,566 --> 00:17:26,900 the positions that were once appointed, 374 00:17:26,900 --> 00:17:29,400 in Wilmington, are now 375 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,733 turning into elected positions, 376 00:17:31,733 --> 00:17:33,600 which allows Black people to run for office. 377 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,633 It created, uh, really, 378 00:17:35,633 --> 00:17:37,466 a situation in Wilmington that was unique. 379 00:17:37,466 --> 00:17:42,100 You had Black men in positions of authority and power. 380 00:17:42,100 --> 00:17:45,566 SANDERS: So we see Black and white men on the Board of Aldermen. 381 00:17:45,566 --> 00:17:48,400 We see Black and white men serving in 382 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,233 various municipal offices. 383 00:17:50,233 --> 00:17:52,766 Ten of the 26 policemen were Black men. 384 00:17:52,766 --> 00:17:55,333 The city treasurer, the city jailer, 385 00:17:55,333 --> 00:17:56,766 the city coroner. 386 00:17:56,766 --> 00:18:01,133 John C. Dancy was the custom collector at the Port, 387 00:18:01,133 --> 00:18:03,833 which is a federally appointed position. 388 00:18:03,833 --> 00:18:05,800 He made $4,000 a year, 389 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,633 which was $1,000 more than the governor made. 390 00:18:08,633 --> 00:18:11,833 KELLEY: The mayor of Wilmington 391 00:18:11,833 --> 00:18:14,133 is also a Fusion candidate. 392 00:18:14,133 --> 00:18:15,866 It's not the majority Black, 393 00:18:15,866 --> 00:18:17,100 it's the majority Fusion 394 00:18:17,100 --> 00:18:18,200 that makes a difference. 395 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,733 So with Wilmington, by 1898, 396 00:18:20,733 --> 00:18:23,200 African Americans had still 397 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,766 held on to a lot of the rights and privileges 398 00:18:25,766 --> 00:18:28,833 and the institutions and the power they had enjoyed. 399 00:18:28,833 --> 00:18:32,033 It was a land of possibility, 400 00:18:32,033 --> 00:18:33,900 a land of hope, 401 00:18:33,900 --> 00:18:37,000 a different vision of what American democracy could be, 402 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,466 that it could actually be multiracial and work. 403 00:18:40,466 --> 00:18:42,000 ♪ ♪ 404 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 WOMAN: ♪ Making a life in a time ♪ 405 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,000 ♪ Hitherto unseen ♪ 406 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:55,933 ♪ Took your breath away. ♪ 407 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:03,000 ♪ ♪ 408 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,400 MAN (dramatized): "There is one thing 409 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,466 "the Democratic Party never has done 410 00:19:06,466 --> 00:19:08,066 "and never will do, 411 00:19:08,066 --> 00:19:10,100 "and that is to set the Negro up 412 00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:11,866 "to rule over white men. 413 00:19:11,866 --> 00:19:14,733 "It is no fault of the Negro that he is here 414 00:19:14,733 --> 00:19:17,800 "and he is not to be punished for being here. 415 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,033 "But this is a white man's country, 416 00:19:20,033 --> 00:19:23,300 and white men must control and govern it." 417 00:19:23,300 --> 00:19:25,233 ♪ ♪ 418 00:19:25,233 --> 00:19:26,966 Beginning in 1898, 419 00:19:26,966 --> 00:19:30,533 the leadership of the Democratic Party at the state level 420 00:19:30,533 --> 00:19:33,366 began to push the white supremacy platform 421 00:19:33,366 --> 00:19:36,800 as the main tool to break apart Fusion. 422 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:38,866 This is a campaign that's 423 00:19:38,866 --> 00:19:41,200 deliberately put together by three guys: 424 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:42,866 Furnifold Simmons, 425 00:19:42,866 --> 00:19:44,666 Josephus Daniels, 426 00:19:44,666 --> 00:19:46,966 and Charles Aycock. 427 00:19:46,966 --> 00:19:48,400 There was a midterm election 428 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,300 coming up in November of 1898, 429 00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:51,966 and they began plotting. 430 00:19:53,433 --> 00:19:57,266 They met in New Bern early in 1898 431 00:19:57,266 --> 00:19:58,833 and came up with a plan. 432 00:19:59,866 --> 00:20:01,833 Furnifold Simmons was the 433 00:20:01,833 --> 00:20:04,466 chairman of the state Democratic Party. 434 00:20:04,466 --> 00:20:06,066 He was an incredibly effective 435 00:20:06,066 --> 00:20:07,133 strategic thinker. 436 00:20:07,133 --> 00:20:09,466 He had actually lost an election 437 00:20:09,466 --> 00:20:11,500 to a Black candidate 438 00:20:11,500 --> 00:20:13,566 earlier in his career. 439 00:20:13,566 --> 00:20:17,200 So there's this personal element to his animus. 440 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,300 And he is looking for ways 441 00:20:19,300 --> 00:20:21,466 to once again restore the Democratic Party 442 00:20:21,466 --> 00:20:22,900 to its glory days. 443 00:20:22,900 --> 00:20:26,866 White supremacy is going to be the rallying cry. 444 00:20:26,866 --> 00:20:29,733 White supremacy is going to be the issue used 445 00:20:29,733 --> 00:20:33,200 to chip away at Fusion politics and return 446 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,966 North Carolina to white supremacist rule. 447 00:20:36,966 --> 00:20:40,633   And he sees Josephus Daniels 448 00:20:40,633 --> 00:20:44,000 as someone who can be essential to their cause. 449 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,000 ZUCCHINO: Josephus Daniels was the publisher of 450 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,366 "The News and Observer" in Raleigh. 451 00:20:49,366 --> 00:20:51,400 He posed as a journalist, 452 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:52,933 but he was really a politician 453 00:20:52,933 --> 00:20:54,233 who happened to own 454 00:20:54,233 --> 00:20:55,966 the most powerful newspaper in the state. 455 00:20:55,966 --> 00:20:59,000 At that time, newspapers were king. 456 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,400 I mean, there was no internet, there was no radio, 457 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:01,666 there was no TV. 458 00:21:01,666 --> 00:21:05,500 So newspapers had really this tremendous power 459 00:21:05,500 --> 00:21:08,866 over what people knew and what people believed. 460 00:21:08,866 --> 00:21:11,266 I'm Frank Arthur Daniels III, 461 00:21:11,266 --> 00:21:13,600 I'm the great-grandson of Josephus Daniels. 462 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,166 He was born in 1863. 463 00:21:16,166 --> 00:21:20,333 He never met his father, so his mother, who was a single mom, 464 00:21:20,333 --> 00:21:22,300 ended up moving to Wilson, North Carolina, 465 00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:24,133 and becoming the postmistress there. 466 00:21:24,133 --> 00:21:26,833 He came from really a working class family. 467 00:21:26,833 --> 00:21:29,666 He is active in the Democratic Party, 468 00:21:29,666 --> 00:21:32,900 but is not seen as one of the key players 469 00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:35,166 or someone who was well-known 470 00:21:35,166 --> 00:21:37,800 until the 1890s, when he's able to acquire 471 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,433 "The News and Observer" in Raleigh. 472 00:21:41,433 --> 00:21:43,166 DANIELS: He bought it in 1894 473 00:21:43,166 --> 00:21:45,533 off a courthouse auction here in Raleigh. 474 00:21:45,533 --> 00:21:48,200 I guess he wanted to have power, 475 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,833 and the way to do that was to find benefactors, 476 00:21:51,833 --> 00:21:54,800 and his benefactors happened to be in the Democratic Party. 477 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:56,433 In the 19th century, 478 00:21:56,433 --> 00:21:58,000 newspapers were very partisan, 479 00:21:58,000 --> 00:21:59,900 especially when you were looking at 480 00:21:59,900 --> 00:22:01,233 state capital newspapers 481 00:22:01,233 --> 00:22:02,866 like "The News and Observer" was. 482 00:22:02,866 --> 00:22:05,966 ZUCCHINO: He raised money from other white supremacists 483 00:22:05,966 --> 00:22:08,900 and turned it into a propaganda tool. 484 00:22:08,900 --> 00:22:11,866 He called himself the militant voice of white supremacy. 485 00:22:13,466 --> 00:22:16,700 The white supremacists really needed a phrase, 486 00:22:16,700 --> 00:22:19,500 a trope to really incite whites, 487 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:22,066 and they used the terms "Negro rule" 488 00:22:22,066 --> 00:22:24,066 and "Negro domination." 489 00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:28,633 ♪ ♪ 490 00:22:28,633 --> 00:22:30,133 ANDERSON: The fact that you have 491 00:22:30,133 --> 00:22:32,166 one or two in certain positions, 492 00:22:32,166 --> 00:22:33,766 or five or six 493 00:22:33,766 --> 00:22:37,000 out of 500, 600, and 700... 494 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,866 that's Negro domination? 495 00:22:38,866 --> 00:22:41,100 Through this whole Fusion process, 496 00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:43,433 there were many, many more white Republicans 497 00:22:43,433 --> 00:22:46,533 than there were Blacks in public office. 498 00:22:46,533 --> 00:22:48,600 SANDERS: The fact that they had any modicum of power 499 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,366 was a problem 500 00:22:50,366 --> 00:22:51,766 to white supremacists, 501 00:22:51,766 --> 00:22:53,800 who believed that because of their supremacy, 502 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:55,966 they should not have to share governance 503 00:22:55,966 --> 00:22:57,266 with African Americans. 504 00:22:57,266 --> 00:22:58,766 That this was an insult. 505 00:23:00,766 --> 00:23:04,400 While there are these white supremacy campaigns statewide, 506 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,800 there was a secret group 507 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:09,666 determining their own ways 508 00:23:09,666 --> 00:23:13,400 of promoting a white supremacy agenda here in Wilmington. 509 00:23:15,366 --> 00:23:17,566 JESSE BLAKE (dramatized): "A group of nine citizens 510 00:23:17,566 --> 00:23:20,000 "met at the home of Mr. Hugh MacRae 511 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,266 "and there decided that 512 00:23:22,266 --> 00:23:24,733 "the attitude and actions of the Negroes 513 00:23:24,733 --> 00:23:27,266 "made it necessary for them to take some steps 514 00:23:27,266 --> 00:23:30,300 "towards protecting their families and homes 515 00:23:30,300 --> 00:23:31,966 "in their immediate neighborhood: 516 00:23:31,966 --> 00:23:34,266 "Seventh and Market Streets. 517 00:23:34,266 --> 00:23:38,033 "This group of citizens, the Secret Nine, 518 00:23:38,033 --> 00:23:40,266 "divided the city into sections, 519 00:23:40,266 --> 00:23:42,700 "placing a responsible citizen as captain 520 00:23:42,700 --> 00:23:44,833 "in charge of each area. 521 00:23:44,833 --> 00:23:47,900 "The better element planned to gain relief 522 00:23:47,900 --> 00:23:49,600 "from Negro impotence and domination, 523 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,700 "from grafting, and from immoral conditions. 524 00:23:53,700 --> 00:23:57,333 Jesse Blake, Wilmington resident." 525 00:23:57,333 --> 00:23:59,933 It's a lot sexier to say "the Secret Nine" 526 00:23:59,933 --> 00:24:02,366 than it is to say the Chamber of Commerce, 527 00:24:02,366 --> 00:24:04,500   but it's really just the white business community 528 00:24:04,500 --> 00:24:05,800 that we're talking about. 529 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,166 These were very elite white men. 530 00:24:09,166 --> 00:24:12,766 Hugh MacRae came from one of the more prominent 531 00:24:12,766 --> 00:24:15,366 business families in Wilmington. 532 00:24:15,366 --> 00:24:16,900 I'm Meg MacRae. 533 00:24:16,900 --> 00:24:18,733 I'm the great-granddaughter of Hugh MacRae. 534 00:24:18,733 --> 00:24:20,566 You know, there's a certain population 535 00:24:20,566 --> 00:24:21,633 of the people here 536 00:24:21,633 --> 00:24:22,800 that didn't like what was happening 537 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,233 with the Fusionist government. 538 00:24:24,233 --> 00:24:26,400 You know, my understanding of Wilmington at the time 539 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,966 at 1898 was that it was sort of like a mecca of sorts, 540 00:24:28,966 --> 00:24:30,266 like African American businesses, 541 00:24:30,266 --> 00:24:31,433 white businesses, all thriving. 542 00:24:31,433 --> 00:24:33,300 He was part of the population 543 00:24:33,300 --> 00:24:35,133 that didn't so much like that. 544 00:24:36,233 --> 00:24:39,366 UMFLEET: These men would meet to discuss 545 00:24:39,366 --> 00:24:41,733 problems their businesses were having 546 00:24:41,733 --> 00:24:43,500 as a result of the decisions 547 00:24:43,500 --> 00:24:45,033 of the Board of Alderman and the mayor. 548 00:24:45,033 --> 00:24:48,100 There is a concern for maintaining their wealth, 549 00:24:48,100 --> 00:24:51,633 of wanting to ensure that they remained 550 00:24:51,633 --> 00:24:53,900 at the top of the social order. 551 00:24:53,900 --> 00:24:55,333 There could not be 552 00:24:55,333 --> 00:24:57,333 biracial forms of government 553 00:24:57,333 --> 00:24:59,433 that required them to compete 554 00:24:59,433 --> 00:25:01,233 with African Americans for anything. 555 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:05,133 White people in Wilmington who supported white supremacy 556 00:25:05,133 --> 00:25:06,633 still had to figure out a way 557 00:25:06,633 --> 00:25:09,966 to get rid of the Fusionist political leaders 558 00:25:09,966 --> 00:25:11,400 who controlled the city. 559 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,633 It was really a matter of 560 00:25:13,633 --> 00:25:15,766 how they were gonna carry out this plan, 561 00:25:15,766 --> 00:25:17,700 not if they were gonna carry out the plan. 562 00:25:17,700 --> 00:25:20,233 GILMORE: They saw themselves really 563 00:25:20,233 --> 00:25:23,000 as "New South" men. 564 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,300 As much as they revere their dads 565 00:25:25,300 --> 00:25:27,966 who fought in the Civil War 566 00:25:27,966 --> 00:25:30,000 and got the South into the Civil War, 567 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,966 they're determined not to be their dads. 568 00:25:32,966 --> 00:25:35,800 They're determined to solve this 569 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:38,800 "Negro problem" 570 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:40,800 once and for all, 571 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,400 and to do a better job of it than their fathers did. 572 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,100 SULLIVAN: The MacRae Castle, 573 00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:50,066 you know, it was a very grand house. 574 00:25:50,066 --> 00:25:51,566 He was the neighbor to the Sadgwars, 575 00:25:51,566 --> 00:25:53,800 to one of the oldest, 576 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,200 most established, most cultured 577 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,000 and sophisticated Black families in, 578 00:25:58,000 --> 00:25:59,266 in Wilmington. 579 00:25:59,266 --> 00:26:03,400 It's just the intimacy and proximity. 580 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:05,233 You know, your neighbor 581 00:26:05,233 --> 00:26:07,633 is having a meeting 582 00:26:07,633 --> 00:26:10,800 about how to overthrow you and your family 583 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:12,466 and your friends and your whole community. 584 00:26:12,466 --> 00:26:14,600 About how to shut-- to shut that down. 585 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,200 They came together to plan 586 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,733 how Wilmington would organize itself 587 00:26:20,733 --> 00:26:22,666 within the larger scope 588 00:26:22,666 --> 00:26:24,433 of what the Democratic Party was doing. 589 00:26:24,433 --> 00:26:29,200 ♪ ♪ 590 00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:37,066 ZUCCHINO: Josephus Daniels was very clever 591 00:26:37,066 --> 00:26:39,500 in how he got this message out. 592 00:26:39,500 --> 00:26:40,833 He realized that 593 00:26:40,833 --> 00:26:43,633 almost 25% of the white electorate 594 00:26:43,633 --> 00:26:45,000 was illiterate. 595 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,866 So he hired a political cartoonist 596 00:26:46,866 --> 00:26:50,133 to draw these harrowing cartoons. 597 00:26:50,133 --> 00:26:52,400 KELLEY: They were very effective 598 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,233 in terms of turning successful, 599 00:26:55,233 --> 00:26:58,700 dignified, Black middle and working class 600 00:26:58,700 --> 00:27:00,566 into caricatures, 601 00:27:00,566 --> 00:27:02,433 into sambos. 602 00:27:02,433 --> 00:27:05,433 ♪ ♪ 603 00:27:05,433 --> 00:27:06,900 Making the claim 604 00:27:06,900 --> 00:27:08,833 that these cartoon characters 605 00:27:08,833 --> 00:27:11,866 were the ones running government. 606 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,733 They used images to help stir up emotion. 607 00:27:17,733 --> 00:27:20,700 This is a cartoon that appeared in "The News and Observer." 608 00:27:21,933 --> 00:27:24,366 Um, they call it the "Incubus cartoon." 609 00:27:24,366 --> 00:27:29,200 GILMORE: A Black incubus is hovering over the state of North Carolina. 610 00:27:30,666 --> 00:27:34,200 An incubus is someone who rapes women while they're asleep. 611 00:27:39,333 --> 00:27:41,900 ANDERSON: You had a paper that was just 612 00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:46,266 pumping in this image of African Americans 613 00:27:46,266 --> 00:27:49,100 as corrupt, as dangerous to democracy. 614 00:27:50,500 --> 00:27:52,200 You also have: Crime! 615 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,266 Crime! Crime is Black. 616 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:05,100 You're seeing the danger of Black men, 617 00:28:05,100 --> 00:28:06,300 the threat to white civilization, 618 00:28:06,300 --> 00:28:08,166 and the threat to white women. 619 00:28:08,166 --> 00:28:12,633 ♪ ♪ 620 00:28:16,933 --> 00:28:19,166 By the 1890s, 621 00:28:19,166 --> 00:28:22,666 you begin to see this spike in lynchings. 622 00:28:23,666 --> 00:28:25,533 ANDERSON: About a lynching every other day 623 00:28:25,533 --> 00:28:29,466 was the scale and the scope in America at that time. 624 00:28:29,466 --> 00:28:33,133 And those lynchings are often generated 625 00:28:33,133 --> 00:28:35,433 by someone crying rape, by the threat of rape, 626 00:28:35,433 --> 00:28:37,100 by rumors of rape. 627 00:28:37,100 --> 00:28:39,233 When I looked at the statistics, 628 00:28:39,233 --> 00:28:41,300 rape as a crime is reported 629 00:28:41,300 --> 00:28:43,900 in the state government journals every year. 630 00:28:43,900 --> 00:28:47,500 And, uh, there was no increase in rapes. 631 00:28:47,500 --> 00:28:51,666 KELLEY: Lynching and the trope of the Black rapist 632 00:28:51,666 --> 00:28:56,633 coincides with the Democratic reaction against Fusion, 633 00:28:56,633 --> 00:28:58,666 against interracial movements. 634 00:28:58,666 --> 00:29:03,633 They want to break that alliance in the Fusion Party 635 00:29:03,633 --> 00:29:06,200 between Black and white workers. 636 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,866 ZUCCHINO: Charles Aycock was a young lawyer 637 00:29:08,866 --> 00:29:11,533 and one of the leaders of the white supremacy campaign 638 00:29:11,533 --> 00:29:13,066 in North Carolina. 639 00:29:13,066 --> 00:29:14,866 He was one of these really 640 00:29:14,866 --> 00:29:16,700 dynamic stump speakers. 641 00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:18,566 They would just go through eastern North Carolina 642 00:29:18,566 --> 00:29:20,733 and he would give these campaign speeches 643 00:29:20,733 --> 00:29:24,333 about Negro domination, Black rapes 644 00:29:24,333 --> 00:29:26,400 and insolent Black people, 645 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,366 and really inciting whites to violence. 646 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:35,533 CHARLES AYCOCK (dramatized): "No man who loves his state can read the daily occurrences 647 00:29:35,533 --> 00:29:37,500 "of crime in North Carolina, 648 00:29:37,500 --> 00:29:39,433 "where the Negro is the aggressor, 649 00:29:39,433 --> 00:29:42,300 "without trembling for the future of the state. 650 00:29:42,300 --> 00:29:45,200 "There have been more assaults upon white women 651 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,566 "by Negro brutes in one year and a half 652 00:29:47,566 --> 00:29:52,300 of Republican rule than in 20 years of Democratic rule." 653 00:29:52,300 --> 00:29:55,133 Then they got together and concocted, 654 00:29:55,133 --> 00:29:58,633 basically, a fake news campaign, 655 00:29:58,633 --> 00:30:03,733 uh, to convince the Populist white men 656 00:30:03,733 --> 00:30:06,266 who had voted with the Republicans, 657 00:30:06,266 --> 00:30:09,933 many of whom were Black, that by doing so, 658 00:30:09,933 --> 00:30:12,733 they had put their wives and daughters in danger. 659 00:30:12,733 --> 00:30:17,066 ♪ ♪ 660 00:30:19,533 --> 00:30:20,933 REBECCA FELTON (dramatized): "Where there is not enough 661 00:30:20,933 --> 00:30:22,133 "religion in the pulpit 662 00:30:22,133 --> 00:30:25,333 "to organize a crusade against sin, 663 00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:29,500 "nor justice in the courthouse to promptly punish crime, 664 00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:33,700 "nor manhood enough in the nation to put a sheltering arm 665 00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:35,500 "about innocence and virtue, 666 00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:38,433 "if it needs lynching 667 00:30:38,433 --> 00:30:40,900 "to protect women's dearest possession 668 00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:42,566 "from ravening human beasts, 669 00:30:42,566 --> 00:30:44,400 "then I say lynch 670 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,933 a thousand times a week if necessary!" 671 00:30:47,933 --> 00:30:49,733 ZUCCHINO: Rebecca Felton, she was the wife 672 00:30:49,733 --> 00:30:51,400 of a congressman in Georgia. 673 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,166 She gave a speech to the Agricultural Society 674 00:30:54,166 --> 00:30:57,200 condemning white men for, in her mind, 675 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:00,566 not doing enough to stop the "Black beast rapist" 676 00:31:00,566 --> 00:31:03,166 and this supposed rape epidemic in Georgia. 677 00:31:03,166 --> 00:31:05,566 There was no rape epidemic, but she created one. 678 00:31:05,566 --> 00:31:08,600 White supremacist newspapers in Wilmington 679 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,333 realized they could make something of this. 680 00:31:11,333 --> 00:31:15,833 So they reprinted her speech in August of 1898. 681 00:31:17,233 --> 00:31:19,333 And as soon as Alex Manly saw that, 682 00:31:19,333 --> 00:31:22,333 he sat down and wrote an editorial in response 683 00:31:22,333 --> 00:31:24,800 to Mrs. Felton. 684 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:27,233 "Mrs. Felton from Georgia makes a speech 685 00:31:27,233 --> 00:31:29,966 "before the Agricultural Society at Tybee, Georgia, 686 00:31:29,966 --> 00:31:32,800 in which she advocates lynching as an extreme measure." 687 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,333 ALEX MANLY (dramatized): "Experience among 688 00:31:34,333 --> 00:31:36,700 "poor white people in the country teaches us 689 00:31:36,700 --> 00:31:39,333 "that women of that race are not more particular 690 00:31:39,333 --> 00:31:41,300 "in the matter of clandestine meetings 691 00:31:41,300 --> 00:31:44,366 "with colored men than are the white men with colored women. 692 00:31:44,366 --> 00:31:47,566 "Meetings of this kind go on for some time 693 00:31:47,566 --> 00:31:49,333 "until the women's infatuation 694 00:31:49,333 --> 00:31:52,200 "or the man's boldness brings attention to them, 695 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:54,933 "and the man is lynched for rape. 696 00:31:54,933 --> 00:31:58,733 "Every Negro lynched is called a big burly Black brute, 697 00:31:58,733 --> 00:32:02,400 "when in fact many of those who have thus been dealt with, 698 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,666 "had white men for their fathers and were not only 699 00:32:05,666 --> 00:32:08,600 "not Black and burly, but were sufficiently attractive 700 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,033 "for the white girls of culture and refinement 701 00:32:11,033 --> 00:32:13,133 "to fall in love with them. 702 00:32:13,133 --> 00:32:15,733 "Tell your men that it is no worse for a Black man 703 00:32:15,733 --> 00:32:17,700 "to be intimate with a white woman 704 00:32:17,700 --> 00:32:20,166 "than for a white man to be intimate with a colored woman. 705 00:32:20,166 --> 00:32:22,333 "Don't think ever that your women will remain pure 706 00:32:22,333 --> 00:32:24,200 while you are debauching ours." 707 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,366 Alex Manly editorial, "Daily Record." 708 00:32:26,366 --> 00:32:29,600 August 18, 1898. 709 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,033 This was blasphemous, you know? 710 00:32:32,033 --> 00:32:35,866 to say that a white woman could actually desire a Black man. 711 00:32:35,866 --> 00:32:37,333 What? 712 00:32:37,333 --> 00:32:40,133 The other point he made was that for generations, 713 00:32:40,133 --> 00:32:44,433 white men had been raping Black women with impunity, 714 00:32:44,433 --> 00:32:46,633 and that had been going on forever, 715 00:32:46,633 --> 00:32:48,266 and nobody talks about that. 716 00:32:48,266 --> 00:32:53,000 Alexander Manly's rebuttal to Rebecca Felton 717 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,266 was absolutely courageous. 718 00:32:56,266 --> 00:32:58,700 He didn't say it behind closed doors 719 00:32:58,700 --> 00:33:00,800 while he is talking with his friends. 720 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,733 He did it in an editorial published in "The Daily Record" 721 00:33:04,733 --> 00:33:07,466 that has white advertisers. 722 00:33:07,466 --> 00:33:12,033 And so he's really putting himself out there. 723 00:33:12,033 --> 00:33:14,833 You had some members of the Black community who were like, 724 00:33:14,833 --> 00:33:17,400 "Oh, Manly, Manly doesn't speak for us." 725 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:19,366 There were many who perhaps, 726 00:33:19,366 --> 00:33:22,633 even if they believed it was true, thought that it was, 727 00:33:22,633 --> 00:33:25,133 you know, too inflammatory to be printed. 728 00:33:25,133 --> 00:33:30,000 We also see prominent Black men in Wilmington 729 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,733 urge Manly to recant the editorial, to apologize 730 00:33:32,733 --> 00:33:34,466 in an effort to avoid conflict. 731 00:33:35,500 --> 00:33:36,966 He refuses. 732 00:33:36,966 --> 00:33:40,100 He sees himself as someone who has done nothing wrong. 733 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:43,033 He has spoken a truth that he believes has gone 734 00:33:43,033 --> 00:33:44,833 unspoken for too long. 735 00:33:44,833 --> 00:33:49,933 Manly publishes his editorial in August of 1898. 736 00:33:49,933 --> 00:33:53,466   So this is only a few months before the election 737 00:33:53,466 --> 00:33:55,066 in November 1898. 738 00:33:55,066 --> 00:33:57,400 The leaders of the white supremacy campaign said, 739 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:01,800 we can use this editorial as a campaign tool to incite whites. 740 00:34:02,866 --> 00:34:05,133 SANDERS: He essentially hands Simmons 741 00:34:05,133 --> 00:34:07,466 a smoking gun for white supremacists. 742 00:34:07,466 --> 00:34:10,166 Alexander Manly proves what is 743 00:34:10,166 --> 00:34:12,433 wrong with Fusionist politics. 744 00:34:12,433 --> 00:34:13,966 That not only are African Americans 745 00:34:13,966 --> 00:34:15,733 holding elected offices, 746 00:34:15,733 --> 00:34:18,066 but an African American newspaper editor 747 00:34:18,066 --> 00:34:20,800 could so boldly speak against white womanhood 748 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,433 that there needed to be a change in governance in the state. 749 00:34:26,333 --> 00:34:30,433 ZUCCHINO: The white newspapers reprinted this editorial, 750 00:34:30,433 --> 00:34:32,533 not only in Wilmington, not only in North Carolina, 751 00:34:32,533 --> 00:34:34,566 but across the South. 752 00:34:36,633 --> 00:34:38,966 And the white supremacists just let this rage build. 753 00:34:38,966 --> 00:34:42,266 MAN (dramatized): "Alex Manly, editor of the Colored Daily, 754 00:34:42,266 --> 00:34:44,866 "complained to the mayor and chief of police 755 00:34:44,866 --> 00:34:47,866 "that he received a letter threatening his life. 756 00:34:47,866 --> 00:34:50,333 "Manly has been staying in the office at night 757 00:34:50,333 --> 00:34:53,400 with some friends to protect the office." 758 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:57,033 The owner of the building where "The Daily Record" was housed 759 00:34:57,033 --> 00:34:59,666 told Alexander Manly he needed to find 760 00:34:59,666 --> 00:35:01,666 a new location for his newspaper. 761 00:35:01,666 --> 00:35:03,633 MANLY (dramatized): "Our removal. 762 00:35:03,633 --> 00:35:05,833 "The dispatch a few days since advised 763 00:35:05,833 --> 00:35:09,833 "the white property owners not to rent us a home for our paper. 764 00:35:09,833 --> 00:35:12,500 "We thought their idea a good one ourselves 765 00:35:12,500 --> 00:35:15,233 "and set about at once to find someplace owned 766 00:35:15,233 --> 00:35:18,466 "by colored people, where we might print our paper. 767 00:35:18,466 --> 00:35:22,033 "We have found it and will hereafter use a Negro home 768 00:35:22,033 --> 00:35:24,466 for a Negro paper." 769 00:35:24,466 --> 00:35:27,633 Alexander Manly and his supporters are able to secure 770 00:35:27,633 --> 00:35:30,466 a building known as the Love and Charity Hall. 771 00:35:30,466 --> 00:35:33,500 It was essentially a community center in Wilmington 772 00:35:33,500 --> 00:35:35,333 for African Americans. 773 00:35:35,333 --> 00:35:37,366 ♪ ♪ 774 00:35:41,133 --> 00:35:43,533 Through the summer and fall of 1898, 775 00:35:43,533 --> 00:35:47,933 the white supremacists perpetuated this myth 776 00:35:47,933 --> 00:35:51,400 that it was Black citizens who were arming themselves 777 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,000 and preparing for a takeover. 778 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,700 DANIELS: It was a fabrication 779 00:35:54,700 --> 00:35:56,466 of "The News and Observer" and of others 780 00:35:56,466 --> 00:35:59,766 to foment fear 781 00:35:59,766 --> 00:36:02,966 and make people react. 782 00:36:02,966 --> 00:36:05,266 When, in fact, it was the whites 783 00:36:05,266 --> 00:36:07,666 buying guns and arming themselves. 784 00:36:07,666 --> 00:36:10,166 White men and boys in Wilmington 785 00:36:10,166 --> 00:36:13,533 were armed with multiple weapons each. 786 00:36:13,533 --> 00:36:17,233 Sales of Winchester rifles are skyrocketing. 787 00:36:17,233 --> 00:36:21,133 All these white people are buying these rifles. 788 00:36:21,133 --> 00:36:25,400 Meanwhile, uh, stores that sell ammunition 789 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:27,466 are not selling to Black people, deliberately. 790 00:36:27,466 --> 00:36:29,200 They're told not to. 791 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,600 They had units patrolling 792 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,433 every single ward in Wilmington. 793 00:36:35,433 --> 00:36:39,233 It was sending the signal to the white community, 794 00:36:39,233 --> 00:36:41,700 as well as to the Black community. 795 00:36:41,700 --> 00:36:43,466 The white people had been told 796 00:36:43,466 --> 00:36:46,333 the Negroes are gonna start a race riot. 797 00:36:46,333 --> 00:36:50,200 My great-grandfather was an Episcopal minister. 798 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:54,500 They lived downtown, about a block from the courthouse. 799 00:36:54,500 --> 00:36:56,366 During 1898, 800 00:36:56,366 --> 00:37:01,000 my great-grandmother wrote a letter to her son, 801 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,866 who's my grandfather, who was off at school. 802 00:37:04,866 --> 00:37:09,066 "It is now nearly 11:00. 803 00:37:09,066 --> 00:37:12,700 Perfect quiet rains in the streets." 804 00:37:12,700 --> 00:37:14,833 WOMAN (dramatized): "Henry and Bradley, the uncles, 805 00:37:14,833 --> 00:37:18,766 "are sitting downstairs in the dining room with arms. 806 00:37:18,766 --> 00:37:21,633 "The town is to be guarded by four or eight men 807 00:37:21,633 --> 00:37:23,266 "at each corner. 808 00:37:23,266 --> 00:37:26,700 "Bradley has a beautiful pistol, 809 00:37:26,700 --> 00:37:31,866 "Henry, a gun and pistol, then ours, your father has. 810 00:37:31,866 --> 00:37:34,566 "That leaves none for Lucy and me, 811 00:37:34,566 --> 00:37:38,333 but I saw that the hatchets were handy." 812 00:37:38,333 --> 00:37:41,133 In our own family documents, 813 00:37:41,133 --> 00:37:42,633 it was written down: 814 00:37:42,633 --> 00:37:45,700 the Black population was going to rise up, 815 00:37:45,700 --> 00:37:50,400 and all the white people were arming themselves. 816 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:54,300 And my great-grandfather was one of the people doing that. 817 00:37:54,300 --> 00:37:56,300 My name is Lucy McCauley, 818 00:37:56,300 --> 00:37:58,800 and my great-grandfather was William Berry McKoy. 819 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,366 He had gone to Princeton. 820 00:38:01,366 --> 00:38:02,833 He was a lawyer. 821 00:38:02,833 --> 00:38:04,733 He later became 822 00:38:04,733 --> 00:38:07,533 the grandmaster of the Masons in town, 823 00:38:07,533 --> 00:38:09,266 the Masonic Lodge. 824 00:38:10,533 --> 00:38:14,233 He was one of the heads of these White Government Unions. 825 00:38:14,233 --> 00:38:16,533 UMFLEET: The White Government Union 826 00:38:16,533 --> 00:38:18,533 was created by the Democratic Party, 827 00:38:18,533 --> 00:38:21,500 almost like a political action committee. 828 00:38:21,500 --> 00:38:24,800 MAN (dramatized): "The White Government Union Constitution. 829 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:29,000 "The purpose of the organization shall be to re-establish 830 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:33,200 in North Carolina the supremacy of the white race." 831 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:36,033 MCCAULEY: They would use these unions 832 00:38:36,033 --> 00:38:38,000 to gather white people, 833 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:42,266 get them all stirred up about voting, 834 00:38:42,266 --> 00:38:43,766 talking about how the elections should go 835 00:38:43,766 --> 00:38:45,933 and what they needed to do to make sure they go that way. 836 00:38:45,933 --> 00:38:49,033 UMFLEET: Parallel to the White Government Union, 837 00:38:49,033 --> 00:38:51,033 we have the Red Shirts. 838 00:38:51,033 --> 00:38:52,833 ZUCCHINO: Josephus Daniels said 839 00:38:52,833 --> 00:38:55,200 the white supremacy campaign 840 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:57,200 needed three types of men-- men who could write, 841 00:38:57,200 --> 00:38:59,933 men who could speak, and men who could ride. 842 00:38:59,933 --> 00:39:02,566 The men who could ride were the Red Shirts. 843 00:39:02,566 --> 00:39:05,433 The Red Shirts came out of South Carolina. 844 00:39:06,500 --> 00:39:08,000 Ben "Pitchfork" Tillman, 845 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:09,400 he looked up at North Carolina, 846 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:10,800 he's like, 847 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:12,966 "What, you haven't handled your Negro problem yet? 848 00:39:12,966 --> 00:39:14,866 Let me help you with that." 849 00:39:14,866 --> 00:39:17,300 MANLY (dramatized): "Senator Tillman came to North Carolina 850 00:39:17,300 --> 00:39:19,333 "and made a speech in which he said 851 00:39:19,333 --> 00:39:22,466 "he heard that they had a big Black Negro editor 852 00:39:22,466 --> 00:39:25,566 "who had insulted the women of the South. 853 00:39:25,566 --> 00:39:28,000 "He asserted that if I were in his state, 854 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,066 "I would be lynched before the ink was dry on my paper. 855 00:39:32,066 --> 00:39:34,900 "'Bullets,' he said, 'Were better than ballots, 856 00:39:34,900 --> 00:39:36,833 in the case of Negroes.'" 857 00:39:36,833 --> 00:39:38,600 Alex Manly. 858 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:43,166 And he basically sent the Red Shirts up to North Carolina. 859 00:39:44,366 --> 00:39:45,900 ZUCCHINO: These guys would ride out at night 860 00:39:45,900 --> 00:39:48,066 and go into Black homes 861 00:39:48,066 --> 00:39:51,100 and yank out Black men and whip them and beat them and say, 862 00:39:51,100 --> 00:39:53,833 "If you register to vote, we'll come back and kill you." 863 00:39:53,833 --> 00:39:57,566 I mean, the Democratic Party was run by former plantation owners, 864 00:39:57,566 --> 00:39:58,800 the elites, 865 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:00,433 lawyers, politicians, 866 00:40:00,433 --> 00:40:02,666 businessmen, the well-to-do. 867 00:40:02,666 --> 00:40:04,500 But the shock troops 868 00:40:04,500 --> 00:40:07,133 were workers. 869 00:40:07,133 --> 00:40:11,966 Lower class, working class, blue collar people. 870 00:40:11,966 --> 00:40:15,366 Men across all economic spectrums were members 871 00:40:15,366 --> 00:40:17,633 of the White Government Union and the Red Shirts. 872 00:40:17,633 --> 00:40:21,166 It was a badge of honor to be a part of this campaign. 873 00:40:21,166 --> 00:40:24,766 The White Government Union had multiple rallies 874 00:40:24,766 --> 00:40:27,300 here in North Carolina and Wilmington. 875 00:40:27,300 --> 00:40:30,400 These rallies included 876 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,400 huge parades of Red Shirts, 877 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:37,266 and oftentimes it was finished off with barbecue. 878 00:40:37,266 --> 00:40:38,766 MCCAULEY: What I think about 879 00:40:38,766 --> 00:40:40,833 with my great-grandfather is that 880 00:40:40,833 --> 00:40:45,333 he was at a picnic, white man's rally is what it was. 881 00:40:45,333 --> 00:40:50,300 And he gave this very stirring speech to kind of 882 00:40:50,300 --> 00:40:53,033 help whip up the Red Shirts into a frenzy 883 00:40:53,033 --> 00:40:57,033 around defending the white woman's honor. 884 00:40:57,033 --> 00:40:59,333 And part of it was printed in the newspaper. 885 00:40:59,333 --> 00:41:01,000 (papers rustling) 886 00:41:02,033 --> 00:41:03,600 See, I've got something called "the evidence" 887 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:05,233 'cause that helps remind me. 888 00:41:05,233 --> 00:41:07,333 Anybody in my family starts doubting. 889 00:41:09,066 --> 00:41:11,400 "You appear here now to demand vengeance 890 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:13,666 "in behalf of the women of our race. 891 00:41:13,666 --> 00:41:17,333 MCKOY (dramatized): "It is the cry of the women of our land 892 00:41:17,333 --> 00:41:19,133 "that has aroused you. 893 00:41:19,133 --> 00:41:22,800 "And I am proud that you are equal to the occasion. 894 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:26,100 "We have demanded of our officials 895 00:41:26,100 --> 00:41:29,066 "that they shall abandon this riot 896 00:41:29,066 --> 00:41:30,966 "and misrule in North Carolina, 897 00:41:30,966 --> 00:41:34,666 and by you, we have won the victory." 898 00:41:34,666 --> 00:41:36,933 (clicks teeth, mutters) 899 00:41:38,466 --> 00:41:42,466 ♪ ♪ 900 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:57,800 By late October of 1898, 901 00:41:57,800 --> 00:41:59,700 um, the leaders of the white supremacy campaign 902 00:41:59,700 --> 00:42:02,700 in Wilmington became alarmed. 903 00:42:02,700 --> 00:42:06,033 They didn't think, um, white people were aroused enough. 904 00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:11,100 GILMORE: Alfred Waddell, who's an older man, 905 00:42:11,100 --> 00:42:13,600 who was a Civil War veteran, that makes him a little outside 906 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:15,200 this group of the others. 907 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:18,166 ZUCCHINO: Lieutenant Colonel during the Confederacy, 908 00:42:18,166 --> 00:42:20,566 he admitted to himself that he had a terrible career. 909 00:42:20,566 --> 00:42:25,066 He, uh, basically washed out and was sent home during the war. 910 00:42:25,066 --> 00:42:29,300 He had kind of faded by 1898, and he didn't have a job. 911 00:42:29,300 --> 00:42:31,233 He was resented, uh, 912 00:42:31,233 --> 00:42:34,100 by a lot of the white supremacy leaders in Wilmington 913 00:42:34,100 --> 00:42:37,200 because he was pretty obnoxious, he was very sure of himself. 914 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,966 But he saw his opportunity. 915 00:42:39,966 --> 00:42:42,100 He volunteered to start giving 916 00:42:42,100 --> 00:42:44,766 these blood-curdling speeches on the stump. 917 00:42:47,366 --> 00:42:52,233 ANDERSON: That speech that Alfred Waddell gave in Thalian Hall, 918 00:42:52,233 --> 00:42:55,400 where we are right now, that holds 600, 919 00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:58,133 but there were over a thousand people in here. 920 00:42:58,133 --> 00:43:00,366 This is what he said. 921 00:43:00,366 --> 00:43:03,166 This is a portion of what he said. 922 00:43:03,166 --> 00:43:05,200 "Shall we surrender it 923 00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:07,400 "to a ragged rabble of Negroes, 924 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,100 "led by a handful of white cowards, 925 00:43:10,100 --> 00:43:12,600 "who at the first sound of conflict 926 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:14,433 "will seek to hide themselves 927 00:43:14,433 --> 00:43:18,533 from the righteous vengeance, which they shall not escape?" 928 00:43:18,533 --> 00:43:21,633 WADDELL (dramatized): No! A thousand times, no! 929 00:43:21,633 --> 00:43:24,266 Let them understand once and for all, 930 00:43:24,266 --> 00:43:26,866 we will have no more of the intolerable conditions 931 00:43:26,866 --> 00:43:28,733 under which we live. 932 00:43:28,733 --> 00:43:31,033 We are resolved to change them, 933 00:43:31,033 --> 00:43:35,033 if we have to choke the current of the Cape Fear with carcasses. 934 00:43:35,033 --> 00:43:37,566 The time for smooth words has gone by. 935 00:43:37,566 --> 00:43:41,033 The extremist limit of forbearance has been reached. 936 00:43:41,033 --> 00:43:43,900 Negro domination shall henceforth be only 937 00:43:43,900 --> 00:43:47,333 a shameful memory to us and an everlasting warning 938 00:43:47,333 --> 00:43:50,800 to those who shall ever again seek to revive it. 939 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:55,433 And Waddell got a massive standing ovation. 940 00:43:55,433 --> 00:44:00,633 Applause was ringing throughout this hall. 941 00:44:00,633 --> 00:44:05,466 (cheers and applause) 942 00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:09,500 The white supremacy campaign 943 00:44:09,500 --> 00:44:12,066 also had two militias at their disposal, 944 00:44:12,066 --> 00:44:15,366 the Wilmington Light Infantry and the Naval Reserves. 945 00:44:15,366 --> 00:44:19,000 They were supposed to report to the governor in Raleigh, 946 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,833 who was a Republican. 947 00:44:20,833 --> 00:44:23,800 But, in fact, the commanders of these two militias 948 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:27,266 were leaders of the white supremacy campaign. 949 00:44:27,266 --> 00:44:31,133 In the summer of 1898, both militias, all white, 950 00:44:31,133 --> 00:44:33,000 were called up for federal service 951 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:34,500 in the Spanish American War, 952 00:44:34,500 --> 00:44:37,733 but the leaders of the white supremacy campaign made sure 953 00:44:37,733 --> 00:44:42,633 they were back in Wilmington before the midterm election. 954 00:44:42,633 --> 00:44:46,166 SANDERS: There is a statewide regiment of Black soldiers 955 00:44:46,166 --> 00:44:48,333 that is also deployed. 956 00:44:48,333 --> 00:44:50,700 The white regiments are sent home, 957 00:44:50,700 --> 00:44:53,200 but the Black regiment is still held in reserve 958 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:54,700 far from Wilmington. 959 00:44:54,700 --> 00:44:59,100 This leaves the Black community unprotected. 960 00:44:59,100 --> 00:45:02,300 The city's merchants wanted to make sure they had 961 00:45:02,300 --> 00:45:04,533 enough firepower, um, 962 00:45:04,533 --> 00:45:07,466 to overwhelm the majority Black population. 963 00:45:07,466 --> 00:45:09,600 So they brought a Colt rapid fire gun, 964 00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:11,100 which was a new weapon then. 965 00:45:11,100 --> 00:45:13,066 It was basically one of the first machine guns. 966 00:45:13,066 --> 00:45:14,466 The merchants also bought something 967 00:45:14,466 --> 00:45:15,800 called a Hotchkiss gun 968 00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:18,266 and provided it to the Naval Reserves 969 00:45:18,266 --> 00:45:20,900 and they mounted that as well on a wagon. 970 00:45:20,900 --> 00:45:22,666 So they're preparing for war. 971 00:45:22,666 --> 00:45:25,333 That's what this period is: preparation for war. 972 00:45:25,333 --> 00:45:26,933 I am Anne Kenan. 973 00:45:26,933 --> 00:45:28,833 And William R. Kenan 974 00:45:28,833 --> 00:45:31,666 was my great-grandfather's uncle. 975 00:45:31,666 --> 00:45:34,033 He was a captain 976 00:45:34,033 --> 00:45:37,433 of the Wilmington Light Infantry. 977 00:45:37,433 --> 00:45:40,000 He had lost his position 978 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,000 as customs collector in Wilmington 979 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,900 to John Dancy. 980 00:45:44,900 --> 00:45:47,966 He was put in charge 981 00:45:47,966 --> 00:45:52,266 of one of the Colt rapid fire machine guns. 982 00:45:52,266 --> 00:45:54,533 They take a couple of members of the Black leadership 983 00:45:54,533 --> 00:45:59,166 out on this boat just to show them what this gun can do. 984 00:45:59,166 --> 00:46:01,466 "Before Election Day, 985 00:46:01,466 --> 00:46:03,333 "business leaders rounded up 986 00:46:03,333 --> 00:46:06,466 "several of Wilmington's leading Black citizens 987 00:46:06,466 --> 00:46:11,166 "and brought them on a tugboat next to Eagles Island, 988 00:46:11,166 --> 00:46:14,600 "where Captain Kenan and his fellow Light Infantry soldiers 989 00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:17,766 "demonstrated the power of the Colt gun 990 00:46:17,766 --> 00:46:22,700 "by lacing the opposite river bank with 500 rounds of gunfire, 991 00:46:22,700 --> 00:46:26,300 "ripping through the brush and gouging out holes 992 00:46:26,300 --> 00:46:28,800 in the soft earth." 993 00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:31,000 (inhales) 994 00:46:32,033 --> 00:46:35,833 SANDERS: White people are already beginning to patrol places 995 00:46:35,833 --> 00:46:37,700 where African Americans are gonna be voting 996 00:46:37,700 --> 00:46:39,200 on Election Day. 997 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:42,000 They are visiting these areas with guns in their hands. 998 00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:43,466 The hope is that 999 00:46:43,466 --> 00:46:45,266 African American men will stay home. 1000 00:46:45,266 --> 00:46:47,933 That African American men will not even attempt 1001 00:46:47,933 --> 00:46:50,700 to exercise their constitutional right to vote. 1002 00:46:50,700 --> 00:46:52,966 What was happening among white employers, 1003 00:46:52,966 --> 00:46:55,933 if they found out a Black employee had registered to vote, 1004 00:46:55,933 --> 00:46:57,666 they were being fired. 1005 00:46:57,666 --> 00:46:59,300 SANDERS: Many began to say, 1006 00:46:59,300 --> 00:47:01,066 "Well, perhaps we should stay home. 1007 00:47:01,066 --> 00:47:04,500 Perhaps if we stay home, we can avoid conflict." 1008 00:47:04,500 --> 00:47:08,200 When African American women began to learn 1009 00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:10,433 that Black men are even considering not participating 1010 00:47:10,433 --> 00:47:12,600 in the election, they are outraged. 1011 00:47:12,600 --> 00:47:17,233 They see this as a problem because African American men 1012 00:47:17,233 --> 00:47:20,066 are the representatives for Black families. 1013 00:47:20,066 --> 00:47:23,166 WOMAN (dramatized): "Resolved that every Negro 1014 00:47:23,166 --> 00:47:25,866 "who refuses to register his name next Saturday 1015 00:47:25,866 --> 00:47:28,900 "that he may vote, we shall make it our business 1016 00:47:28,900 --> 00:47:31,766 "to deal with him in a way that will not be pleasant. 1017 00:47:31,766 --> 00:47:35,500 "He shall be branded a white-livered coward who would 1018 00:47:35,500 --> 00:47:38,966 "sell his liberty and the liberty of our whole race 1019 00:47:38,966 --> 00:47:41,733 "to the demons who are even now seeking to take away 1020 00:47:41,733 --> 00:47:45,966 "the most sacred rights vouchsafed to any people. 1021 00:47:45,966 --> 00:47:49,266 "Resolved further that we have these resolutions published 1022 00:47:49,266 --> 00:47:52,133 "in our 'Daily Record,' the one medium 1023 00:47:52,133 --> 00:47:53,833 "that has stood up for our rights 1024 00:47:53,833 --> 00:47:55,300 "when others have forsaken us. 1025 00:47:55,300 --> 00:47:59,600 Respectfully submitted, an Organization of Colored Ladies." 1026 00:48:01,966 --> 00:48:05,866 SULLIVAN: In this copy of "The Record" from October 20, 1898, 1027 00:48:05,866 --> 00:48:09,433 you have Alex Manly speaking to the Black community 1028 00:48:09,433 --> 00:48:12,533 in a very direct way about 1029 00:48:12,533 --> 00:48:14,433 what's happening in the city. 1030 00:48:15,533 --> 00:48:18,766 ANDERSON: He published a piece that said, 1031 00:48:18,766 --> 00:48:20,666 look, you know, I know they're talking violence. 1032 00:48:20,666 --> 00:48:22,700 You know, we're seeing all the guns around, 1033 00:48:22,700 --> 00:48:24,266 we're seeing all of the patrols, 1034 00:48:24,266 --> 00:48:26,200 but white folks aren't that crazy. 1035 00:48:27,266 --> 00:48:29,166 KIERAN: "We say now, as we have said, 1036 00:48:29,166 --> 00:48:31,300 "that there is no danger of this sort of thing. 1037 00:48:31,300 --> 00:48:33,533 "If Wilmington was the half-civilized town 1038 00:48:33,533 --> 00:48:36,366 "some try to make it appear, there might indeed be danger, 1039 00:48:36,366 --> 00:48:38,266 "but such is not the case. 1040 00:48:38,266 --> 00:48:42,000 "Ask yourself, what have I against my neighbor 1041 00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:45,300 that I would seek to destroy his life or happiness?" 1042 00:48:45,300 --> 00:48:48,233 MANLY (dramatized): "Sober, honorable white people in this city 1043 00:48:48,233 --> 00:48:50,966 "are not at all responsible for these threats. 1044 00:48:50,966 --> 00:48:54,000 "And happily they constitute the large majority 1045 00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:56,433 "of our white citizens. 1046 00:48:56,433 --> 00:48:59,366 "The danger is as great to them as it is to ourselves, 1047 00:48:59,366 --> 00:49:02,166 "for they know that if lawlessness ever begins, 1048 00:49:02,166 --> 00:49:05,033 "it will never stop at the point at which it was aimed, 1049 00:49:05,033 --> 00:49:08,466 but like an avalanche will sweep all before it." 1050 00:49:08,466 --> 00:49:11,566 Alex Manly, October 20, 1898. 1051 00:49:13,033 --> 00:49:14,666 He is not taking the bait. 1052 00:49:14,666 --> 00:49:19,333 He's not engaging in counter-propaganda. 1053 00:49:19,333 --> 00:49:22,700 He urges calm and, and, 1054 00:49:22,700 --> 00:49:24,633 uh, he's, he's telling his community 1055 00:49:24,633 --> 00:49:27,500 not to overreact and to vote. 1056 00:49:27,500 --> 00:49:28,800 Most importantly, he's saying, you know, 1057 00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:31,266 the whole point of all of this fear mongering 1058 00:49:31,266 --> 00:49:34,533 is to keep you at home, to keep you from voting. 1059 00:49:34,533 --> 00:49:36,833 Don't, don't do it. Don't let them do it. 1060 00:49:36,833 --> 00:49:38,400 They're not gonna murder you. 1061 00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:40,200 These are our friends and our neighbors. 1062 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:42,933 You know, he represented the idea 1063 00:49:42,933 --> 00:49:45,000 of Fusionism in a lot of ways. 1064 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:49,200 So it's, it's painful, really to know that, 1065 00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:51,666 that he was wrong here, that there was danger. 1066 00:49:52,933 --> 00:49:55,500 ZUCCHINO: A delegation of Black ministers went 1067 00:49:55,500 --> 00:49:58,733 to President McKinley in Washington and warned him. 1068 00:49:58,733 --> 00:50:00,366 MINISTER (dramatized): "The present situation 1069 00:50:00,366 --> 00:50:02,266 "in the state of North Carolina 1070 00:50:02,266 --> 00:50:04,933 "is but an act in the series of reign of terror 1071 00:50:04,933 --> 00:50:07,500 "inaugurated in the year 1873 1072 00:50:07,500 --> 00:50:11,166 "to wrest from the legitimate electors, the state government. 1073 00:50:12,333 --> 00:50:15,200 "The present situation is a grave one, 1074 00:50:15,200 --> 00:50:18,766 "and the attitude of lawless men in the state of North Carolina 1075 00:50:18,766 --> 00:50:21,066 "will be far reaching in its effects 1076 00:50:21,066 --> 00:50:22,733 "unless it is counteracted 1077 00:50:22,733 --> 00:50:24,866 by the strong arm of the government." 1078 00:50:24,866 --> 00:50:28,633 ZUCCHINO: The president was put in a very, very difficult position. 1079 00:50:28,633 --> 00:50:33,200 He had been a union officer, he was an abolitionist, 1080 00:50:33,200 --> 00:50:36,066 but he was gonna run for reelection in 1900, 1081 00:50:36,066 --> 00:50:38,000 and he needed the white vote 1082 00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:42,233 as much or more as he needed the Black vote. 1083 00:50:42,233 --> 00:50:47,266 And McKinley absolutely refused to send federal troops in. 1084 00:50:47,266 --> 00:50:49,233 The attorney general made the point, well, 1085 00:50:49,233 --> 00:50:51,300 we can't send any troops in because Governor Russell 1086 00:50:51,300 --> 00:50:53,233 has to request the troops. 1087 00:50:53,233 --> 00:50:56,633 SANDERS: The Black community had an interesting relationship 1088 00:50:56,633 --> 00:50:58,933 with Governor Daniel Russell. 1089 00:50:58,933 --> 00:51:01,633 His commitment to Black civil rights, 1090 00:51:01,633 --> 00:51:03,600 you know, was questioned early on. 1091 00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:05,700 He had grown up in Wilmington. 1092 00:51:05,700 --> 00:51:07,833 He knew all the white supremacists. 1093 00:51:07,833 --> 00:51:10,766 Some were his relatives, a lot were his school friends, 1094 00:51:10,766 --> 00:51:12,833 and they knew how to manipulate him. 1095 00:51:12,833 --> 00:51:15,900 And the white supremacists said, 1096 00:51:15,900 --> 00:51:18,066 "Listen, we will promise to keep the peace 1097 00:51:18,066 --> 00:51:20,666 "and won't cause any trouble, if you will promise 1098 00:51:20,666 --> 00:51:24,833 not to run any Republican candidates in the county." 1099 00:51:24,833 --> 00:51:27,766 Russell and the leadership of the Republican Party 1100 00:51:27,766 --> 00:51:29,966 went along with it because they were so intimidated 1101 00:51:29,966 --> 00:51:31,633 and so afraid of violence. 1102 00:51:31,633 --> 00:51:34,733 So all the Fusion candidates who were running for office 1103 00:51:34,733 --> 00:51:37,900 at that time end up withdrawing. 1104 00:51:37,900 --> 00:51:40,933 And just as that's a sign to African Americans 1105 00:51:40,933 --> 00:51:42,700 about where the governor stands, 1106 00:51:42,700 --> 00:51:44,466 that's a sign to white supremacists. 1107 00:51:44,466 --> 00:51:45,866 They hold all the cards. 1108 00:51:45,866 --> 00:51:48,066 ♪ ♪ 1109 00:51:48,066 --> 00:51:50,666 UMFLEET: At one last rally, Alfred Moore Waddell 1110 00:51:50,666 --> 00:51:53,000 takes an opportunity to give one last speech 1111 00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:55,166 at the county courthouse. 1112 00:51:55,166 --> 00:51:58,633 WADDELL (dramatized): Men, the crisis is upon us. 1113 00:51:58,633 --> 00:52:00,900 You must do your duty. 1114 00:52:00,900 --> 00:52:03,533 This city, county, and state shall be rid 1115 00:52:03,533 --> 00:52:06,766 of Negro domination once and forever. 1116 00:52:06,766 --> 00:52:09,733 You are the sons of noble ancestry. 1117 00:52:09,733 --> 00:52:12,300 You are Anglo-Saxons. 1118 00:52:12,300 --> 00:52:16,066 Go to the polls tomorrow and if you find a Negro out voting, 1119 00:52:16,066 --> 00:52:18,033 tell him to leave the polls. 1120 00:52:18,033 --> 00:52:20,100 And if he refuses, kill him. 1121 00:52:20,100 --> 00:52:22,300 Shoot him down in his tracks. 1122 00:52:22,300 --> 00:52:25,633 ♪ ♪ 1123 00:52:29,533 --> 00:52:32,200 ZUCCHINO: On the morning of the election on November 8, 1124 00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:34,500 armed whites are out in the streets in force 1125 00:52:34,500 --> 00:52:36,533 to prevent Black men from voting. 1126 00:52:36,533 --> 00:52:38,666 ANDERSON: You've got all of these Red Shirts 1127 00:52:38,666 --> 00:52:40,833 by the voting booth, 1128 00:52:40,833 --> 00:52:45,666 and they went into Black precincts and they tossed out 1129 00:52:45,666 --> 00:52:47,733 the Republican ballots. 1130 00:52:47,733 --> 00:52:50,866 Waddell had given them the instructions on how to do this. 1131 00:52:50,866 --> 00:52:53,833 They'd send more than a hundred armed white men 1132 00:52:53,833 --> 00:52:55,700 crashing into the polls, 1133 00:52:55,700 --> 00:52:57,433 create a diversion by knocking over a lamp 1134 00:52:57,433 --> 00:52:59,233 and starting a small fire. 1135 00:52:59,233 --> 00:53:01,000 And in the confusion, 1136 00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:03,866 they would take the Republican votes out 1137 00:53:03,866 --> 00:53:06,366 and replace them with phony democratic ballots, 1138 00:53:06,366 --> 00:53:09,533 just stuffing the ballot boxes. 1139 00:53:09,533 --> 00:53:11,866 Governor Russell, a Wilmington native, 1140 00:53:11,866 --> 00:53:13,833 comes home to cast his vote 1141 00:53:13,833 --> 00:53:16,466 and on his way back to Raleigh, 1142 00:53:16,466 --> 00:53:18,333 multiple Red Shirts board the train 1143 00:53:18,333 --> 00:53:21,900 searching for the governor. 1144 00:53:21,900 --> 00:53:23,766 The security forces around the governor shuffle him 1145 00:53:23,766 --> 00:53:27,566 to the back of the train into the mail car. 1146 00:53:27,566 --> 00:53:29,666 And he barely made it back to Raleigh 1147 00:53:29,666 --> 00:53:31,233 in the middle of the night. 1148 00:53:31,233 --> 00:53:33,866 And then when he got to the governor's mansion, 1149 00:53:33,866 --> 00:53:36,066 it was surrounded by a mob. 1150 00:53:36,066 --> 00:53:38,400 And then he holed up there for several days 1151 00:53:38,400 --> 00:53:40,433 because this mob wouldn't leave. 1152 00:53:40,433 --> 00:53:45,000 DANIELS (dramatized): If you have never seen 300 red-shirted men 1153 00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:47,500 towards sunset with the sky red, 1154 00:53:47,500 --> 00:53:49,866 you cannot conceive 1155 00:53:49,866 --> 00:53:51,966 what an impression it makes. 1156 00:53:51,966 --> 00:53:54,766 Their appearance was the signal for the Negroes 1157 00:53:54,766 --> 00:53:56,100 to get out of the way. 1158 00:53:56,100 --> 00:53:58,733 The result, of course, was that many Negroes 1159 00:53:58,733 --> 00:54:00,333 either did not vote 1160 00:54:00,333 --> 00:54:05,333 or made no fight in the affected counties on Election Day. 1161 00:54:05,333 --> 00:54:07,533 Josephus Daniels. 1162 00:54:09,766 --> 00:54:12,166 ♪ ♪ 1163 00:54:16,500 --> 00:54:17,500 SANDERS: White supremacists 1164 00:54:17,500 --> 00:54:20,300 win in a landslide statewide. 1165 00:54:20,300 --> 00:54:23,900 They are able to take back the North Carolina General Assembly. 1166 00:54:23,900 --> 00:54:27,533 They are able to win key races 1167 00:54:27,533 --> 00:54:30,600 in every county in the state. 1168 00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:34,533 ♪ ♪ 1169 00:54:34,533 --> 00:54:39,033 UMFLEET: November 9, Wilmington wakes up to 1170 00:54:39,033 --> 00:54:41,833 a complete change in representation 1171 00:54:41,833 --> 00:54:45,166 in Raleigh and in Washington D.C. 1172 00:54:45,166 --> 00:54:46,833 SANDERS: Even though they had been quite successful 1173 00:54:46,833 --> 00:54:50,166 in stealing an election, 1174 00:54:50,166 --> 00:54:53,366 in Wilmington, white supremacists are not satisfied. 1175 00:54:53,366 --> 00:54:56,533 They don't even spend time really celebrating 1176 00:54:56,533 --> 00:54:58,733 their successes at the ballot box 1177 00:54:58,733 --> 00:55:00,333 because there was still work to be done. 1178 00:55:00,333 --> 00:55:02,566 There wasn't a municipal election. 1179 00:55:02,566 --> 00:55:04,766 There was a state election and a county election. 1180 00:55:04,766 --> 00:55:07,700 So you still had this Fusionist mayor, 1181 00:55:07,700 --> 00:55:10,333 you still had Black aldermen. 1182 00:55:10,333 --> 00:55:12,200 So they had to figure out a way 1183 00:55:12,200 --> 00:55:14,100 to make these people disappear. 1184 00:55:14,100 --> 00:55:15,633 And not only these Black men, 1185 00:55:15,633 --> 00:55:18,733 but their white allies, white men who had supported 1186 00:55:18,733 --> 00:55:21,400 Fusionist politics also had to disappear. 1187 00:55:21,400 --> 00:55:25,000 There was a mass meeting called that morning. 1188 00:55:26,266 --> 00:55:27,800 MAN (dramatized): "There will be a meeting 1189 00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:29,566 "of the white men of Wilmington 1190 00:55:29,566 --> 00:55:32,433 "this morning at 11:00 at the courthouse. 1191 00:55:32,433 --> 00:55:35,500 "A full attendance is desired, 1192 00:55:35,500 --> 00:55:37,666 "as business in the furtherance 1193 00:55:37,666 --> 00:55:41,000 of white supremacy will be transacted." 1194 00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:43,300 Hundreds of white supremacists, 1195 00:55:43,300 --> 00:55:45,866 both the rank-and-file and the white leadership, 1196 00:55:45,866 --> 00:55:49,033 met and declared 1197 00:55:49,033 --> 00:55:52,500 a White Wilmington Declaration of Independence. 1198 00:55:53,533 --> 00:55:57,066 MAN (dramatized): "Believing that the Constitution of the United States 1199 00:55:57,066 --> 00:55:59,766 "contemplated a government to be carried on 1200 00:55:59,766 --> 00:56:01,600 "by an enlightened people; 1201 00:56:01,600 --> 00:56:04,466 "believing that its framers did not anticipate 1202 00:56:04,466 --> 00:56:07,100 "the enfranchisement of an ignorant population 1203 00:56:07,100 --> 00:56:10,333 "of African origin, and believing that those men 1204 00:56:10,333 --> 00:56:12,066 "of the state of North Carolina, 1205 00:56:12,066 --> 00:56:14,133 "who joined in forming the union, 1206 00:56:14,133 --> 00:56:16,600 "did not contemplate for their descendants 1207 00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:18,866 "subjugation to an inferior race. 1208 00:56:18,866 --> 00:56:22,500 "We, the undersigned, citizens of the city of Wilmington 1209 00:56:22,500 --> 00:56:24,300 "and County of New Hanover, 1210 00:56:24,300 --> 00:56:27,533 "do hereby declare that we will no longer be ruled 1211 00:56:27,533 --> 00:56:31,700 and will never again be ruled by men of African origin." 1212 00:56:31,700 --> 00:56:34,733 KELLEY: They're saying that in order to have good government, 1213 00:56:34,733 --> 00:56:36,966 it has to be run by white people. 1214 00:56:36,966 --> 00:56:38,600 That white supremacy 1215 00:56:38,600 --> 00:56:42,166 is a way to save the state, 1216 00:56:42,166 --> 00:56:45,100 if not save the South, and ultimately save the nation. 1217 00:56:45,100 --> 00:56:49,266 SANDERS: Hugh MacRae played a key role in this document. 1218 00:56:49,266 --> 00:56:51,933 These upper class white men, 1219 00:56:51,933 --> 00:56:54,466 it aired their grievances in many ways. 1220 00:56:54,466 --> 00:56:58,500 "From now on, all jobs will be reserved for whites. 1221 00:56:58,500 --> 00:57:00,700 "We're gonna run the city. 1222 00:57:00,700 --> 00:57:04,033 "And Alex Manly must leave town 1223 00:57:04,033 --> 00:57:05,633 and his newspaper must shut down." 1224 00:57:05,633 --> 00:57:08,400 JESSIE BLAKE (dramatized): "These resolutions were 1225 00:57:08,400 --> 00:57:10,466 "unanimously approved by the meeting. 1226 00:57:10,466 --> 00:57:13,100 "Followed by a wonderful demonstration, 1227 00:57:13,100 --> 00:57:16,000 "the assemblage rising to its feet and cheering, 1228 00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:18,666 "'Right, right, right!' 1229 00:57:18,666 --> 00:57:20,100 "And there were cries of 1230 00:57:20,100 --> 00:57:21,866 "'Fumigate the city with a Record!' 1231 00:57:21,866 --> 00:57:24,000 "And 'Lynch Manly!' 1232 00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:26,833 Jessie Blake, Wilmington Resident." 1233 00:57:26,833 --> 00:57:29,966 UMFLEET: The Committee of 25 was selected to 1234 00:57:29,966 --> 00:57:32,066 implement these demands. 1235 00:57:32,066 --> 00:57:35,033 Alfred Moore Waddell was made chair 1236 00:57:35,033 --> 00:57:37,600 because he had made himself the face of 1237 00:57:37,600 --> 00:57:40,033 the white supremacy campaign in Wilmington. 1238 00:57:40,033 --> 00:57:42,166 They came up with a list 1239 00:57:42,166 --> 00:57:46,333 of the 30 leading Black citizens in the community. 1240 00:57:46,333 --> 00:57:50,300 WADDELL (dramatized): "The following named colored citizens of Wilmington 1241 00:57:50,300 --> 00:57:53,066 are requested to meet a committee of citizens 1242 00:57:53,066 --> 00:57:54,866 appointed by the authority of 1243 00:57:54,866 --> 00:57:57,333 "the meeting of businessmen and taxpayers held this morning 1244 00:57:57,333 --> 00:57:59,200 "at 6:00 this evening 1245 00:57:59,200 --> 00:58:01,400 "at the merchant's rooms on Front Street 1246 00:58:01,400 --> 00:58:04,133 "to consider a matter of grave consequence 1247 00:58:04,133 --> 00:58:06,433 "to the Negroes of Wilmington. 1248 00:58:06,433 --> 00:58:08,433 "By order of the committee, 1249 00:58:08,433 --> 00:58:11,366 A.M. Waddell, Chairman." 1250 00:58:11,366 --> 00:58:14,600 SANDERS: So they are summoning Black men who they believe 1251 00:58:14,600 --> 00:58:16,366 hold stature in Black communities 1252 00:58:16,366 --> 00:58:20,066 and will be able to convince African Americans 1253 00:58:20,066 --> 00:58:22,900 to accept the demands in the declaration. 1254 00:58:22,900 --> 00:58:27,533 William Henderson was one of the most prominent Black attorneys. 1255 00:58:27,533 --> 00:58:30,566 He had had to leave Salisbury for his own safety, 1256 00:58:30,566 --> 00:58:32,733 because he had represented a Black man 1257 00:58:32,733 --> 00:58:35,066 who was accused of murdering a white man. 1258 00:58:35,066 --> 00:58:37,600 He had only come to Wilmington the year before. 1259 00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:39,633 HENDERSON (dramatized): "I was on the street 1260 00:58:39,633 --> 00:58:41,866 "when two men drove by in a buggy. 1261 00:58:41,866 --> 00:58:44,566 'There's going to be a meeting this evening at 7:00 1262 00:58:44,566 --> 00:58:47,266 "at which prominent citizens are to be present.' 1263 00:58:47,266 --> 00:58:50,466 "I appeared at the hall in the evening. 1264 00:58:50,466 --> 00:58:52,933 "Colonel Waddell was presiding. 1265 00:58:52,933 --> 00:58:54,766 "He proceeded to inform us 1266 00:58:54,766 --> 00:58:56,333 "that we had been called there 1267 00:58:56,333 --> 00:58:58,233 "not for the purpose of consultation, 1268 00:58:58,233 --> 00:59:00,800 but to receive an ultimatum." 1269 00:59:00,800 --> 00:59:03,400 Both groups of men would've been familiar with each other. 1270 00:59:03,400 --> 00:59:04,766 They knew each other 1271 00:59:04,766 --> 00:59:06,633 because they were all leaders in the city. 1272 00:59:06,633 --> 00:59:08,966 When they invite the Committee of Colored Citizens, 1273 00:59:08,966 --> 00:59:11,466 there's posturing in that gesture. 1274 00:59:11,466 --> 00:59:15,500 "We're going to allow you into the sanctum very briefly. 1275 00:59:15,500 --> 00:59:17,300 You know, you're not allowed to speak." 1276 00:59:17,300 --> 00:59:19,333 HENDERSON (dramatized): The resolution set forth 1277 00:59:19,333 --> 00:59:22,733 that editor Manly's paper must cease publication, 1278 00:59:22,733 --> 00:59:25,000 and the press must be packed up 1279 00:59:25,000 --> 00:59:26,566 and shipped out of the city. 1280 00:59:26,566 --> 00:59:30,033 We were given until noon the following day for our answer. 1281 00:59:30,033 --> 00:59:32,933 You know, the men didn't really have an option. 1282 00:59:32,933 --> 00:59:34,933 They understood the writing on the wall. 1283 00:59:34,933 --> 00:59:37,233 KIERAN: "A meeting was held 1284 00:59:37,233 --> 00:59:39,000 "and some colored men, among myself, 1285 00:59:39,000 --> 00:59:41,300 "were picked out as good persons to be rid of. 1286 00:59:41,300 --> 00:59:43,900 "A friend came to me to tell me to leave, 1287 00:59:43,900 --> 00:59:46,333 for they had decided to put a bullet through me." 1288 00:59:46,333 --> 00:59:50,166 Alexander Manly had a few white friends in Wilmington, 1289 00:59:50,166 --> 00:59:53,400 and one in particular, who was a German grocer, 1290 00:59:53,400 --> 00:59:55,600 you know, came to him secretly and said, 1291 00:59:55,600 --> 00:59:57,866 "Look, your life is at stake. 1292 00:59:57,866 --> 00:59:59,500 "You have upset a lot of people. 1293 00:59:59,500 --> 01:00:01,533 You need to get out of town." 1294 01:00:01,533 --> 01:00:04,366 "His friend gave him $25 and said, 1295 01:00:04,366 --> 01:00:06,600 "'This is the password, 1296 01:00:06,600 --> 01:00:08,366 "'and may God be with you, my boy. 1297 01:00:08,366 --> 01:00:11,300 You are too fine to be swung up to a tree.'" 1298 01:00:11,300 --> 01:00:14,900 WOMAN (dramatized): "He used the password and escaped in the woods 1299 01:00:14,900 --> 01:00:17,133 "and over Fulton Bridge. 1300 01:00:17,133 --> 01:00:20,066 "The guards at the bridge said, 'Halt.' 1301 01:00:20,066 --> 01:00:22,766 "He used the password again and they said, 1302 01:00:22,766 --> 01:00:25,433 "'We are having a necktie party in Wilmington. 1303 01:00:25,433 --> 01:00:27,566 "Where are you gentlemen going?' 1304 01:00:27,566 --> 01:00:29,600 Carrie Sadgwar Manly." 1305 01:00:29,600 --> 01:00:33,100 SANDERS: Alexander Manly and his brother, who look white, 1306 01:00:33,100 --> 01:00:36,000 are, you know, able to pretend to be white men 1307 01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:37,633 who are out conducting business. 1308 01:00:37,633 --> 01:00:39,900 Essentially, they tell the patrolmen 1309 01:00:39,900 --> 01:00:41,366 that they are on their way 1310 01:00:41,366 --> 01:00:42,766 to an auction to buy horses. 1311 01:00:42,766 --> 01:00:45,866 One of the patrolmen said, "If you see that Manly, 1312 01:00:45,866 --> 01:00:47,233 make sure you kill him." 1313 01:00:47,233 --> 01:00:50,100 And they gave him a rifle on the way out of town. 1314 01:00:50,100 --> 01:00:52,866 And the only reason he wasn't caught 1315 01:00:52,866 --> 01:00:54,766 was 'cause he was so light-skinned 1316 01:00:54,766 --> 01:00:56,066 and he could pass. 1317 01:00:56,066 --> 01:00:58,100 (choir vocalizing) 1318 01:00:58,100 --> 01:01:01,700 ZUCCHINO: Alex Manly's fiancée, Carrie Sadgwar, 1319 01:01:01,700 --> 01:01:06,133 she was on tour in London with the Fisk Jubilee Singers 1320 01:01:06,133 --> 01:01:09,166 and read a newspaper account that said, 1321 01:01:09,166 --> 01:01:12,066 "A burly Negro was being pursued 1322 01:01:12,066 --> 01:01:13,933 by bloodhounds in the swamps." 1323 01:01:13,933 --> 01:01:16,600 CARRIE SADGWAR (dramatized): "I read in 'The London Chronicle' that 1324 01:01:16,600 --> 01:01:19,633 "trouble was brewing as he had escaped to the swamps, 1325 01:01:19,633 --> 01:01:22,766 "and the bloodhounds were on his trail. 1326 01:01:22,766 --> 01:01:26,700 "I stood on a stage that night to sing my solo, 1327 01:01:26,700 --> 01:01:30,766 "and my voice quivered and stopped. 1328 01:01:30,766 --> 01:01:33,200 "A doctor came backstage and said, 1329 01:01:33,200 --> 01:01:34,500 'This child has had a shock.'" 1330 01:01:35,866 --> 01:01:37,733 "I thought that after a few days of my absence, 1331 01:01:37,733 --> 01:01:39,700 "that there would be no cause for any crimes, 1332 01:01:39,700 --> 01:01:41,600 then I could come back." 1333 01:01:41,600 --> 01:01:44,400 Then I could come back... 1334 01:01:44,400 --> 01:01:46,633 (sniffs) 1335 01:01:46,633 --> 01:01:48,033 KELLEY: So Manly had already left. 1336 01:01:48,033 --> 01:01:49,266 He's out of the state, 1337 01:01:49,266 --> 01:01:52,133 and this group of 32 Black leaders, 1338 01:01:52,133 --> 01:01:53,600 they're terrified. 1339 01:01:53,600 --> 01:01:56,666 Alfred Waddell had given the men a deadline. 1340 01:01:56,666 --> 01:01:58,633 It was like a 12-hour deadline 1341 01:01:58,633 --> 01:02:00,933 to have a response, a written response, 1342 01:02:00,933 --> 01:02:04,266 to the White Man's Declaration of Independence. 1343 01:02:04,266 --> 01:02:07,000 ZUCCHINO: They went to a barbershop 1344 01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:10,666 and met and wrote a letter in response. 1345 01:02:10,666 --> 01:02:12,300 MAN (dramatized): "Dear sir, 1346 01:02:12,300 --> 01:02:14,966 "we the colored citizens to whom was referred 1347 01:02:14,966 --> 01:02:17,633 "the matter of expulsion from this community, 1348 01:02:17,633 --> 01:02:20,266 "of the person and press of A.L. Manly, 1349 01:02:20,266 --> 01:02:22,200 "beg most respectfully 1350 01:02:22,200 --> 01:02:25,433 "to say that we are in no ways responsible 1351 01:02:25,433 --> 01:02:28,866 "nor in any way endorse the obnoxious article 1352 01:02:28,866 --> 01:02:30,933 "that called forth your activities. 1353 01:02:30,933 --> 01:02:32,800 "Neither are we authorized 1354 01:02:32,800 --> 01:02:34,900 "to act for him in this matter; 1355 01:02:34,900 --> 01:02:36,900 "but in the interest of peace, 1356 01:02:36,900 --> 01:02:40,400 "we will most willingly use our influence 1357 01:02:40,400 --> 01:02:42,500 "to have your wishes carried out. 1358 01:02:42,500 --> 01:02:46,733 Very respectfully, The Committee of Colored Citizens." 1359 01:02:46,733 --> 01:02:48,633 KELLEY: They were afraid of losing 1360 01:02:48,633 --> 01:02:51,266 a lot more than just their lives. 1361 01:02:51,266 --> 01:02:54,566 Losing property, 1362 01:02:54,566 --> 01:02:57,566 losing all the political capital 1363 01:02:57,566 --> 01:02:59,000 they built up in Wilmington. 1364 01:02:59,000 --> 01:03:01,500 They decided that Armond Scott, 1365 01:03:01,500 --> 01:03:05,700 who was the youngest of this group; he was a lawyer. 1366 01:03:05,700 --> 01:03:07,300 They said, "You're the guy who's gonna go 1367 01:03:07,300 --> 01:03:09,800 deliver this to Waddell's house." 1368 01:03:09,800 --> 01:03:14,133 ANDERSON: So, that Black man is headed to Waddell's house 1369 01:03:14,133 --> 01:03:17,500 and there are Red Shirts there as sentry post. 1370 01:03:17,500 --> 01:03:19,666 So he puts it in the mail. 1371 01:03:19,666 --> 01:03:23,000 ♪ ♪ 1372 01:03:23,000 --> 01:03:25,866 There's this huge gathering in the morning, 1373 01:03:25,866 --> 01:03:28,400 awaiting the answer from the Committee of Colored Citizens. 1374 01:03:28,400 --> 01:03:31,733 Now, Waddell had been told of this letter 1375 01:03:31,733 --> 01:03:33,700 and that it had been mailed, 1376 01:03:33,700 --> 01:03:35,700 but he made a pretense of waiting. 1377 01:03:35,700 --> 01:03:37,866 Even though Waddell had 1378 01:03:37,866 --> 01:03:39,800 verbal agreement from the Black leadership, 1379 01:03:39,800 --> 01:03:43,366 Waddell says, "Well, I never got the memo on that." 1380 01:03:43,366 --> 01:03:46,733 People were in, just a sense of rage 1381 01:03:46,733 --> 01:03:50,800 and resentment because they had been built up all summer. 1382 01:03:50,800 --> 01:03:52,700 So they were ready. 1383 01:03:52,700 --> 01:03:55,200 Ready and primed for violence. 1384 01:03:55,200 --> 01:03:58,966 They meet right outside the building we're in right now 1385 01:03:58,966 --> 01:04:02,800 at the Wilmington Light Infantry Armory. 1386 01:04:02,800 --> 01:04:07,466 UMFLEET: Waddell arranges the Red Shirts that are in place 1387 01:04:07,466 --> 01:04:10,300 and the other armed members of the White Government Union 1388 01:04:10,300 --> 01:04:13,133 all in good skirmish lines because, remember, 1389 01:04:13,133 --> 01:04:14,966 he's a Confederate officer, 1390 01:04:14,966 --> 01:04:18,866 and they marched down Market Street to go to 1391 01:04:18,866 --> 01:04:23,100 where Alex Manly's printing press had moved. 1392 01:04:23,100 --> 01:04:24,366 ZUCCHINO: They're looking for Alex Manly to lynch him, 1393 01:04:24,366 --> 01:04:26,733 not aware that he has already left town. 1394 01:04:26,733 --> 01:04:30,500 And this mob just gets larger and larger. 1395 01:04:30,500 --> 01:04:32,533 As people hear about it, they're firing in the air. 1396 01:04:32,533 --> 01:04:34,000 People hear gunshots. (gun shots, shouting) 1397 01:04:34,000 --> 01:04:37,900 It starts at 500 people, ends up 2,000 armed white men. 1398 01:04:37,900 --> 01:04:39,600 (booming, glass breaking) 1399 01:04:39,600 --> 01:04:43,700 UMFLEET: The men proceed to destroy the printing press. 1400 01:04:43,700 --> 01:04:48,066 Lanterns are turned over and a fire breaks out. 1401 01:04:48,066 --> 01:04:51,100 SANDERS: It would be Black firefighters in the city 1402 01:04:51,100 --> 01:04:52,700 who respond to that fire. 1403 01:04:52,700 --> 01:04:56,933 UMFLEET: They're held at the intersection until 1404 01:04:56,933 --> 01:04:59,466 the white men clear the way for them to put the fire out. 1405 01:04:59,466 --> 01:05:02,366 ♪ ♪ 1406 01:05:02,366 --> 01:05:04,900 ANDERSON: And there is one of those historic photographs 1407 01:05:04,900 --> 01:05:06,800 where you see all of these 1408 01:05:06,800 --> 01:05:11,000 white men and white boys smiling 1409 01:05:11,000 --> 01:05:12,133 at what they had done. 1410 01:05:12,133 --> 01:05:15,333 ♪ ♪ 1411 01:05:15,333 --> 01:05:19,866 ZUCCHINO: If you look at their faces, they are so proud. 1412 01:05:19,866 --> 01:05:23,333 And this is very reminiscent of the lynching photos 1413 01:05:23,333 --> 01:05:25,000 that were very popular at the time 1414 01:05:25,000 --> 01:05:28,033 that were turned into postcards. 1415 01:05:28,033 --> 01:05:33,500 ♪ ♪ 1416 01:05:33,500 --> 01:05:35,133 They wanted to lynch somebody, 1417 01:05:35,133 --> 01:05:36,766 and they didn't get to lynch anybody. 1418 01:05:36,766 --> 01:05:38,533 So they start looking 1419 01:05:38,533 --> 01:05:40,400 for other targets 1420 01:05:40,400 --> 01:05:42,566 and they hear there's a commotion 1421 01:05:42,566 --> 01:05:45,266 at Sprunt's Cotton Compress on the waterfront. 1422 01:05:45,266 --> 01:05:48,066 There are 800 Black men working there. 1423 01:05:48,066 --> 01:05:50,366 SULLIVAN: There were rumors going around town 1424 01:05:50,366 --> 01:05:55,500 that the Black laborers were going to 1425 01:05:55,500 --> 01:05:58,500 march en masse and fight back. 1426 01:05:58,500 --> 01:06:01,400 The mob wheels one of the machine guns 1427 01:06:01,400 --> 01:06:02,766 to the cotton compress. 1428 01:06:02,766 --> 01:06:06,100 James Sprunt, who runs this compress, 1429 01:06:06,100 --> 01:06:08,533 is very concerned 'cause he needs to load these ships. 1430 01:06:08,533 --> 01:06:09,733 These ships are waiting. 1431 01:06:09,733 --> 01:06:10,966 For him, this is a nightmare, 1432 01:06:10,966 --> 01:06:12,500 because this is his whole labor force. 1433 01:06:12,500 --> 01:06:14,600 If these men are killed, 1434 01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:16,900 it's going to shut down his operation. 1435 01:06:18,366 --> 01:06:20,166 He asks the Black men who work there 1436 01:06:20,166 --> 01:06:24,166 to lift him up onto a bale of uncompressed cotton. 1437 01:06:24,166 --> 01:06:27,433 They put him on top of it, this little man. 1438 01:06:27,433 --> 01:06:29,533 And there's a confrontation there 1439 01:06:29,533 --> 01:06:31,433 with this white mob 1440 01:06:31,433 --> 01:06:33,333 gathering outside the compress, 1441 01:06:33,333 --> 01:06:35,700 wanting to kill the Black men, 1442 01:06:35,700 --> 01:06:37,266 with the white leadership trying to hold them back 1443 01:06:37,266 --> 01:06:40,066 after they'd been stoking all this violence all summer. 1444 01:06:42,166 --> 01:06:43,600 Sprunt was one of the businessmen 1445 01:06:43,600 --> 01:06:45,266 who contributed to the purchase of that gun. 1446 01:06:45,266 --> 01:06:48,533 He was one of the wealthiest men in the city. 1447 01:06:48,533 --> 01:06:51,366 Yet when that gun was aimed at his workers, 1448 01:06:51,366 --> 01:06:54,233 he put himself between the gun and his workers. 1449 01:06:54,233 --> 01:06:57,433 ZUCCHINO: The only thing that diffused 1450 01:06:57,433 --> 01:07:00,233 this confrontation was rumors that 1451 01:07:00,233 --> 01:07:03,966 another crowd of Black men was gathering 1452 01:07:03,966 --> 01:07:06,066 at Fourth and Harnett, a few blocks away. 1453 01:07:06,066 --> 01:07:08,466 A group of Black workers 1454 01:07:08,466 --> 01:07:10,533 who had seen the smoke, 1455 01:07:10,533 --> 01:07:12,300 heard the fire bells, 1456 01:07:12,300 --> 01:07:15,200 and celebratory gunshots being fired 1457 01:07:15,200 --> 01:07:18,133 in the direction of the printing press building, 1458 01:07:18,133 --> 01:07:20,033 they had left their jobs on the wharves and the docks 1459 01:07:20,033 --> 01:07:21,200 to check on their families 1460 01:07:21,200 --> 01:07:23,766 and to find out what had happened. 1461 01:07:23,766 --> 01:07:25,433 ZUCCHINO: They're assuming these white mobs 1462 01:07:25,433 --> 01:07:27,066 are gonna descend on their neighborhood 1463 01:07:27,066 --> 01:07:29,600 and attack their homes and burn their homes, 1464 01:07:29,600 --> 01:07:31,600 and they had a few old guns 1465 01:07:31,600 --> 01:07:33,566 that they managed to put together. 1466 01:07:33,566 --> 01:07:35,733 (crowd shouting) There was this standoff 1467 01:07:35,733 --> 01:07:39,166 with insults being yelled back and forth, taunts. 1468 01:07:39,166 --> 01:07:43,633 And the temperature just starts rising and rising and rising. 1469 01:07:43,633 --> 01:07:48,966 And that's where the actual shooting and killing begins. 1470 01:07:48,966 --> 01:07:50,400 (gunfire) 1471 01:07:50,400 --> 01:07:52,566 Most witnesses say the whites fired first. 1472 01:07:52,566 --> 01:07:53,833 I believe that. 1473 01:07:53,833 --> 01:07:55,466 Would've been no advantage to the Black men 1474 01:07:55,466 --> 01:07:57,966 to start a fight when they're completely outgunned. 1475 01:07:57,966 --> 01:08:00,766 25 Black men 1476 01:08:00,766 --> 01:08:02,500 who are standing outside 1477 01:08:02,500 --> 01:08:03,966 as they're being confronted 1478 01:08:03,966 --> 01:08:07,966 by 400 to 500 armed white men with Winchester rifles, 1479 01:08:07,966 --> 01:08:09,733 and they shoot back. 1480 01:08:09,733 --> 01:08:11,366 These Black men shoot back, 1481 01:08:11,366 --> 01:08:13,966 and many of them get killed as a result. 1482 01:08:13,966 --> 01:08:15,633 There's chaos. 1483 01:08:15,633 --> 01:08:16,766 The Black men disperse 1484 01:08:16,766 --> 01:08:18,200 and start running through the streets, 1485 01:08:18,200 --> 01:08:20,400 and the white gunmen chase them through the streets 1486 01:08:20,400 --> 01:08:23,800 and every Black man they see, they shoot. 1487 01:08:23,800 --> 01:08:26,100 There were reports of, 1488 01:08:26,100 --> 01:08:28,733 of men just walking home from work being shot dead. 1489 01:08:28,733 --> 01:08:31,200 Men just standing on a corner being shot dead. 1490 01:08:31,200 --> 01:08:33,400 J. ALLEN KIRK (dramatized): "Men stood at their labor, 1491 01:08:33,400 --> 01:08:36,300 "wringing their hands and weeping, 1492 01:08:36,300 --> 01:08:38,666 "but they dare not move to the protection of their homes. 1493 01:08:38,666 --> 01:08:40,466 "And then, when they passed through the streets, 1494 01:08:40,466 --> 01:08:44,333 "had to hold up their hands and be searched. 1495 01:08:44,333 --> 01:08:46,833 "Little white boys of the city searched them 1496 01:08:46,833 --> 01:08:49,233 "and took from them every means of defense, 1497 01:08:49,233 --> 01:08:51,400 "and if they resisted, 1498 01:08:51,400 --> 01:08:53,233 they were shot down." 1499 01:08:53,233 --> 01:08:55,533 Reverend J. Allen Kirk. 1500 01:08:55,533 --> 01:08:58,166 UMFLEET: Once word was received 1501 01:08:58,166 --> 01:09:00,966 at the Wilmington Light Infantry Headquarters 1502 01:09:00,966 --> 01:09:02,966 that shots were being fired 1503 01:09:02,966 --> 01:09:05,333 in Brooklyn, in the north end of town, 1504 01:09:05,333 --> 01:09:09,766 Walker Taylor sends a telegram to Governor Russell. 1505 01:09:09,766 --> 01:09:11,766 ZUCCHINO: Colonel Walker Taylor, 1506 01:09:11,766 --> 01:09:14,666 one of the leaders of the white supremacy campaign, 1507 01:09:14,666 --> 01:09:17,633 duped the governor, 1508 01:09:17,633 --> 01:09:19,566 saying, "The Blacks are rioting." 1509 01:09:19,566 --> 01:09:23,066 And so he authorized Walker Taylor 1510 01:09:23,066 --> 01:09:24,133 to bring out the militia, 1511 01:09:24,133 --> 01:09:25,900 declare martial law, 1512 01:09:25,900 --> 01:09:28,433 and that unleashed the militia 1513 01:09:28,433 --> 01:09:30,133 against the Black population. 1514 01:09:30,133 --> 01:09:33,766 The Wilmington Light Infantry marched throughout 1515 01:09:33,766 --> 01:09:36,166 the blocks of the Black community 1516 01:09:36,166 --> 01:09:39,866 to suppress any sort of attempts at retaliation. 1517 01:09:39,866 --> 01:09:43,066 ZUCCHINO: They truly believed the lie 1518 01:09:43,066 --> 01:09:45,833 that Black men were stockpiling weapons in churches. 1519 01:09:45,833 --> 01:09:47,433 So they would go to churches, 1520 01:09:47,433 --> 01:09:50,400 and point these rapid-fire machine guns at the door 1521 01:09:50,400 --> 01:09:52,866 and force the pastors to open up for a search. 1522 01:09:52,866 --> 01:09:55,200 And, of course, they never found a single weapon. 1523 01:09:55,200 --> 01:09:57,866 At a place called Manhattan Park, 1524 01:09:57,866 --> 01:10:00,200 which was a community center 1525 01:10:00,200 --> 01:10:02,933 where special events would happen, a dance hall. 1526 01:10:02,933 --> 01:10:05,533 In their mind, it was a place where 1527 01:10:05,533 --> 01:10:07,100 Black troublemakers went 1528 01:10:07,100 --> 01:10:09,033 to get drunk and cause trouble. 1529 01:10:09,033 --> 01:10:10,733 So they shot it up, 1530 01:10:10,733 --> 01:10:12,300 shot up the clapboard fence that is around, 1531 01:10:12,300 --> 01:10:13,433 and went inside. 1532 01:10:14,600 --> 01:10:17,566 And this man named Josh Halsey panics, 1533 01:10:17,566 --> 01:10:19,200 and bolts, and runs away. 1534 01:10:19,200 --> 01:10:20,866 They fire at him, they don't hit him. 1535 01:10:20,866 --> 01:10:23,366 He makes it back to his home. 1536 01:10:23,366 --> 01:10:26,800 Because Halsey lived just around the corner, 1537 01:10:26,800 --> 01:10:30,866 his family was in proximity to all of this violence. 1538 01:10:32,266 --> 01:10:33,733 ELAINE BROWN: My name is Elaine Brown. 1539 01:10:33,733 --> 01:10:38,566 I'm Joshua Halsey's second-great-granddaughter. 1540 01:10:38,566 --> 01:10:41,400 One of his daughters came running through 1541 01:10:41,400 --> 01:10:44,633 to warn him that the militia was coming, 1542 01:10:44,633 --> 01:10:49,133 so when they entered the home, Joshua runs 1543 01:10:49,133 --> 01:10:51,033 out the back way, 1544 01:10:51,033 --> 01:10:53,366 running for his life. 1545 01:10:53,366 --> 01:10:55,200 "He's coming out." 1546 01:10:55,200 --> 01:10:58,733 ♪ ♪ 1547 01:10:58,733 --> 01:11:01,000 Joshua took 14 shots 1548 01:11:01,000 --> 01:11:04,633 to the back of the head. 1549 01:11:06,733 --> 01:11:09,066 He's been reduced 1550 01:11:09,066 --> 01:11:12,666 to this corpse in the street. 1551 01:11:12,666 --> 01:11:14,900 Women and children witnessed 1552 01:11:14,900 --> 01:11:18,100 him being mowed down by multiple bullets 1553 01:11:18,100 --> 01:11:21,933 and were not allowed to go anywhere near him. 1554 01:11:21,933 --> 01:11:23,833 Until nightfall, 1555 01:11:23,833 --> 01:11:25,800 Josh Halsey lies in the street, 1556 01:11:25,800 --> 01:11:28,966 and his family retrieves his body 1557 01:11:28,966 --> 01:11:31,000 under cover of darkness. 1558 01:11:33,666 --> 01:11:35,200 SULLIVAN: One thing about Josh 1559 01:11:35,200 --> 01:11:37,766 is his wife-- she had gotten hurt 1560 01:11:37,766 --> 01:11:39,000 crossing a bridge. 1561 01:11:39,000 --> 01:11:40,500 She sued. 1562 01:11:40,500 --> 01:11:41,500 It helps to explain 1563 01:11:41,500 --> 01:11:43,400 the strangeness of that moment, 1564 01:11:43,400 --> 01:11:45,500 that they singled this person out. 1565 01:11:47,133 --> 01:11:49,733 KELLEY: When you begin to see bodies falling, 1566 01:11:49,733 --> 01:11:51,266 left and right, 1567 01:11:51,266 --> 01:11:54,233 the rest of the Black community is terrified. 1568 01:11:54,233 --> 01:11:56,166 And that's when they realize, 1569 01:11:56,166 --> 01:11:58,133 they can't win this one. 1570 01:11:58,133 --> 01:12:00,100 KIRK (dramatized): "Firing began, 1571 01:12:00,100 --> 01:12:02,766 "and it seemed like a mighty battle in wartime. 1572 01:12:02,766 --> 01:12:05,600 "The shrieks and screams of children, 1573 01:12:05,600 --> 01:12:07,966 "of mothers, of wives were heard, 1574 01:12:07,966 --> 01:12:12,366 such as caused the blood of the most inhuman person to creep." 1575 01:12:12,366 --> 01:12:14,200 Reverend J. Allen Kirk. 1576 01:12:14,200 --> 01:12:16,666 Families are grabbing whatever they can, 1577 01:12:16,666 --> 01:12:19,166 and getting out of their houses 1578 01:12:19,166 --> 01:12:21,533 and they're running, because they're assuming 1579 01:12:21,533 --> 01:12:23,200 their houses are gonna be torched, 1580 01:12:23,200 --> 01:12:25,500 they're all gonna be killed. 1581 01:12:25,500 --> 01:12:28,233 And 2,000 people start 1582 01:12:28,233 --> 01:12:30,933 going through the streets, 1583 01:12:30,933 --> 01:12:33,833 stepping over or around these bodies. 1584 01:12:33,833 --> 01:12:37,333 Many of them go to Pine Forest Cemetery, 1585 01:12:37,333 --> 01:12:39,733 which is the Black cemetery, on the assumption that 1586 01:12:39,733 --> 01:12:41,900 maybe the white gunmen wouldn't go there. 1587 01:12:41,900 --> 01:12:45,366 They go into the swamps and into the forests, 1588 01:12:45,366 --> 01:12:48,333 any place they can hide from the white gunmen. 1589 01:12:48,333 --> 01:12:51,066 ♪ ♪ 1590 01:12:51,066 --> 01:12:52,500 (thunder rumbling) 1591 01:12:52,500 --> 01:12:54,633 A sunny mild day had suddenly turned into 1592 01:12:54,633 --> 01:12:57,366 a gray, rainy, cold day. 1593 01:12:57,366 --> 01:12:59,100 They didn't have enough time 1594 01:12:59,100 --> 01:13:00,400 to bring blankets or heavy coats 1595 01:13:00,400 --> 01:13:02,633 'cause earlier in the day, it had been mild, 1596 01:13:02,633 --> 01:13:05,900 so they're completely exposed to the elements 1597 01:13:05,900 --> 01:13:10,100 in a driving cold November rain, huddled. 1598 01:13:10,100 --> 01:13:11,666 PRISCILLA: Felice Sadgwar, 1599 01:13:11,666 --> 01:13:13,633 who was one of the Sadgwar sisters, 1600 01:13:13,633 --> 01:13:14,933 she remembers being young 1601 01:13:14,933 --> 01:13:16,800 and held in the rushes of the Cape Fear River, 1602 01:13:16,800 --> 01:13:19,500 hiding out that night, that November 10. 1603 01:13:19,500 --> 01:13:21,300 And her father had to hold her mouth down... 1604 01:13:21,300 --> 01:13:22,433 Mm-hmm. From screaming, 1605 01:13:22,433 --> 01:13:24,233   as dead bodies passed them... 1606 01:13:24,233 --> 01:13:26,166 PRISCILLA: Mm-hmm. KIERAN: ...through the water. 1607 01:13:27,266 --> 01:13:28,966 ANDERSON: So, think about that. 1608 01:13:28,966 --> 01:13:32,300 You're running for safety 1609 01:13:32,300 --> 01:13:35,433 into a swamp, 1610 01:13:35,433 --> 01:13:40,133 because it's safer in a swamp... 1611 01:13:40,133 --> 01:13:43,366 than it is in your home. 1612 01:13:45,933 --> 01:13:48,000 ZUCCHINO: By mid-afternoon on November 10, 1613 01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:50,000 the shooting had started to die down 1614 01:13:50,000 --> 01:13:51,700 because so many people had fled. 1615 01:13:51,700 --> 01:13:54,000 Waddell and the other leaders of the conspiracy 1616 01:13:54,000 --> 01:13:56,833 turned to actually taking over the city government. 1617 01:13:56,833 --> 01:13:58,666 ♪ ♪ 1618 01:13:58,666 --> 01:14:02,633 They met at Thalian Hall, and all these gunmen 1619 01:14:02,633 --> 01:14:05,066 from the streets course in there, 1620 01:14:05,066 --> 01:14:08,700 in just a high state of rage and anticipation. 1621 01:14:08,700 --> 01:14:12,000 They call the sitting government in-- 1622 01:14:12,000 --> 01:14:15,266 the mayor, the police chief, the aldermen-- 1623 01:14:15,266 --> 01:14:17,966 and, at gunpoint, they tell them that 1624 01:14:17,966 --> 01:14:19,600 there is a white revolution, 1625 01:14:19,600 --> 01:14:21,933 their jobs no longer exist, and they have to resign. 1626 01:14:21,933 --> 01:14:26,833 Then the mob leaders installed Waddell as mayor. 1627 01:14:26,833 --> 01:14:28,466 They replaced the police chief 1628 01:14:28,466 --> 01:14:31,466 with a former Confederate officer. 1629 01:14:31,466 --> 01:14:33,800 Following the rule of law 1630 01:14:33,800 --> 01:14:37,200 that said if a member of the Board of Aldermen 1631 01:14:37,200 --> 01:14:39,400 resigns his seat, 1632 01:14:39,400 --> 01:14:40,733 the existing board 1633 01:14:40,733 --> 01:14:42,166 then votes to fill the vacancy. 1634 01:14:42,166 --> 01:14:44,433 Waddell conveniently had a list 1635 01:14:44,433 --> 01:14:47,366 of pre-approved white supremacy candidates 1636 01:14:47,366 --> 01:14:49,966 for the Board of Aldermen seats for each precinct. 1637 01:14:49,966 --> 01:14:52,666 And one by one, 1638 01:14:52,666 --> 01:14:55,500 members of the Board of Aldermen resigned their seats. 1639 01:14:55,500 --> 01:14:59,233 And one by one, new people were put in place. 1640 01:14:59,233 --> 01:15:02,766 MEG MACRAE: "Alderman Keith and C.D. Morrell, 1641 01:15:02,766 --> 01:15:04,700 "having tendered their resignations 1642 01:15:04,700 --> 01:15:07,100 "as member of the board from the third ward, 1643 01:15:07,100 --> 01:15:09,300 "Hugh MacRae and J. Alan Taylor 1644 01:15:09,300 --> 01:15:11,133 "were elected aldermen in their stead. 1645 01:15:11,133 --> 01:15:12,800 "They were sworn in by the mayor 1646 01:15:12,800 --> 01:15:14,300 and took their seats." 1647 01:15:14,300 --> 01:15:17,400 This is a transition of government 1648 01:15:17,400 --> 01:15:19,133 under duress. 1649 01:15:19,133 --> 01:15:21,366 A definition of a coup d'état 1650 01:15:21,366 --> 01:15:22,766 is an armed overthrow 1651 01:15:22,766 --> 01:15:24,666 of a legally elected government, 1652 01:15:24,666 --> 01:15:26,833 which is what happened on this day in Wilmington. 1653 01:15:26,833 --> 01:15:30,566 Makes it really, like... um, 1654 01:15:30,566 --> 01:15:32,600 palpable. 1655 01:15:35,000 --> 01:15:36,166 Like that's how he did that, 1656 01:15:36,166 --> 01:15:37,466 or they did that. 1657 01:15:37,466 --> 01:15:38,933 Yeah. 1658 01:15:39,900 --> 01:15:42,066 ♪ ♪ 1659 01:15:42,066 --> 01:15:43,700 MAN: "Banished by Whites, 1660 01:15:43,700 --> 01:15:46,366 "Leaders of the Negro Element Are Forced to Leave 1661 01:15:46,366 --> 01:15:48,100 "Wilmington, North Carolina. 1662 01:15:48,100 --> 01:15:51,233 "Men of both races who are held responsible 1663 01:15:51,233 --> 01:15:52,833 "for inciting the Negroes 1664 01:15:52,833 --> 01:15:54,766 "were forced to leave the city today. 1665 01:15:54,766 --> 01:15:56,600 "These men are regarded as a menace 1666 01:15:56,600 --> 01:15:58,033 to the peace of the community." 1667 01:15:58,033 --> 01:16:00,233 ♪ ♪ 1668 01:16:00,233 --> 01:16:04,433 ANDERSON: After Waddell and the white supremacists 1669 01:16:04,433 --> 01:16:07,233 have taken over the municipal government, 1670 01:16:07,233 --> 01:16:11,100 then it is, "Okay, we can't have 1671 01:16:11,100 --> 01:16:13,433 these rabble-rousers among us." 1672 01:16:13,433 --> 01:16:17,433 And so basically they order the Black leadership to leave. 1673 01:16:17,433 --> 01:16:21,466 Many of these Black individuals and their white allies 1674 01:16:21,466 --> 01:16:24,100 received visits from white supremacists, 1675 01:16:24,100 --> 01:16:28,133 and they are escorted to the train station 1676 01:16:28,133 --> 01:16:29,866 and essentially saying, "You are banished 1677 01:16:29,866 --> 01:16:32,733 from ever living in Wilmington again." 1678 01:16:35,333 --> 01:16:37,633 They're not really given time to, 1679 01:16:37,633 --> 01:16:39,600 to really pack up their goods. 1680 01:16:39,600 --> 01:16:41,633 Their... some of them are able to take 1681 01:16:41,633 --> 01:16:43,633 basically a day's worth of clothing with them. 1682 01:16:45,000 --> 01:16:46,633 HENDERSON (dramatized): "40 or 50 men, 1683 01:16:46,633 --> 01:16:48,866 "each armed with a rifle and wearing 1684 01:16:48,866 --> 01:16:51,400 "a white handkerchief about his left arm, entered, 1685 01:16:51,400 --> 01:16:54,366 "filling my parlor, the hall, and the porch outside. 1686 01:16:54,366 --> 01:16:55,833 (hard knock on door) 1687 01:16:55,833 --> 01:16:58,066 "I called my wife to bring a light. 1688 01:16:58,066 --> 01:17:01,200 "When I was dressed, I seated myself and said, 1689 01:17:01,200 --> 01:17:04,833 "'Well, gentlemen, what do you want?' 1690 01:17:04,833 --> 01:17:07,400 "'We have come to tell you you must leave. 1691 01:17:07,400 --> 01:17:09,500 "You are not the sort of man we want here.' 1692 01:17:09,500 --> 01:17:11,533 "The next day, I went about 1693 01:17:11,533 --> 01:17:13,200 "trying to settle my business. 1694 01:17:14,200 --> 01:17:17,000 "Every man I met looked at me suspiciously. 1695 01:17:18,466 --> 01:17:21,400 "At 5:00, I went to the station to leave town 1696 01:17:21,400 --> 01:17:24,066 "and sent for my family. 1697 01:17:24,066 --> 01:17:26,166 "They were in a deathly fear 1698 01:17:26,166 --> 01:17:28,300 "as the train rolled on through the state, 1699 01:17:28,300 --> 01:17:30,966 "as every station were mobs ready to lynch 1700 01:17:30,966 --> 01:17:33,566 "any Negro who had been deported from Wilmington, 1701 01:17:33,566 --> 01:17:36,466 who might attempt to leave the train." 1702 01:17:36,466 --> 01:17:38,566 William Henderson. 1703 01:17:38,566 --> 01:17:40,733 SANDERS: T.C. Miller was one of the most prominent 1704 01:17:40,733 --> 01:17:43,266 Black businessmen in Wilmington. 1705 01:17:43,266 --> 01:17:46,600 He had amassed a pretty significant fortune 1706 01:17:46,600 --> 01:17:48,400 through his real estate dealings. 1707 01:17:48,400 --> 01:17:50,733 He had convinced himself 1708 01:17:50,733 --> 01:17:53,000 that because he was on good terms 1709 01:17:53,000 --> 01:17:55,500 with some of the white leaders and he did business, 1710 01:17:55,500 --> 01:17:57,533 he felt that that would insulate him 1711 01:17:57,533 --> 01:18:00,133 and he would be okay, and he was completely wrong, 1712 01:18:00,133 --> 01:18:02,266 because a mob came to his house. 1713 01:18:02,266 --> 01:18:04,533 He was on the banishment list, 1714 01:18:04,533 --> 01:18:06,666 and they dragged him out, 1715 01:18:06,666 --> 01:18:08,066 his young daughter clinging to him, 1716 01:18:08,066 --> 01:18:09,533 begging them not to take her father. 1717 01:18:09,533 --> 01:18:11,500 They put him on a gun truck and took him to the jail. 1718 01:18:12,733 --> 01:18:15,033 The next day, he was put on a train 1719 01:18:15,033 --> 01:18:17,066 and banished forever from Wilmington. 1720 01:18:18,166 --> 01:18:20,566 T.C. MILLER (dramatized): "I have been treated not like a human, 1721 01:18:20,566 --> 01:18:22,400 "but worse than a dog. 1722 01:18:22,400 --> 01:18:24,600 "And someday the Lord will punish them 1723 01:18:24,600 --> 01:18:28,033 "that punished me without a cause. 1724 01:18:28,033 --> 01:18:31,233 "When I think about it all, knowing I'm not guilty, 1725 01:18:31,233 --> 01:18:33,600 "it almost drives me mad-- 1726 01:18:33,600 --> 01:18:35,933 "just to think how my own people could 1727 01:18:35,933 --> 01:18:39,233 "treat me as they have without a cause, knowingly. 1728 01:18:39,233 --> 01:18:44,300 Oh, my god." T. C. Miller. 1729 01:18:44,300 --> 01:18:46,700 There would be several instances after 1900 1730 01:18:46,700 --> 01:18:49,600 where he would attempt to come back to Wilmington. 1731 01:18:49,600 --> 01:18:51,133 And every time, he's told, 1732 01:18:51,133 --> 01:18:52,566 "You're no longer welcomed here." 1733 01:18:54,033 --> 01:18:55,600 CAMPBELL-EASON: "Wilmington, N.C. 1734 01:18:55,600 --> 01:18:58,800 "November 13, 1898. 1735 01:18:58,800 --> 01:19:00,500 "William McKinley, 1736 01:19:00,500 --> 01:19:03,566 "President of the United States of America. 1737 01:19:03,566 --> 01:19:06,100 "Honorable Sir, 1738 01:19:06,100 --> 01:19:07,966 "I, a Negro woman of this city, 1739 01:19:07,966 --> 01:19:11,066 "appeal to you from the depths of my heart 1740 01:19:11,066 --> 01:19:13,900 to do something in the Negro behalf." 1741 01:19:13,900 --> 01:19:15,666 WOMAN (dramatized): "I call on you, 1742 01:19:15,666 --> 01:19:17,233 "the head of the American nation, 1743 01:19:17,233 --> 01:19:19,800 "to help these humble subjects. 1744 01:19:19,800 --> 01:19:21,666 "We are loyal. 1745 01:19:21,666 --> 01:19:24,066 "We go when duty calls us, 1746 01:19:24,066 --> 01:19:27,700 "and are we to die like rats in a trap? 1747 01:19:27,700 --> 01:19:29,533 "With no place to seek redress 1748 01:19:29,533 --> 01:19:32,000 "or to go with our grievances? 1749 01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:34,166 "Why do you forsake the Negro, 1750 01:19:34,166 --> 01:19:36,933 "who is not to blame for being here? 1751 01:19:36,933 --> 01:19:38,633 "How can the Negroes sing 1752 01:19:38,633 --> 01:19:41,500 "'My Country, 'Tis of Thee'? 1753 01:19:41,500 --> 01:19:42,533 "Today we are mourners 1754 01:19:42,533 --> 01:19:44,133 "in a strange land, 1755 01:19:44,133 --> 01:19:46,866 "with no protection near. 1756 01:19:46,866 --> 01:19:48,633 God help us." 1757 01:19:48,633 --> 01:19:51,300 "I cannot say my name and live, 1758 01:19:51,300 --> 01:19:54,133 "but every word of this is true. 1759 01:19:54,133 --> 01:19:56,500 "Yours, in much distress. 1760 01:19:56,500 --> 01:19:59,033 Wilmington, North Carolina." 1761 01:19:59,033 --> 01:20:01,400 Anonymous Woman. 1762 01:20:01,400 --> 01:20:04,466 MAN 1 (dramatized): "A Day of Blood at Wilmington. 1763 01:20:04,466 --> 01:20:09,066 Negroes Precipitate Conflict by Firing on the Whites.'" 1764 01:20:09,066 --> 01:20:11,000 MAN 2 (dramatized): "Bloody Conflict with Negroes. 1765 01:20:11,000 --> 01:20:12,800 "White Men Forced to Take Up Arms 1766 01:20:12,800 --> 01:20:15,266 "for the Preservation of Law and Order. 1767 01:20:15,266 --> 01:20:17,600 Blacks Provoke Trouble." 1768 01:20:17,600 --> 01:20:20,233 MAN 3 (dramatized): "Negroes, It is Said, Fired First." 1769 01:20:21,800 --> 01:20:23,300 You had newspapers like 1770 01:20:23,300 --> 01:20:24,800 "The New York Times," "The Washington Post," 1771 01:20:24,800 --> 01:20:27,100 every major paper in the country 1772 01:20:27,100 --> 01:20:28,633 sent their white correspondents down. 1773 01:20:28,633 --> 01:20:31,100 When they came into town, the white supremacists 1774 01:20:31,100 --> 01:20:32,566 would meet them at the train station 1775 01:20:32,566 --> 01:20:34,133 and give them cigars and whiskey 1776 01:20:34,133 --> 01:20:35,366 and arrange for their lodging. 1777 01:20:35,366 --> 01:20:37,300 And these white reporters 1778 01:20:37,300 --> 01:20:39,633 repeated these lies word for word. 1779 01:20:39,633 --> 01:20:41,533 WILLIAMS: A lot of white newspapers 1780 01:20:41,533 --> 01:20:43,800 used the language of "race riot," which suggests 1781 01:20:43,800 --> 01:20:45,833 that Black people are the aggressors. 1782 01:20:45,833 --> 01:20:47,766 Or they will reframe it 1783 01:20:47,766 --> 01:20:50,400 as violence between Black and white people, 1784 01:20:50,400 --> 01:20:52,666 as though Black people were instigating the violence 1785 01:20:52,666 --> 01:20:54,933 and white people were only defending themselves, 1786 01:20:54,933 --> 01:20:57,133 which we know is absolutely not happening here. 1787 01:20:57,133 --> 01:21:00,433 ZUCCHINO: Colonel Waddell arranges 1788 01:21:00,433 --> 01:21:02,533 for an article in "Collier's Weekly," 1789 01:21:02,533 --> 01:21:05,766 which was a very, very prominent national magazine then, 1790 01:21:05,766 --> 01:21:08,266 and it was a complete lie, 1791 01:21:08,266 --> 01:21:09,700 a complete whitewash. 1792 01:21:09,700 --> 01:21:12,566 He writes a story that he was 1793 01:21:12,566 --> 01:21:16,166 reluctantly asked to lead this quiet revolution 1794 01:21:16,166 --> 01:21:18,200 for good government to overthrow 1795 01:21:18,200 --> 01:21:20,433 a corrupt and incompetent Black government. 1796 01:21:20,433 --> 01:21:23,633 Which became the standard treatment of what happened. 1797 01:21:23,633 --> 01:21:26,500 WILLIAMS: Black newspapers, on the other hand, 1798 01:21:26,500 --> 01:21:28,066 tell a very different story. 1799 01:21:28,066 --> 01:21:32,966 ♪ ♪ 1800 01:21:33,933 --> 01:21:36,433 They're very familiar with these larger patterns 1801 01:21:36,433 --> 01:21:38,300 of racist violence. 1802 01:21:38,300 --> 01:21:40,866 Black newspapers are more likely to interview survivors, 1803 01:21:40,866 --> 01:21:43,666 so you'll have people who live through the massacre 1804 01:21:43,666 --> 01:21:45,833 and coup, who will tell their stories. 1805 01:21:45,833 --> 01:21:47,566 MAN 1 (dramatized): "Murder will out. 1806 01:21:47,566 --> 01:21:49,300 "The race war was proposed 1807 01:21:49,300 --> 01:21:52,400 by professional politicians whose names are known." 1808 01:21:52,400 --> 01:21:54,500 MAN 2 (dramatized): "The record of those days 1809 01:21:54,500 --> 01:21:56,733 "immediately following November 8 makes me wonder 1810 01:21:56,733 --> 01:21:59,666 if, in fact, we are living in the Middle Ages." 1811 01:21:59,666 --> 01:22:02,300 MAN 3 (dramatized): "The massacre of the defenseless colored people 1812 01:22:02,300 --> 01:22:05,133 "by the brutes calling themselves white men 1813 01:22:05,133 --> 01:22:07,633 "at Wilmington, North Carolina, should be regarded 1814 01:22:07,633 --> 01:22:12,166 "by every honest American as one of the worst outrageous crimes 1815 01:22:12,166 --> 01:22:16,066 that was ever perpetrated in a civilized country." 1816 01:22:18,100 --> 01:22:22,900 HOGE (dramatized): "Since we last met in these walls, we have taken a city. 1817 01:22:22,900 --> 01:22:24,700 "This city we have taken 1818 01:22:24,700 --> 01:22:26,533 "not by investment and siege, 1819 01:22:26,533 --> 01:22:29,333 "not by shot and shell, but as thoroughly, 1820 01:22:29,333 --> 01:22:32,900 "as completely, as if captured in battle. 1821 01:22:32,900 --> 01:22:35,833 "It has been redeemed for civilization, 1822 01:22:35,833 --> 01:22:38,766 "redeemed for law and order, 1823 01:22:38,766 --> 01:22:41,600 "redeemed for decency and respectability. 1824 01:22:41,600 --> 01:22:44,233 "No possible question can be raised 1825 01:22:44,233 --> 01:22:46,700 as to the lawfulness of the result." 1826 01:22:46,700 --> 01:22:48,466 Reverend Payton Hoge. 1827 01:22:52,366 --> 01:22:55,266 DANIELS (dramatized): "Following the white supremacy victory, 1828 01:22:55,266 --> 01:22:57,566 "there were celebrations all over the state. 1829 01:22:57,566 --> 01:23:00,300 "'The News and Observer' took the ground 1830 01:23:00,300 --> 01:23:03,200 "that the celebration ought to be held 1831 01:23:03,200 --> 01:23:06,600 "and that it meant no harm to the Negroes. 1832 01:23:06,600 --> 01:23:10,433 "That the Democrats were their friends and not enemies, 1833 01:23:10,433 --> 01:23:12,666 "and that the whole celebration would serve 1834 01:23:12,666 --> 01:23:16,300 to bring about a kindly feeling between the races." 1835 01:23:16,300 --> 01:23:18,600 Josephus Daniels. 1836 01:23:18,600 --> 01:23:21,200 In the days after the insurrection, 1837 01:23:21,200 --> 01:23:23,866 African Americans are truly terrorized 1838 01:23:23,866 --> 01:23:25,800 and fearing for their lives. 1839 01:23:27,000 --> 01:23:31,533 UMFLEET: We really don't know how many people were murdered that day. 1840 01:23:31,533 --> 01:23:34,166 I believe it was between 40 and 60, 1841 01:23:34,166 --> 01:23:38,200 but many of those, who they are, we'll never know. 1842 01:23:39,433 --> 01:23:42,266 There were several Black men who crawled under houses, 1843 01:23:42,266 --> 01:23:45,666 and their bodies weren't found for days. 1844 01:23:45,666 --> 01:23:48,433 KELLEY: It's not as if families of the victims 1845 01:23:48,433 --> 01:23:51,566 are going to the coroner saying, "Could you investigate?" 1846 01:23:51,566 --> 01:23:52,966 It's probably more reasonable 1847 01:23:52,966 --> 01:23:54,966 to think of hundreds who were killed. 1848 01:23:54,966 --> 01:23:56,600 (insects chirping) 1849 01:23:56,600 --> 01:23:59,933 SANDERS: There are men, women, and children hiding in swamps 1850 01:23:59,933 --> 01:24:01,833 all around Wilmington. 1851 01:24:01,833 --> 01:24:05,133 UMFLEET: They slowly filter back into Wilmington. 1852 01:24:05,133 --> 01:24:06,833 Some never come back. 1853 01:24:06,833 --> 01:24:11,300 The consequences of the massacre is this mass exodus 1854 01:24:11,300 --> 01:24:15,600 where Black people leave the city of Wilmington in droves. 1855 01:24:15,600 --> 01:24:17,466 The Black middle class, 1856 01:24:17,466 --> 01:24:20,433 the entrepreneurial class, they leave in large numbers. 1857 01:24:22,466 --> 01:24:25,633 They realize that there was no way 1858 01:24:25,633 --> 01:24:28,966 for them to put the pieces back together. 1859 01:24:28,966 --> 01:24:31,566 Wilmington, which had been 56% Black, 1860 01:24:31,566 --> 01:24:33,666 suddenly becomes a white majority city. 1861 01:24:34,666 --> 01:24:36,866 WADDELL (dramatized): "The race war is ended. 1862 01:24:36,866 --> 01:24:38,866 "The race question is settled. 1863 01:24:38,866 --> 01:24:41,066 "White supremacy has been established, 1864 01:24:41,066 --> 01:24:43,900 "and I believe the Blacks will be better for it. 1865 01:24:43,900 --> 01:24:47,733 Never again will they be in control of this state." 1866 01:24:47,733 --> 01:24:49,233 Alfred Moore Waddell. 1867 01:24:50,500 --> 01:24:55,433 ELAINE BROWN: After Josh was murdered, my thoughts go 1868 01:24:55,433 --> 01:24:58,000 to my second-great-grandmother, Sallie. 1869 01:24:58,000 --> 01:25:01,833 'Cause shortly after leaving, you know, 1870 01:25:01,833 --> 01:25:06,833 Grandma shows up in newspapers, uh, as a shoplifter. 1871 01:25:06,833 --> 01:25:09,966 So we know what her life was like 1872 01:25:09,966 --> 01:25:13,866 after she had left, uh, Wilmington. 1873 01:25:13,866 --> 01:25:18,300 You know, she was reduced to stealing to feed her family. 1874 01:25:19,933 --> 01:25:24,333 SANDERS: When Manly leaves Wilmington, he goes to Washington D.C., 1875 01:25:24,333 --> 01:25:26,200 where he first has housing 1876 01:25:26,200 --> 01:25:30,000 with North Carolina congressman George Henry White. 1877 01:25:30,000 --> 01:25:32,366 It would be in Congressman White's house 1878 01:25:32,366 --> 01:25:35,666 that he marries Carrie Sadgwar in 1899. 1879 01:25:35,666 --> 01:25:37,566 His properties were stolen. 1880 01:25:37,566 --> 01:25:41,133 (stammering): He had owned two houses in town. 1881 01:25:41,133 --> 01:25:42,800 He did send a proxy... Mm-hmm. 1882 01:25:42,800 --> 01:25:45,100 ...to pay the taxes 1883 01:25:45,100 --> 01:25:47,100 on his properties and try to make sure 1884 01:25:47,100 --> 01:25:48,733 that they still owned them. 1885 01:25:48,733 --> 01:25:50,800 His proxy was chased out of town 1886 01:25:50,800 --> 01:25:52,233 with a shot... with a shotgun. 1887 01:25:52,233 --> 01:25:54,900 SANDERS: Seeking employment that would allow him 1888 01:25:54,900 --> 01:25:56,866 to take care of their growing family, 1889 01:25:56,866 --> 01:26:00,333 the couple leaves Washington and relocates to Philadelphia, 1890 01:26:00,333 --> 01:26:03,500 where Alexander Manly would work as a painter 1891 01:26:03,500 --> 01:26:05,900 for the rest of his life. 1892 01:26:05,900 --> 01:26:08,333 ZUCCHINO: He rarely talked about it. 1893 01:26:08,333 --> 01:26:10,833 There was only one time he actually let go in public. 1894 01:26:10,833 --> 01:26:14,133 Um, he was asked to give a speech in Providence to, uh, 1895 01:26:14,133 --> 01:26:15,633 an African American audience. 1896 01:26:15,633 --> 01:26:19,366 "Whole families have broken up and scattered, 1897 01:26:19,366 --> 01:26:22,033 "some going one way and some another. 1898 01:26:22,033 --> 01:26:25,166 "The homes representing their savings are deserted, 1899 01:26:25,166 --> 01:26:27,266 "and many who were in good circumstances 1900 01:26:27,266 --> 01:26:29,400 "are now forced to beg for their bread. 1901 01:26:29,400 --> 01:26:32,466 "Do you think that God will allow these things 1902 01:26:32,466 --> 01:26:35,633 to go unavenged? Never." 1903 01:26:35,633 --> 01:26:39,366 Alex Manly, January 31, 1899. 1904 01:26:39,366 --> 01:26:43,766 ♪ ♪ 1905 01:26:51,500 --> 01:26:55,100 AYCOCK (dramatized): "Life and property and liberty from the mountains to the sea 1906 01:26:55,100 --> 01:26:58,066 "shall rest secure in the guardianship of the law. 1907 01:26:58,066 --> 01:27:02,233 "But to do this, we must disenfranchise the Negro. 1908 01:27:02,233 --> 01:27:05,200 "The great mass of white men in the state are now demanding, 1909 01:27:05,200 --> 01:27:06,866 "and have demanded, 1910 01:27:06,866 --> 01:27:09,133 that the matter be settled once and for all." 1911 01:27:09,133 --> 01:27:11,133 Charles Aycock. 1912 01:27:11,133 --> 01:27:14,500 Once the white supremacists stole the election 1913 01:27:14,500 --> 01:27:16,700 and took control of the state legislature, 1914 01:27:16,700 --> 01:27:18,566 one of the first things they did 1915 01:27:18,566 --> 01:27:20,400 was to try to come up with a legislation 1916 01:27:20,400 --> 01:27:23,866 that would prevent Black men from ever voting again. 1917 01:27:23,866 --> 01:27:26,666 Massive disfranchisement with poll taxes 1918 01:27:26,666 --> 01:27:29,533 and literacy test and a grandfather clause. 1919 01:27:29,533 --> 01:27:31,566 The grandfather clause says, 1920 01:27:31,566 --> 01:27:35,633 if your grandfather could vote before 1867, 1921 01:27:35,633 --> 01:27:37,433 you too can vote. 1922 01:27:41,466 --> 01:27:44,533 ZUCCHINO: Of course, this eliminated just about every Black man 1923 01:27:44,533 --> 01:27:48,200 because they didn't have the vote before 1867. 1924 01:27:48,200 --> 01:27:50,166 But it meant that, uh, 1925 01:27:50,166 --> 01:27:52,166 white men who couldn't afford to pay the poll tax 1926 01:27:52,166 --> 01:27:55,800 and illiterate white men didn't have to pass those two tests 1927 01:27:55,800 --> 01:27:58,366 and could vote. 1928 01:27:58,366 --> 01:28:00,100 And just to show how effective this, 1929 01:28:00,100 --> 01:28:03,566 this campaign had been, in 1896, just two years before the coup, 1930 01:28:03,566 --> 01:28:08,433 126,000 Black men had registered to vote in North Carolina. 1931 01:28:08,433 --> 01:28:10,366 126,000. 1932 01:28:10,366 --> 01:28:13,500 And by 1902, four years after the coup, 1933 01:28:13,500 --> 01:28:16,066 that number had been whittled down to 6,100. 1934 01:28:17,066 --> 01:28:20,566 SANDERS: When George Henry White leaves Congress in 1901, 1935 01:28:20,566 --> 01:28:24,400 there would not be another African American in Congress 1936 01:28:24,400 --> 01:28:25,933 until 1992. 1937 01:28:25,933 --> 01:28:27,533 So for almost a century, 1938 01:28:27,533 --> 01:28:29,400 African Americans in the state 1939 01:28:29,400 --> 01:28:33,333 are void of representation at the federal level. 1940 01:28:33,333 --> 01:28:37,933 KELLEY: What happened in Wilmington had the effect 1941 01:28:37,933 --> 01:28:40,600 of putting the final nail in the coffin 1942 01:28:40,600 --> 01:28:43,200 of democracy in North Carolina. 1943 01:28:43,200 --> 01:28:47,333 1898 was the culmination of a process 1944 01:28:47,333 --> 01:28:50,500 that had begun in many states throughout the South. 1945 01:28:50,500 --> 01:28:54,700 That is the end of Black voting rights, 1946 01:28:54,700 --> 01:28:58,466 Black civil rights, until 1960s. 1947 01:28:59,933 --> 01:29:03,700 The lack of a response from state or federal officials 1948 01:29:03,700 --> 01:29:08,133 gave white supremacists in other places 1949 01:29:08,133 --> 01:29:11,066 license to do as they pleased when it came to 1950 01:29:11,066 --> 01:29:13,900 taking away the civil rights of African Americans. 1951 01:29:13,900 --> 01:29:16,933 No one was ever held accountable or held responsible. 1952 01:29:16,933 --> 01:29:20,166 And that really sent a message to the rest of the South. 1953 01:29:20,166 --> 01:29:22,000 These influential white supremacist 1954 01:29:22,000 --> 01:29:23,733 businessmen in Wilmington, 1955 01:29:23,733 --> 01:29:26,200 who really planned and executed the coup d'état 1956 01:29:26,200 --> 01:29:28,733 at the local level, 1957 01:29:28,733 --> 01:29:32,333 they all wind up more powerful on the other side. 1958 01:29:32,333 --> 01:29:34,266 The architects and key players 1959 01:29:34,266 --> 01:29:37,333 are rewarded quite handsomely for their involvement. 1960 01:29:37,333 --> 01:29:40,200 ZUCCHINO: Charles Aycock was elected governor, 1961 01:29:40,200 --> 01:29:41,800 and he was one of three speakers 1962 01:29:41,800 --> 01:29:43,733 on the white supremacy campaign 1963 01:29:43,733 --> 01:29:46,333 who later became governors of North Carolina. 1964 01:29:46,333 --> 01:29:48,866 SANDERS: We see Furnifold Simmons 1965 01:29:48,866 --> 01:29:50,766 go to the United States Senate 1966 01:29:50,766 --> 01:29:52,866 and serve for the next 30 years. 1967 01:29:52,866 --> 01:29:54,500 SULLIVAN: And Josephus Daniels became 1968 01:29:54,500 --> 01:29:56,600 the Secretary of the Navy. 1969 01:29:56,600 --> 01:29:58,500 SANDERS: He later goes on to be 1970 01:29:58,500 --> 01:30:00,366 an ambassador to Mexico. 1971 01:30:00,366 --> 01:30:02,600 GILMORE: These people capitalized 1972 01:30:02,600 --> 01:30:04,166 on what they had done. 1973 01:30:04,166 --> 01:30:07,566 I think it's really hard for us to grasp 1974 01:30:07,566 --> 01:30:10,566 how openly proud these people were 1975 01:30:10,566 --> 01:30:13,900 of installing white government. 1976 01:30:13,900 --> 01:30:16,966 It was told as this glorious story 1977 01:30:16,966 --> 01:30:20,400 of restoring good government, and that continues. 1978 01:30:20,400 --> 01:30:24,166 Thomas Dixon writes "The Leopard's Spots," 1979 01:30:24,166 --> 01:30:27,300 which is a fictional account of Wilmington. 1980 01:30:27,300 --> 01:30:29,566 He's the same author who wrote "The Clansman." 1981 01:30:29,566 --> 01:30:33,566 And that play and book became "Birth of a Nation." 1982 01:30:33,566 --> 01:30:36,600 (film music playing) 1983 01:30:36,600 --> 01:30:39,233 D.W. Griffith's so-called masterpiece. 1984 01:30:48,466 --> 01:30:51,766 And we have to see how "Birth of a Nation" 1985 01:30:51,766 --> 01:30:56,233 in many ways is the cinematic, 1986 01:30:56,233 --> 01:30:58,433 monumental version of Wilmington. 1987 01:30:58,433 --> 01:31:01,666 (film music playing) 1988 01:31:03,866 --> 01:31:08,600 The myth of bad Black government 1989 01:31:08,600 --> 01:31:11,600 running the nation into the ground. 1990 01:31:14,000 --> 01:31:18,100 And being saved and redeemed by the Klan. 1991 01:31:19,633 --> 01:31:21,966 Whether it's the Klan or whether it's the Red Shirts, 1992 01:31:21,966 --> 01:31:25,600 the idea that good government is implemented 1993 01:31:25,600 --> 01:31:28,433 through undemocratic means... 1994 01:31:30,333 --> 01:31:33,866 ...and white government is the only legitimate government 1995 01:31:33,866 --> 01:31:36,700 we can have in the United States. 1996 01:31:36,700 --> 01:31:39,266 (film music playing) 1997 01:31:43,166 --> 01:31:46,400 The ways that the history appears in things like textbooks 1998 01:31:46,400 --> 01:31:50,466 is very revealing in terms of how they want to be seen 1999 01:31:50,466 --> 01:31:52,833 and how they want this event remembered 2000 01:31:52,833 --> 01:31:55,533 by any readers, Black or white. 2001 01:31:55,533 --> 01:31:57,900 So there is a strategic campaign of telling 2002 01:31:57,900 --> 01:32:00,600 a very distorted version of its history. 2003 01:32:00,600 --> 01:32:03,400 MAN 1 (dramatized): "There were many Negro office holders 2004 01:32:03,400 --> 01:32:05,100 "in the eastern part of the state, 2005 01:32:05,100 --> 01:32:08,100 "some of who were poorly fitted for their task. 2006 01:32:08,100 --> 01:32:11,100 This naturally aroused ill-feeling between the races." 2007 01:32:11,100 --> 01:32:15,333 MAN 2 (dramatized): "The mass of Negroes became poor citizens. 2008 01:32:15,333 --> 01:32:16,800 "To keep their vote, 2009 01:32:16,800 --> 01:32:19,266 "the carpetbaggers and scalawags allowed them 2010 01:32:19,266 --> 01:32:21,266 "to do very much as they pleased. 2011 01:32:21,266 --> 01:32:25,066 The white people of the South were no longer safe." 2012 01:32:25,066 --> 01:32:28,800 WOMAN (dramatized): "A number of Blacks were jailed for starting a riot, 2013 01:32:28,800 --> 01:32:31,033 "and a new white administration 2014 01:32:31,033 --> 01:32:33,366 took over Wilmington's government." 2015 01:32:33,366 --> 01:32:36,366 The perpetrators, during their lifetimes, 2016 01:32:36,366 --> 01:32:38,266 bragged openly about it. 2017 01:32:38,266 --> 01:32:40,600 But once that generation died out, 2018 01:32:40,600 --> 01:32:42,100 people realized that, 2019 01:32:42,100 --> 01:32:44,266 wow, this is a real stain on Wilmington. 2020 01:32:44,266 --> 01:32:46,300 So it was buried. 2021 01:32:46,300 --> 01:32:50,900 It just disappeared as if it had never happened. 2022 01:32:51,866 --> 01:32:53,733 Both sides of my family 2023 01:32:53,733 --> 01:32:55,766 are eighth generation North Carolinians. 2024 01:32:55,766 --> 01:32:59,200 I had never heard of the Wilmington Racial Massacre 2025 01:32:59,200 --> 01:33:02,000 until I was, um, in my late 30s. 2026 01:33:02,000 --> 01:33:03,900 As a North Carolina native, 2027 01:33:03,900 --> 01:33:06,333 I took several courses on North Carolina history 2028 01:33:06,333 --> 01:33:09,133 throughout my middle school and high school career. 2029 01:33:09,133 --> 01:33:12,366 And I never recall, um, hearing about 2030 01:33:12,366 --> 01:33:15,666 the Wilmington Insurrection as a part of any social studies 2031 01:33:15,666 --> 01:33:17,366 or history class that I took. 2032 01:33:17,366 --> 01:33:20,300 I didn't know about it, like everybody else 2033 01:33:20,300 --> 01:33:22,700 in Wilmington, for a very long time. 2034 01:33:22,700 --> 01:33:25,333 When I was growing up here in high school 2035 01:33:25,333 --> 01:33:29,300 and even into college, I was drinking the Kool-Aid. 2036 01:33:29,300 --> 01:33:32,800 I learned all this about my great-grandfather in 2018, 2037 01:33:32,800 --> 01:33:37,966 and it was just a physical blow to my body. 2038 01:33:37,966 --> 01:33:41,200 'Cause it was such a, a departure from everything 2039 01:33:41,200 --> 01:33:45,533 I'd been told about my family and everything I had believed. 2040 01:33:45,533 --> 01:33:48,266 None of this stuff was talked about, never, ever. 2041 01:33:48,266 --> 01:33:50,433 You get told what you get told about your history, 2042 01:33:50,433 --> 01:33:52,233 so you don't think, oh, I should go look 2043 01:33:52,233 --> 01:33:54,433 to see if that's not true, you know what I mean? 2044 01:33:54,433 --> 01:33:56,133 Especially if it's coming from your family members. 2045 01:33:56,133 --> 01:33:58,066 How would I know to ask something 2046 01:33:58,066 --> 01:34:00,100 that is essentially not talked about, 2047 01:34:00,100 --> 01:34:02,133 not in the history books, not... you can't find it. 2048 01:34:02,133 --> 01:34:04,066 Like, how would you know to ask a question 2049 01:34:04,066 --> 01:34:07,166 that isn't really tangibly there to ask, right? 2050 01:34:07,166 --> 01:34:09,166 WILLIAMS: For African Americans, 2051 01:34:09,166 --> 01:34:12,266 you will also have people who just cannot talk about it 2052 01:34:12,266 --> 01:34:14,000 because they're too hurt by what happened, 2053 01:34:14,000 --> 01:34:15,333 by the betrayal. 2054 01:34:15,333 --> 01:34:17,300 Those Black survivors and their descendants 2055 01:34:17,300 --> 01:34:19,233 are understandably cautious. 2056 01:34:19,233 --> 01:34:21,400 They're very clear in their understanding 2057 01:34:21,400 --> 01:34:24,700 of their ongoing vulnerabilities to reprisal 2058 01:34:24,700 --> 01:34:26,333 for even talking about what happened. 2059 01:34:26,333 --> 01:34:28,066 It was pretty much taboo 2060 01:34:28,066 --> 01:34:29,633 for anyone to talk about. 2061 01:34:29,633 --> 01:34:32,333 And so my grandmother 2062 01:34:32,333 --> 01:34:33,566 didn't talk about it. 2063 01:34:33,566 --> 01:34:35,000 Her sister didn't talk about it. 2064 01:34:35,000 --> 01:34:36,400 My dad and his siblings, 2065 01:34:36,400 --> 01:34:38,533 they were all of the stance, uh, 2066 01:34:38,533 --> 01:34:40,166 do not go back to Wilmington. 2067 01:34:40,166 --> 01:34:42,100 Just leave alone and move forward. 2068 01:34:42,100 --> 01:34:43,633 They were still running. 2069 01:34:43,633 --> 01:34:45,866 They were, they were still trying to survive. 2070 01:34:45,866 --> 01:34:49,133 The community of Wilmington didn't really discuss 2071 01:34:49,133 --> 01:34:53,100 amongst themselves what happened to the city. 2072 01:34:53,100 --> 01:34:57,366 (drumming) 2073 01:35:02,800 --> 01:35:06,866 UMFLEET: Not until the centennial observances in 1998, 2074 01:35:06,866 --> 01:35:09,266 did the white and Black community finally come together 2075 01:35:09,266 --> 01:35:11,366 in a grassroots kind of way 2076 01:35:11,366 --> 01:35:13,933 to discuss what happened. 2077 01:35:13,933 --> 01:35:17,000 WOMAN: May we combine our energies 2078 01:35:17,000 --> 01:35:19,900 to work towards peace and understanding. 2079 01:35:19,900 --> 01:35:22,100 CROWD: Let's move forward together. 2080 01:35:22,100 --> 01:35:24,566 (applause) 2081 01:35:24,566 --> 01:35:25,866 HUGH MCRAE II: Well, good afternoon everybody. 2082 01:35:25,866 --> 01:35:28,066 It really is wonderful to be here for this 2083 01:35:28,066 --> 01:35:30,633 picnic in the park, uh, 2084 01:35:30,633 --> 01:35:32,900 afternoon of good fellowship 2085 01:35:32,900 --> 01:35:35,500 and good fun. 2086 01:35:35,500 --> 01:35:38,666 The events of 1898 were very unfortunate. 2087 01:35:38,666 --> 01:35:41,800 They were sort of typical of the times. 2088 01:35:41,800 --> 01:35:45,633 No one living today had anything to do 2089 01:35:45,633 --> 01:35:49,566 with any of these things that happened in the past. 2090 01:35:49,566 --> 01:35:52,733 And I've been delighted that the whole celebration 2091 01:35:52,733 --> 01:35:55,933 could be so positive 2092 01:35:55,933 --> 01:35:57,666 and a lot of good's gonna come out of it. 2093 01:35:57,666 --> 01:35:59,000 Thank you very much for inviting me. 2094 01:35:59,000 --> 01:36:00,400 I'm glad to be here. 2095 01:36:00,400 --> 01:36:01,633 (applause) 2096 01:36:01,633 --> 01:36:05,266 For some reason, even when you're trying to heal, 2097 01:36:05,266 --> 01:36:08,000 the first step or process to healing, 2098 01:36:08,000 --> 01:36:10,466 you know, you're gonna be angry. 2099 01:36:10,466 --> 01:36:12,033 And for some reason, uh, 2100 01:36:12,033 --> 01:36:15,633 the white, the white society, just, um, 2101 01:36:15,633 --> 01:36:17,633 they don't collectively want 2102 01:36:17,633 --> 01:36:20,266 a lot of Black people angry at the same time. 2103 01:36:20,266 --> 01:36:23,466 The problem that I had with 1898 was, uh, 2104 01:36:23,466 --> 01:36:25,766 that my family lost a legacy. 2105 01:36:25,766 --> 01:36:28,333 My, uh, great-grandfather Isham Quick 2106 01:36:28,333 --> 01:36:30,300 was on the board of directors 2107 01:36:30,300 --> 01:36:32,533 for the Metropolitan Trust Company, 2108 01:36:32,533 --> 01:36:34,966 um, which I presume was a Black-owned bank. 2109 01:36:34,966 --> 01:36:40,433 Basically, um, the business that he had, 2110 01:36:40,433 --> 01:36:43,600 you know, no longer existed after that massacre. 2111 01:36:43,600 --> 01:36:45,266 I feel that, that there was 2112 01:36:45,266 --> 01:36:47,066 a great deal taken 2113 01:36:47,066 --> 01:36:48,833 from my, my mother 2114 01:36:48,833 --> 01:36:51,366 and from his daughters, um, 2115 01:36:51,366 --> 01:36:53,133 my grandmother, um, 2116 01:36:53,133 --> 01:36:55,200 and from my children. 2117 01:36:55,200 --> 01:36:57,666 MAN: Thank you. CAMPBELL-EASON: Mm-hmm. 2118 01:36:57,666 --> 01:37:01,700 (voiceover): As a descendant, it wasn't what I envisioned. 2119 01:37:01,700 --> 01:37:06,700 It was a kumbaya type of an agenda instead of repair. 2120 01:37:06,700 --> 01:37:09,100 I was really angry. 2121 01:37:09,100 --> 01:37:11,166 For a long time, I couldn't even talk about it 2122 01:37:11,166 --> 01:37:14,933 without my eyes, like, just burning with angry tears. 2123 01:37:16,800 --> 01:37:18,700 I'll tell you, back in the '80s, 2124 01:37:18,700 --> 01:37:20,666 it was an eerie feeling when you came in, 2125 01:37:20,666 --> 01:37:23,566 and it was a whole lot of "why" questions. 2126 01:37:23,566 --> 01:37:26,200 And when you start going into certain areas, historically, 2127 01:37:26,200 --> 01:37:30,633 asking questions, you can get tagged as a difficult person. 2128 01:37:30,633 --> 01:37:32,500 FINLAY: You're always welcome to come hang out with us, 2129 01:37:32,500 --> 01:37:34,833 'cause we wanna help. Okay. 2130 01:37:34,833 --> 01:37:37,200 Here's an annual meeting of the Metropolitan Trust Company. 2131 01:37:37,200 --> 01:37:39,133 Hey, wow. 2132 01:37:39,133 --> 01:37:41,566 "Annual meeting of the Metropolitan Trust Company, 2133 01:37:41,566 --> 01:37:43,500 "colored, was held at the city hall last night. 2134 01:37:43,500 --> 01:37:48,566 "The amount paid by the stockholders for dues is 2135 01:37:48,566 --> 01:37:52,533 $5,526 and 45 cents." 2136 01:37:52,533 --> 01:37:55,800 Shoot, I don't know if I have that today. 2137 01:37:55,800 --> 01:37:59,000 You know, I always wondered what happened to the bank, 2138 01:37:59,000 --> 01:38:04,100 how the impact of the massacre affected their income. 2139 01:38:04,100 --> 01:38:07,533 FINLAY: And then this is the People's Perpetual 2140 01:38:07,533 --> 01:38:09,166 Building and Loan Association. 2141 01:38:09,166 --> 01:38:10,400 Hm! 2142 01:38:10,400 --> 01:38:14,233 So, and we have the directors and they're... 2143 01:38:14,233 --> 01:38:16,366 So I found all of that. 2144 01:38:16,366 --> 01:38:18,866 Never knew about the second bank. Yeah. 2145 01:38:18,866 --> 01:38:21,066 Not just one bank, but two banks. Two banks. 2146 01:38:21,066 --> 01:38:26,133 ANDERSON (voiceover): You think about the loss of wealth that this 2147 01:38:26,133 --> 01:38:28,800 mass exile creates. 2148 01:38:28,800 --> 01:38:31,133 And then what we say is like, 2149 01:38:31,133 --> 01:38:33,733 "Well, I don't know why Black folks can't make it. 2150 01:38:33,733 --> 01:38:36,033 "You know, everybody else who comes here does. 2151 01:38:36,033 --> 01:38:38,100 I don't know what's wrong with Black people." 2152 01:38:38,100 --> 01:38:42,500 What we have to acknowledge is the stealing of their wealth, 2153 01:38:42,500 --> 01:38:46,066 the stealing of their generational legacies. 2154 01:38:46,066 --> 01:38:51,166 Wilmington is one of many, many sites of, 2155 01:38:51,166 --> 01:38:53,633   uh, racist violence and dispossession 2156 01:38:53,633 --> 01:38:56,833 where people are demanding, and rightfully so, reparations. 2157 01:38:56,833 --> 01:39:00,566 An accounting of the dead, the injured, the maimed, 2158 01:39:00,566 --> 01:39:04,400 of loss of economic opportunity by being forced away. 2159 01:39:04,400 --> 01:39:06,900 Repair is a part of the healing process. 2160 01:39:06,900 --> 01:39:09,433 Because you can sing and go to church and hold hands, 2161 01:39:09,433 --> 01:39:12,033 but at the end of the day, 2162 01:39:12,033 --> 01:39:13,800 people are still struggling to pay their bills. 2163 01:39:13,800 --> 01:39:15,633 You know, they're still losing their properties. 2164 01:39:15,633 --> 01:39:17,533 There's still been a steady removal 2165 01:39:17,533 --> 01:39:19,900 of African Americans from the city. 2166 01:39:19,900 --> 01:39:21,700 Most people when they relocate to Wilmington, 2167 01:39:21,700 --> 01:39:23,333 they always say, "This is a beautiful place, 2168 01:39:23,333 --> 01:39:25,800 "but there's just something, something in the atmosphere. 2169 01:39:25,800 --> 01:39:27,966 "You know, something's going on. (panelists murmuring agreement) 2170 01:39:27,966 --> 01:39:29,733 You know, something is like really weird about this place." 2171 01:39:29,733 --> 01:39:31,466 And, you know, those spirits are still here. 2172 01:39:31,466 --> 01:39:35,300 It's important for white people in this town 2173 01:39:35,300 --> 01:39:39,300 to talk about, to acknowledge, you know, what happened, 2174 01:39:39,300 --> 01:39:43,266 what our blood, what our ancestors did. 2175 01:39:43,266 --> 01:39:47,400 (voiceover): I think it would be very healing and very helpful 2176 01:39:47,400 --> 01:39:49,633 for, you know, a restorative justice process 2177 01:39:49,633 --> 01:39:52,400 in this town to take place. 2178 01:39:52,400 --> 01:39:55,366 But it, you know, it's gotta have more people 2179 01:39:55,366 --> 01:39:58,066 who will come forward who are descendants. 2180 01:40:03,600 --> 01:40:05,566 When I read this plaque now, 2181 01:40:05,566 --> 01:40:09,800 I feel like the most important thing to me is 2182 01:40:09,800 --> 01:40:11,733 "Alfred Howe: carpenter." 2183 01:40:11,733 --> 01:40:14,666 He was the master carpenter. 2184 01:40:14,666 --> 01:40:16,366 You could basically say he built this house. 2185 01:40:16,366 --> 01:40:21,333 (voiceover): He was part of a Black family of builders. 2186 01:40:21,333 --> 01:40:23,966 They had a hand in so many buildings in this town. 2187 01:40:23,966 --> 01:40:26,433 It made perfect sense to me that 2188 01:40:26,433 --> 01:40:29,400 with my portion of the inheritance from that house, 2189 01:40:29,400 --> 01:40:31,800 that, um, 2190 01:40:31,800 --> 01:40:34,366 some kind of scholarship would be established. 2191 01:40:34,366 --> 01:40:36,600 Um, and we call it the Howe Scholarship. 2192 01:40:36,600 --> 01:40:40,700 It's for African American high school students 2193 01:40:40,700 --> 01:40:43,166 who want to pursue an education 2194 01:40:43,166 --> 01:40:45,666 in the building arts of any kind. 2195 01:40:53,200 --> 01:40:55,366 Honestly, I, you know, they're my ancestors, 2196 01:40:55,366 --> 01:40:57,466 I believe they're, they're in me. 2197 01:40:57,466 --> 01:40:59,400 They're coming through me. 2198 01:40:59,400 --> 01:41:02,766 And the big thing for me is that, you know, 2199 01:41:02,766 --> 01:41:06,200 the truth begins here, in my generation. 2200 01:41:06,200 --> 01:41:09,766 And, um, and the lies stop in my generation. 2201 01:41:09,766 --> 01:41:12,566 ♪ ♪ 2202 01:41:12,566 --> 01:41:19,366 (women vocalizing) 2203 01:41:34,800 --> 01:41:40,133 ♪ ♪ 2204 01:41:42,733 --> 01:41:44,733 (vocalizing continues) 2205 01:41:44,733 --> 01:41:46,400 BROWN: I've always felt like 2206 01:41:46,400 --> 01:41:49,300 this story was always meant to be told. 2207 01:41:49,300 --> 01:41:53,400 Not just Joshua's story, but the whole Wilmington story, 2208 01:41:53,400 --> 01:41:55,766 told honestly. 2209 01:42:02,366 --> 01:42:05,433 SULLIVAN: As most of you know, 123 years ago this month, 2210 01:42:05,433 --> 01:42:07,966 a white supremacist mob massacred 2211 01:42:07,966 --> 01:42:10,000 an unknown number of Black citizens 2212 01:42:10,000 --> 01:42:11,366 in this town. 2213 01:42:11,366 --> 01:42:13,133 Why, despite the fact 2214 01:42:13,133 --> 01:42:15,500 that so many people were murdered in the city that day, 2215 01:42:15,500 --> 01:42:17,266 were there no graves? 2216 01:42:17,266 --> 01:42:18,633 Zero. 2217 01:42:18,633 --> 01:42:20,866 There was no place in town 2218 01:42:20,866 --> 01:42:22,333 where a person or a family 2219 01:42:22,333 --> 01:42:25,500 or a descendant could go and stand and say, 2220 01:42:25,500 --> 01:42:28,533 "Here lies a victim of the massacre of 1898." 2221 01:42:29,533 --> 01:42:33,366 Many of the bodies we know were pushed into the river. 2222 01:42:33,366 --> 01:42:35,833 Others were buried privately in backyards. 2223 01:42:35,833 --> 01:42:38,166 There may be a mass grave somewhere. 2224 01:42:38,166 --> 01:42:41,333 This research has only begun. 2225 01:42:41,333 --> 01:42:45,133 Joshua was murdered by a system, 2226 01:42:45,133 --> 01:42:48,700 and others like him were murdered by a system. 2227 01:42:48,700 --> 01:42:51,933 It was not some insane folk. 2228 01:42:51,933 --> 01:42:54,466 It was very sane people. 2229 01:42:54,466 --> 01:42:57,000 Who plotted and planned, 2230 01:42:57,000 --> 01:43:00,600 and we cannot have a normal funeral as though 2231 01:43:00,600 --> 01:43:05,200 he and others died a normal death ordained by God. 2232 01:43:06,733 --> 01:43:08,900 These were violent deaths. 2233 01:43:08,900 --> 01:43:12,866 We commit this dust and this dirt in remembrance 2234 01:43:12,866 --> 01:43:15,266 of Joshua-- say his name. CROWD: Halsey. 2235 01:43:15,266 --> 01:43:18,066 Our legacy can't be in the swamps. 2236 01:43:18,066 --> 01:43:22,833 It can't be that Josh was murdered. 2237 01:43:22,833 --> 01:43:25,966 I feel like this should have been a story 2238 01:43:25,966 --> 01:43:30,200 of how prominent my grandparents were. 2239 01:43:30,200 --> 01:43:33,400 People who could read and write, own homes, 2240 01:43:33,400 --> 01:43:35,500 and knew their rights as citizens. 2241 01:43:35,500 --> 01:43:38,066 Where is our legacy? 2242 01:43:38,066 --> 01:43:39,666 Where is it? 2243 01:43:45,233 --> 01:43:47,833 DANIELS: I used to be the editor of "The News and Observer." 2244 01:43:47,833 --> 01:43:50,066 I was the fourth editor under the family ownership. 2245 01:43:50,066 --> 01:43:52,566 Josephus Daniels, his son, Jonathan Daniels, 2246 01:43:52,566 --> 01:43:55,066 Claude Sitton, and then me. 2247 01:43:55,066 --> 01:43:57,533 Then we sold the newspaper in 1995. 2248 01:43:57,533 --> 01:44:00,733 That's Jonathan Daniels, when he was press secretary 2249 01:44:00,733 --> 01:44:03,733 to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 2250 01:44:03,733 --> 01:44:06,133 My dad was chairman of the Associated Press 2251 01:44:06,133 --> 01:44:08,233 for almost nine years. 2252 01:44:08,233 --> 01:44:11,666 This is a picture of when my father and grandfather 2253 01:44:11,666 --> 01:44:14,600 had this statue commissioned, 2254 01:44:14,600 --> 01:44:17,066 and it's the statue that my cousin, David Woronoff, 2255 01:44:17,066 --> 01:44:20,100 and I had taken down in 2020. 2256 01:44:25,066 --> 01:44:27,800 "The News and Observer" did so many terrible things 2257 01:44:27,800 --> 01:44:30,666 back in that period of time. 2258 01:44:30,666 --> 01:44:33,133 We have had a, you know, a reckoning with ourselves 2259 01:44:33,133 --> 01:44:36,366 about, you know, who Josephus was. 2260 01:44:38,700 --> 01:44:42,333 In his later years, he was unapologetic. 2261 01:44:42,333 --> 01:44:46,566 It's a shame that he did not recognize 2262 01:44:46,566 --> 01:44:48,833 that the things that he did 2263 01:44:48,833 --> 01:44:53,166 had damaged our state... and our nation. 2264 01:44:53,166 --> 01:44:57,133 I can't apologize for him, but, you know, 2265 01:44:57,133 --> 01:44:59,166 I feel remorse. 2266 01:44:59,166 --> 01:45:01,633 Part of the legacy that I have 2267 01:45:01,633 --> 01:45:06,166 is that we were the worst of it for a period of time. 2268 01:45:14,566 --> 01:45:17,500 CEDRIC HARRISON: We're going to stop and we're going to get out 2269 01:45:17,500 --> 01:45:21,066 and spend some time here with some sacred ground. 2270 01:45:23,000 --> 01:45:24,733 For those that don't know, 2271 01:45:24,733 --> 01:45:27,366 we are standing at what used to be "The Daily Record" 2272 01:45:27,366 --> 01:45:30,400 when it was burned down during 1898. 2273 01:45:31,366 --> 01:45:34,166 Of course, the angry mob was very successful 2274 01:45:34,166 --> 01:45:36,266 with burning down this Black voice, 2275 01:45:36,266 --> 01:45:37,300 this Black business, 2276 01:45:37,300 --> 01:45:39,133 this Black media publication... 2277 01:45:39,133 --> 01:45:41,233 KIERAN (voiceover): His businesses, his properties, to this day, 2278 01:45:41,233 --> 01:45:43,333 they're all still burned down, 2279 01:45:43,333 --> 01:45:44,600 vacant lots. 2280 01:45:45,666 --> 01:45:49,066 Someone could have built something else there. 2281 01:45:49,066 --> 01:45:52,633 There's scars that have not healed 2282 01:45:52,633 --> 01:45:55,366 or, you know, not recovered. 2283 01:45:55,366 --> 01:45:57,733 They're still kind of, uh, gaping wounds. 2284 01:45:59,600 --> 01:46:00,666 MATT JOHNSON: Hello, welcome everyone. 2285 01:46:00,666 --> 01:46:02,066 - Hi. - Hi. How you doing? 2286 01:46:02,066 --> 01:46:04,200 I'm Matt Johnson, I'm director of conservation. 2287 01:46:04,200 --> 01:46:06,433 We're very glad to finally have, 2288 01:46:06,433 --> 01:46:08,366 "The Daily Record" ready to come back. 2289 01:46:08,366 --> 01:46:11,266 So when it came to us, 2290 01:46:11,266 --> 01:46:13,366 the newspaper was fragmented, very brittle, 2291 01:46:13,366 --> 01:46:16,100 and it was folded in here with another newspaper. 2292 01:46:16,100 --> 01:46:18,600 They were commingled, actually. 2293 01:46:18,600 --> 01:46:20,733 Someone has written, probably Carrie herself, 2294 01:46:20,733 --> 01:46:23,166 has written on the outside of the envelope, um, 2295 01:46:23,166 --> 01:46:26,666 "1898. Do Not Destroy." That's all it said. 2296 01:46:26,666 --> 01:46:29,733 We started "The Daily Record" Project, 2297 01:46:29,733 --> 01:46:33,266 which is about locating as many surviving copies 2298 01:46:33,266 --> 01:46:35,700 of that newspaper as, as can be found, 2299 01:46:35,700 --> 01:46:37,800 and also as much surviving text. 2300 01:46:37,800 --> 01:46:40,533 "The Daily Record" existed for four years? 2301 01:46:40,533 --> 01:46:42,433 Mm-hmm. Uh, at least. 2302 01:46:42,433 --> 01:46:44,800 And there are only seven copies remaining in existence 2303 01:46:44,800 --> 01:46:46,000 of a daily newspaper. 2304 01:46:46,000 --> 01:46:49,800 So now it is a solid piece. 2305 01:46:49,800 --> 01:46:51,800 It will be probably, you know, 2306 01:46:51,800 --> 01:46:54,433 125 years since a Manly, uh, family member 2307 01:46:54,433 --> 01:46:58,033 actually physically held one of these pieces of paper. 2308 01:46:58,033 --> 01:46:59,633 Feel free to hold it. 2309 01:46:59,633 --> 01:47:00,866 Feel free to touch it. 2310 01:47:00,866 --> 01:47:02,566 Oh God... Yeah. 2311 01:47:02,566 --> 01:47:04,333 Oh God... It's, it's solid. Yeah. 2312 01:47:04,333 --> 01:47:06,266 Here, I'll, I'll grab the other side 2313 01:47:06,266 --> 01:47:07,966 And turn it over. and then we can flip it back over. 2314 01:47:07,966 --> 01:47:09,433 ...was a page. Yeah. Yeah... 2315 01:47:09,433 --> 01:47:11,266 Yeah. That's fantastic. 2316 01:47:14,833 --> 01:47:17,700 Part of me was just kind of afraid that, uh, 2317 01:47:17,700 --> 01:47:20,533 none of this would ever get seen by anybody 2318 01:47:20,533 --> 01:47:23,400 and that I... it would just all exist in my mind and, 2319 01:47:23,400 --> 01:47:26,333 you know what I mean? So this is proof. (chuckles) 2320 01:47:26,333 --> 01:47:29,066 It's very nice to, to actually have something here. 2321 01:47:29,066 --> 01:47:31,700 That's, that's... it's a new feeling to be honest. 2322 01:47:31,700 --> 01:47:33,033 I mean, thank you all for this work. 2323 01:47:33,033 --> 01:47:34,266 Absolutely. This is fantastic. 2324 01:47:34,266 --> 01:47:35,933 And I'm glad we have it. 2325 01:47:35,933 --> 01:47:39,300 But a part of me is, uh... 2326 01:47:39,300 --> 01:47:41,366 You feel the loss of the other copies. 2327 01:47:41,366 --> 01:47:43,600 I feel... I feel, yeah, the tragedy of all the, 2328 01:47:43,600 --> 01:47:45,466 everything that we don't have here. 2329 01:47:45,466 --> 01:47:46,533 Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 2330 01:47:46,533 --> 01:47:48,100 How many more stories 2331 01:47:48,100 --> 01:47:50,466 do we not get to read or talk about 2332 01:47:50,466 --> 01:47:52,166 or think about? Mm. 2333 01:47:53,433 --> 01:47:58,466 ♪ ♪ 2334 01:48:08,700 --> 01:48:11,600 (indistinct chatter) 2335 01:48:11,600 --> 01:48:13,900 Hey, how you been? 2336 01:48:13,900 --> 01:48:15,666 There's so many people here, I wasn't prepared. 2337 01:48:15,666 --> 01:48:17,366 (laughter) 2338 01:48:17,366 --> 01:48:19,566 ♪ ♪ 2339 01:48:19,566 --> 01:48:21,600 (indistinct chatter) 2340 01:48:21,600 --> 01:48:23,300 In an act of remediation, 2341 01:48:23,300 --> 01:48:25,166 in an act of reclaiming the land 2342 01:48:25,166 --> 01:48:26,566 and beginning, uh, 2343 01:48:26,566 --> 01:48:28,933 one very small, uh, step 2344 01:48:28,933 --> 01:48:32,533 of attending to these scars on the land, 2345 01:48:32,533 --> 01:48:34,600 we're gonna be planting these daffodil bulbs. 2346 01:48:34,600 --> 01:48:38,166 ♪ ♪ 2347 01:48:45,733 --> 01:48:47,433 Places remember us. 2348 01:48:47,433 --> 01:48:50,366 I still feel the energy, 2349 01:48:50,366 --> 01:48:52,866 uh, of that day when I come here. 2350 01:48:52,866 --> 01:48:55,900 This place is not done with me. This place is not done with us. 2351 01:48:55,900 --> 01:48:57,433 We are the descendants 2352 01:48:57,433 --> 01:48:58,900 of great people. 2353 01:48:58,900 --> 01:49:01,300 All of the descendants, come stand by me. 2354 01:49:01,300 --> 01:49:03,633 I want you to stand by me. 2355 01:49:03,633 --> 01:49:05,066 I want you all to look. 2356 01:49:05,066 --> 01:49:06,666 We are still here. 2357 01:49:06,666 --> 01:49:08,700 We are a family. (applause) 2358 01:49:08,700 --> 01:49:10,333 We are still here. 2359 01:49:10,333 --> 01:49:11,833 Look at us. 2360 01:49:11,833 --> 01:49:14,000 Look at how beautiful we are. (applause continues) 2361 01:49:14,000 --> 01:49:16,233 Look at how strong we are. 2362 01:49:16,233 --> 01:49:18,800 ♪ ♪ 2363 01:49:18,800 --> 01:49:23,500 ANDERSON: The tragedy of Wilmington is that you see 2364 01:49:23,500 --> 01:49:26,700 what people had worked so hard to create 2365 01:49:26,700 --> 01:49:31,733 just a few decades out of slavery. 2366 01:49:31,733 --> 01:49:35,066 ♪ ♪ 2367 01:49:36,866 --> 01:49:39,800 And then to have white supremacy destroy all of that. 2368 01:49:39,800 --> 01:49:43,133 We have to understand the conditions 2369 01:49:43,133 --> 01:49:47,933 that allowed a duly elected government to be overthrown 2370 01:49:47,933 --> 01:49:51,366 in a democracy. 2371 01:49:51,366 --> 01:49:53,100 The only way that 2372 01:49:53,100 --> 01:49:55,833 we can deal with this is not to slough it off 2373 01:49:55,833 --> 01:49:59,166 as "This is not who we are, this is not what we do." 2374 01:49:59,166 --> 01:50:02,066 But is to understand, yes, we did this. 2375 01:50:02,066 --> 01:50:05,066 And that we will never do this again. 2376 01:50:05,066 --> 01:50:08,966 WOMAN: ♪ You can take my body, you can take my bones ♪ 2377 01:50:08,966 --> 01:50:12,200 ♪ You can take my blood, but not my soul ♪ 2378 01:50:12,200 --> 01:50:15,700 ♪ You can take my body, you can take my bones ♪ 2379 01:50:15,700 --> 01:50:20,966 ♪ Take my blood, but not my soul. ♪ 2380 01:50:28,200 --> 01:50:30,966 ♪ ♪ 2381 01:50:40,766 --> 01:50:45,166 ♪ ♪ 2382 01:50:50,133 --> 01:50:54,566 ANNOUNCER: "American Experience: American Coup: Wilmington 1898" 2383 01:50:54,566 --> 01:50:58,266 is available with PBS Passport and on Amazon Prime Video. 2384 01:50:58,266 --> 01:51:02,400 ♪ ♪ 2385 01:51:18,733 --> 01:51:21,866 ♪ ♪