Introduction
Wilmington city was a thriving city along the coast of North Carolina in the 1890s and by far the largest and the most populated. The city’s population primarily consisted of African Americans and Whites, who made up one-third of the total population. According to David Zucchino’s book, this city was mainly characterized by three main issues; racism, white supremacists, and rage. Those aside, Wilmington city was unique since people of color were the majority, unlike other major cities, as they constituted two-thirds of the city’s total population (Zucchino 17). This was rare as it made the whites become the minority group.
African Americans owned most businesses in the city and also went to universities. Their literacy levels and property ownership rates were high. It was also believed that this city had the only black daily newspaper in the whole country. Overall, the book uses modern news articles, journals, letters, and formal correspondence to unfurl personal experiences of hatred, fear, and cruelty to contextualize the 1898 coup.
White people’s reaction to African American progress
African Americans’ rapid growth and progress in all matters economic, social and political created a lot of resentment and hatred from the Whites. White people tried all they could to make life difficult for black people. They raised the annual interest rates to 15% while maintaining it at 7.5% for whites to ensure that people of color could not borrow loans and credit (Zucchino 36). Occasionally, they even tried to prevent them from paying off their mortgages in installments. At the time, this was known as the principal or nothing policy. Nothing could be done if they could not pay the entire mortgage at once. The Freedman’s Savings Bank collapse was attributed to white influence; hence, most of them lost their savings and lost trust with the banks. There was great tension and hatred towards African Americans by the whites. This was because the whites felt entitled and superior to the black people to compete alongside them.
Alex Manly’s description and the role of his newspaper in Wilmington
Alexander Manly was a controversial editor and publisher of the black daily newspaper. On 18th August of 1898, he published a provocative editorial that objected to the stereotypes of African American males as rapists of white women. Zucchino also called out the white supremacists that criminalized the inter-racial relationships between black men and white women without fear. He claimed they were consensual and not rape as it was alleged (Zucchino 34).
Further, he said that white men who fathered and neglected biracial children should stop being hypocrites. Frank taught at Tuskegee University after the Manly brothers were chased out of Wilmington, but Alex remained active in politics. He was involved in the formation of The Armstrong Association, which preceded the National Urban League. His newspaper articles created a lot of controversies, and they created so much rage and bitterness among the whites. To them, it was highly slanderous and degraded white women. This newspaper played an important role in putting ignored and disregarded issues in the open. A perfect example is the issue of white men debauching black women and abandoning their biracial children.
The governor and presidents intervention
Governor of North Carolina and the President of the United States of America did not intervene in the Wilmington insurrection. They treated the incident as an ordinary riot that involved people of color. Accordingly, they deemed their intervention as unnecessary because Alfred Waddell and his team stepped in and calmed the situation. To them, it was usual for the African Americans to riot; thus, their intervention was unnecessary.
Effect on lives of people of color
The lives of African Americans who resided in North Carolina were changed entirely during the insurrection. Most black-owned businesses were destroyed, their residences destroyed and burnt, and others were chased from the state. The Manly brothers, the editors, and publishers of the daily newspaper were chased from the city, and over 2100 black Americans fled the city for fear of their safety (Zucchino 105). The coup resulted in a hostile environment unsuitable for people of color. Thus, most of them left the city while those that remained were treated unfairly
Thomas C. Miller banishment and mistreatment
African Americans elected to public offices were overthrown, and others massacred. The number of African Americans killed during the insurrection was approximately between 60 – 300 people. After the white supremacists took over the leadership of Wilmington city, they expelled all the powerful and influential black men. Thomas Miller, a real estate businessman, was among the black men and women banished. Upon the death of his mother, Thomas Miller wrote to the superior court detailing how he was treated worse than a dog.
Measures towards voting rights denial for people of color
Democrats intimidated and used violence to suppress the black leaders. They destroyed property by stuffing as well as throwing away the ballot boxes. They also hired the Red Shirts goons who went around the city vandalizing property and scaring women and children. They also went to killing over sixty people (Zucchino 183). The elected leaders were forced to step down and were replaced by mob leaders. Whites who were sympathetic with the black leaders were banished from the city.
Before the 1898 elections, the white supremacists threatened black people to prevent voting. Nonetheless, they did not back down and voted in large numbers hence their victory. This angered the white supremacists, and thus they began to spread false information that would cause the people to turn on the majority of black people in power. This way, they could raise an army used to terrorize black people and their white sympathizers. Eventually, they could amass enough support and commence their coup.
The elected officials
Influential black leaders were banished, and the whites ensured those who remained became hopeless. White supremacists made life difficult for people of color, resulting in most seeking refuge in other places. This was done to ensure they had the majority votes by reducing the number of African Americans (Zucchino 187). They then enacted laws that denied Africans their right to vote without any opposition because black people were already so few and scared to oppose. The manly newspaper was burnt down to silence the black people press.
White newspaper description of these events
After the insurrection, white newspapers hardly gave the incident the seriousness it required to avoid drawing too much attention. They treated the coup as a regular thing and were soon forgotten. The number of people of color massacred during the riot was misrepresented to make it look like a typical riot, and hence nothing was taken seriously about the insurrection (Zucchino 114). The newspapers did not publish the changes and restrictions imposed on African Americans regarding their right to vote.
Communities content with the legacy of 100th anniversary
In 1998 the Wilmington insurrection was turning a hundred years, and some of the gruesome details of what happened had been revealed. This did not sit well with the people, as it raised many questions about why something so horrible would be forgotten and treated like it never existed. The African American community protested against the government for failing to take action against those who led the massacre. From my perspective, I knew very little about the 1898 Wilmington massacre. I understood that the white supremacist got into a fight with the people of color who were rioting in a race. The white supremacists led by Alfred Waddell outnumbered them, and for fear of their safety, they fled to other cities. Consequently, the town leaders resigned, and Waddell took over the office, where he served until 1905.
Comparison between people of 21st and 20th century
People in the 21st century are more developed than those in the 20th century but still the same in some aspects. Social media has created a useful platform where people can effect changes without aggressive confrontations (Zucchino 231). However, the same platform has made it even easier to spread propaganda, resulting in conflict and hatred like in the old days. On the surface, it appears that much has changed over the years, yet this is not the case. Legally, people of color have been given equal rights with white people.
However, nothing has changed regarding the state of African Americans. The only difference is that policy changes often follow publicized instances of racial injustice or discrimination. Nonetheless, racism and ethnic stereotypes are still rampant, and many people of color have suffered as a result. For example, the incarceration rate for people of color is high compared to whites due to systemic racism in the criminal justice system. Thus, it appears that the criminal justice mindset against black people has always been “guilty till proven innocent.” Overall, Wilmington’s Lie provides a vivid historical account of the events that have reinforced this mindset.
Work Cited
Zucchino, David. Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy. Grove Atlantic, 2020.