WILMINGTON, NC
In 1898, Wilmington, NC was the site of a bloody coup led by white supremacists in reaction to the city’s elected multiracial government. Even today, as a community that is home to descendants of black citizens exiled or killed and white coup participants, the city continues to work toward healing after these tragic events. Our team spent time listening to and working with Wilmingtonians to facilitate opportunities for discussion and artistic expression.
History of Wilmington
Following the Civil War, Wilmington was North Carolina’s largest and most prosperous city. On November 10, 1898, white supremacists led a massacre of Wilmington’s African-American citizens and staged a coup d’état to overthrow the city’s multiracial elected government.
Our Research
Our Work
Echoes of a Coup
Scene on Radio Season 6, Echoes of a Coup, is produced by Michael A. Betts, II of UNC Wilmington and John Biewen of The Kenan Institute of Ethics, with story editor Loretta Williams. This series tells the story of the 1898 Wilmington coup d’état and puts these events in historical context.
