Wilmington Insurrection of 1898
Encyclopedia
The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, also known as the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 or the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898, occurred in Wilmington, North Carolina
on November 10, 1898 and following days; it is considered a turning point in North Carolina
politics following Reconstruction. Originally labeled a race riot
, it is now also termed a coup d'etat
, as insurrectionists displaced the elected local government. This event is the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in US history. (During the fall of 1874, however, after a contested gubernatorial election, thousands of insurrectionist militia
of the Democrat John McEnery fought the Battle of Liberty Place
, displaced the elected state government based in New Orleans, and occupied government buildings for a few days before retreating before federal forces.)
In the Wilmington Insurrection, Democratic white supremacists illegally seized power from an elected government, running officials out of the city, and killing many blacks in widespread attacks. Among their weapons, they used a Gatling gun
mounted on a wagon. They took photographs of each other during the events. Although residents appealed for help to Governor Daniel Lindsay Russell
and President William McKinley
, they did nothing in response.
. In the 1894 and 1896 elections, North Carolina’s Populist Party fused with the Republican Party to gain control of the state government; they were known as the Fusionists. The Fusionists won the elections and passed laws increasing the franchise for blacks for the first time since the Reconstruction era.
During the 1898 election, however, the Democratic Party was able to gain government control at the state level, in part due to widespread violence and intimidation of blacks by the paramilitary
Red Shirts, acting on behalf of the Democratic Party, which suppressed black voting. Further, Daniel L. Russell was unable to satisfy both the Populist and Republican parties to keep the Fusion coalition viable.
Because Wilmington was a black-majority city, its election was followed statewide. Despite the Democrats' inflammatory rhetoric in support of white supremacy, and an extensive Red Shirt campaign of intimidation against opponents, a biracial fusionist government was elected to office in Wilmington on November 8. White supremacists led by Alfred Moore Waddell
had organized a secret committee of nine and made plans to replace the government in such an eventuality. During the election campaign, whites had criticized Alexander Manly
, editor of Wilmington's Daily Record, the state's only black-owned newspaper, and wanted to close him down.
For some time, Josephus Daniels
, editor of the Raleigh News and Observer, used Wilmington as a symbol for “Negro domination” because of its government. Many newspapers published pictures and stories implying that African American men were attacking white women. Manly denied the charges, claiming the stories represented consensual relationships and suggested "white men [should] be more protective of their women against sexual advances from males of all races." White supremacists publicized his words as a catalyst for violence against the black community.
After the election, whites created a Committee of Twenty-Five, all supremacists, and presented their demands to the Committee of Colored Citizens (CCC), a group of politicians and leaders of the African-American community. Specifically, the whites wanted a promise that Manly would be evicted. The CCC was supposed to respond on November 10, 1898. When Alfred Moore Waddell
and the Committee had not received a response by 7:30 a.m., he gathered a group of white businessmen and Confederate veterans at the Wilmington Light Infantry armory. By 8:00 a.m., Waddell led the armed group to the Daily Record office, where they destroyed the equipment and burned down the building of the only African-American newspaper in the state.
By this time, Manly, along with many others, had hidden or fled Wilmington for safety. Throughout the rest of the day, rioting and gunfire took place throughout Wilmington. The insurrectionists drove political and business leaders from the town. The estimated number of deaths ranges from six to 100, all blacks. Because of incomplete records by the hospital, churches and coroner's office, the number of people killed remains uncertain, but only blacks died. Hundreds fled the town to take shelter in nearby swamps. After the violence settled, so many blacks left Wilmington that the demographics changed.
Waddell and his mob forced white Republican Mayor Silas P. Wright and other members of the city government (both black and white) to resign. (Their terms lasted until 1899). They installed a new city council that elected Waddell to take over as mayor by 4 p.m. that day. Subsequent to Waddell's usurping power, the Democratic state legislators (see North Carolina General Assembly of 1899-1900
) passed the first Jim Crow laws
for North Carolina
. The Democrats had essentially created martial law for African Americans in North Carolina, setting an example that had influence beyond the state's borders for at least fifty years. The legislature circumscribed federal rights which blacks had secured in constitutional amendments after the Civil War
; for instance, by imposing poll tax
es and literacy tests, the legislators sharply reduced voting by most blacks. Not until the African-American Civil Rights Movement
and passage of national laws several generations later would African Americans regain their civil rights in North Carolina.
Among the nine conspirators to plan the insurrection was Hugh MacRae. He later donated land to New Hanover County outside Wilmington for a park, which was named in his honor. His descendant contributed to the 1998 commemoration.
The night before the election, Waddell spoke:
"You are Anglo-Saxons. You are armed and prepared and you will do your duty…Go to the polls tomorrow, and if you find the negro out voting, tell him to leave the polls and if he refuses, kill him, shoot him down in his tracks. We shall win tomorrow if we have to do it with guns."
The Democratic Party won by a landslide.
, and Tulsa, Oklahoma
, commemoration organizing began at the grassroots level. In 1995, informal conversations began between the African-American community, UNC-Wilmington's university faculty, and civil rights activists. The intention was to inform residents fully about what really happened on that day, and to agree on a monument in remembrance of the event. On November 10, 1996, the town of Wilmington held a program inviting the community to help make plans for the 1998 centennial commemoration. Over 200 people came to the program, including local state representatives and members of the city council. Some descendants of the white supremacy leaders of 1898 were opposed to any type of commemoration.
In early 1998, Wilmington planned a series of "Wilmington in Black and White" lectures, which brought in political leaders, academic specialists and civic rights activists, as well as facilitators such as Common Ground. Word spread that George Rountree III was to attend the discussion to be held at St. Stephen's A.M.E. Church. As his grandfather was known to have been one of the leaders of the white violence in 1898, Rountree attracted a large crowd. Following a speech by John Haley, a noted African-American historian of race relations from UNC-Wilmington, Rountree rose to speak. He started by making known his personal support for equality. Rountree went on to talk about his relationship with his grandfather, saying that he "refused to apologize for his grandfather's actions, insisting that he was the product of his times." Rountree did not apologize for what his ancestor had done. Some descendants felt that way because they had no part in their family's actions.
Many listeners argued with Rountree about his position and refusal to apologize. Some stated that "although he bore no responsibility for those events, he personally had benefited from them." An African American, Kenneth Davis
, spoke of his own grandfather's achievements during those times, which Rountree's grandfather had "snuffed out" by his violence. Davis said that the "past of Wilmington's black community…was not the past Rountree preferred." After much debate among the listeners, backed up by countless people giving "muffled shouts of approval," Davis rose to thank Rountree for speaking at the event.
Recognizing that the black community had suffered economically following the insurrection, the Commission grappled with a response. It adopted a two-part approach: the "first was the creation of an economic development committee to explore the possible economic benefits of black-heritage tourism
, a concept that was strongly endorsed by a number of African Americans within the organization. The second approach, accomplished through cooperation with the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, was the creation of the community-based Partners for Economic Inclusion, which sponsored a major conference in September 1998 to address "the issue of inclusion of the black community in the greater business environment."
In 2000, the North Carolina General Assembly
established the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission to develop a historical record of the event and to assess the economic impact of the riot on blacks locally and across the region and state. The commission was co-chaired by state legislator Thomas E. Wright
. Some people felt his 2007 campaign finance scandal tainted the work of the commission and its proposed legislation.
The Commission's history by LeRae Umfleet was released in 2006. In January 2007, the North Carolina Democratic Party
officially acknowledged and renounced the actions by party leaders during the Wilmington insurrection and the white supremacy campaigns.
Historians noted that the press in Raleigh contributed to the riots by publishing inflammatory stories in addition to the results of the elections in Wilmington. This encouraged white men from other parts of the state to travel and participate in the upcoming coup d'état. Articles in the Charlotte Observer have also been cited as adding to the inflamed emotions.
' 2011 novel, A Moment in the Sun, where it takes up roughly 20% of Sayle's narrative. While many of the characters are fictional, Sayles' account does include some historical figures.
The Marrow of Tradition
was written by African-American author Charles Waddell Chesnutt in 1901 as a plea for racial justice.
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
on November 10, 1898 and following days; it is considered a turning point in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
politics following Reconstruction. Originally labeled a race riot
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
, it is now also termed a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, as insurrectionists displaced the elected local government. This event is the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in US history. (During the fall of 1874, however, after a contested gubernatorial election, thousands of insurrectionist militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
of the Democrat John McEnery fought the Battle of Liberty Place
Battle of Liberty Place
The Battle of Liberty Place was an attempted insurrection by the Crescent City White League against the legal Reconstruction state government on September 14, 1874 in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it was then based....
, displaced the elected state government based in New Orleans, and occupied government buildings for a few days before retreating before federal forces.)
In the Wilmington Insurrection, Democratic white supremacists illegally seized power from an elected government, running officials out of the city, and killing many blacks in widespread attacks. Among their weapons, they used a Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
mounted on a wagon. They took photographs of each other during the events. Although residents appealed for help to Governor Daniel Lindsay Russell
Daniel Lindsay Russell
Daniel Lindsay Russell, Jr. was the 49th Governor of North Carolina from 1897 to 1901, an attorney and judge, and a politician. Although he fought with the Confederacy during the Civil War, he and his father were both Unionists...
and President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, they did nothing in response.
Setting and execution
Wilmington, then the largest city in the state, had a majority-black population, numerous black professionals and a rising middle class, and a strong, biracial Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. In the 1894 and 1896 elections, North Carolina’s Populist Party fused with the Republican Party to gain control of the state government; they were known as the Fusionists. The Fusionists won the elections and passed laws increasing the franchise for blacks for the first time since the Reconstruction era.
During the 1898 election, however, the Democratic Party was able to gain government control at the state level, in part due to widespread violence and intimidation of blacks by the paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
Red Shirts, acting on behalf of the Democratic Party, which suppressed black voting. Further, Daniel L. Russell was unable to satisfy both the Populist and Republican parties to keep the Fusion coalition viable.
Because Wilmington was a black-majority city, its election was followed statewide. Despite the Democrats' inflammatory rhetoric in support of white supremacy, and an extensive Red Shirt campaign of intimidation against opponents, a biracial fusionist government was elected to office in Wilmington on November 8. White supremacists led by Alfred Moore Waddell
Alfred Moore Waddell
Alfred Moore Waddell was a Democratic U. S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1871 and 1879 and later mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina.-Family and education:...
had organized a secret committee of nine and made plans to replace the government in such an eventuality. During the election campaign, whites had criticized Alexander Manly
Alexander Manly
Alexander Manly was an African-American newspaper editor in North Carolina in the late 19th century and a descendant of North Carolina Gov. Charles Manly....
, editor of Wilmington's Daily Record, the state's only black-owned newspaper, and wanted to close him down.
For some time, Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels was a newspaper editor and publisher from North Carolina who was appointed by United States President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Secretary of the Navy during World War I...
, editor of the Raleigh News and Observer, used Wilmington as a symbol for “Negro domination” because of its government. Many newspapers published pictures and stories implying that African American men were attacking white women. Manly denied the charges, claiming the stories represented consensual relationships and suggested "white men [should] be more protective of their women against sexual advances from males of all races." White supremacists publicized his words as a catalyst for violence against the black community.
After the election, whites created a Committee of Twenty-Five, all supremacists, and presented their demands to the Committee of Colored Citizens (CCC), a group of politicians and leaders of the African-American community. Specifically, the whites wanted a promise that Manly would be evicted. The CCC was supposed to respond on November 10, 1898. When Alfred Moore Waddell
Alfred Moore Waddell
Alfred Moore Waddell was a Democratic U. S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1871 and 1879 and later mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina.-Family and education:...
and the Committee had not received a response by 7:30 a.m., he gathered a group of white businessmen and Confederate veterans at the Wilmington Light Infantry armory. By 8:00 a.m., Waddell led the armed group to the Daily Record office, where they destroyed the equipment and burned down the building of the only African-American newspaper in the state.
By this time, Manly, along with many others, had hidden or fled Wilmington for safety. Throughout the rest of the day, rioting and gunfire took place throughout Wilmington. The insurrectionists drove political and business leaders from the town. The estimated number of deaths ranges from six to 100, all blacks. Because of incomplete records by the hospital, churches and coroner's office, the number of people killed remains uncertain, but only blacks died. Hundreds fled the town to take shelter in nearby swamps. After the violence settled, so many blacks left Wilmington that the demographics changed.
Waddell and his mob forced white Republican Mayor Silas P. Wright and other members of the city government (both black and white) to resign. (Their terms lasted until 1899). They installed a new city council that elected Waddell to take over as mayor by 4 p.m. that day. Subsequent to Waddell's usurping power, the Democratic state legislators (see North Carolina General Assembly of 1899-1900
North Carolina General Assembly of 1899-1900
Members of the North Carolina General Assembly for the 1899–1900 session were elected in November 1898. The election saw the Democratic Party return to majority status in both houses, replacing the fusion of Republicans and Populists...
) passed the first Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
for North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The Democrats had essentially created martial law for African Americans in North Carolina, setting an example that had influence beyond the state's borders for at least fifty years. The legislature circumscribed federal rights which blacks had secured in constitutional amendments after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
; for instance, by imposing poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
es and literacy tests, the legislators sharply reduced voting by most blacks. Not until the African-American Civil Rights Movement
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
and passage of national laws several generations later would African Americans regain their civil rights in North Carolina.
Among the nine conspirators to plan the insurrection was Hugh MacRae. He later donated land to New Hanover County outside Wilmington for a park, which was named in his honor. His descendant contributed to the 1998 commemoration.
Election of 1900
In 1900, a second "white supremacy" political campaign cemented the Democrats' domination in the state; they elected Charles B. Aycock as governor. Party agitators used photos suggesting "Negro domination" to raise fears and tensions. The crude strategy, plus state changes in electoral rules that sharply reduced African-American voting, brought the Democrats to power again.The night before the election, Waddell spoke:
"You are Anglo-Saxons. You are armed and prepared and you will do your duty…Go to the polls tomorrow, and if you find the negro out voting, tell him to leave the polls and if he refuses, kill him, shoot him down in his tracks. We shall win tomorrow if we have to do it with guns."
The Democratic Party won by a landslide.
The 1898 Centennial Commission
By the early 1990s, many residents and officials of Wilmington thought that the events of November 10, 1898, needed to be commemorated and discussed openly. Different histories were referred to by different groups in the city. Similar to efforts to acknowledge riots in Rosewood, FloridaRosewood, Florida
The Rosewood massacre was a violent, racially motivated conflict that took place during the first week of January 1923 in rural Levy County, Florida, United States. At least six blacks and two whites were killed, and the town of Rosewood was abandoned and destroyed in what contemporary news reports...
, and Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, commemoration organizing began at the grassroots level. In 1995, informal conversations began between the African-American community, UNC-Wilmington's university faculty, and civil rights activists. The intention was to inform residents fully about what really happened on that day, and to agree on a monument in remembrance of the event. On November 10, 1996, the town of Wilmington held a program inviting the community to help make plans for the 1998 centennial commemoration. Over 200 people came to the program, including local state representatives and members of the city council. Some descendants of the white supremacy leaders of 1898 were opposed to any type of commemoration.
In early 1998, Wilmington planned a series of "Wilmington in Black and White" lectures, which brought in political leaders, academic specialists and civic rights activists, as well as facilitators such as Common Ground. Word spread that George Rountree III was to attend the discussion to be held at St. Stephen's A.M.E. Church. As his grandfather was known to have been one of the leaders of the white violence in 1898, Rountree attracted a large crowd. Following a speech by John Haley, a noted African-American historian of race relations from UNC-Wilmington, Rountree rose to speak. He started by making known his personal support for equality. Rountree went on to talk about his relationship with his grandfather, saying that he "refused to apologize for his grandfather's actions, insisting that he was the product of his times." Rountree did not apologize for what his ancestor had done. Some descendants felt that way because they had no part in their family's actions.
Many listeners argued with Rountree about his position and refusal to apologize. Some stated that "although he bore no responsibility for those events, he personally had benefited from them." An African American, Kenneth Davis
Kenneth Davis
Kenneth Earl Davis is a former professional American football running back who played for the NFL's Green Bay Packers from 1986-1988 and the Buffalo Bills from 1989-1994.-College career:...
, spoke of his own grandfather's achievements during those times, which Rountree's grandfather had "snuffed out" by his violence. Davis said that the "past of Wilmington's black community…was not the past Rountree preferred." After much debate among the listeners, backed up by countless people giving "muffled shouts of approval," Davis rose to thank Rountree for speaking at the event.
Recognizing that the black community had suffered economically following the insurrection, the Commission grappled with a response. It adopted a two-part approach: the "first was the creation of an economic development committee to explore the possible economic benefits of black-heritage tourism
Heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring...
, a concept that was strongly endorsed by a number of African Americans within the organization. The second approach, accomplished through cooperation with the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, was the creation of the community-based Partners for Economic Inclusion, which sponsored a major conference in September 1998 to address "the issue of inclusion of the black community in the greater business environment."
Historical analysis
Several histories of the event have been published over the years. African-American historian Helen Edmunds began to address the violence in her work, Negro in Fusion Politics in the 1950s. Leon Prather's work, We Have Taken a City, in the 1980s gave a full view of events. Democracy Betrayed, edited by David Cecelsi and Timothy Tyson, was published during the centennial.In 2000, the North Carolina General Assembly
North Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The General Assembly drafts and legislates the state laws of North Carolina, also known as the General Statutes...
established the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission to develop a historical record of the event and to assess the economic impact of the riot on blacks locally and across the region and state. The commission was co-chaired by state legislator Thomas E. Wright
Thomas E. Wright
Thomas Edward Wright was a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives who represented the state's eighteenth district, including constituents in New Hanover and Pender counties, from 1992 to 2008. An EMS instructor from Wilmington, North Carolina, Wright was serving his...
. Some people felt his 2007 campaign finance scandal tainted the work of the commission and its proposed legislation.
The Commission's history by LeRae Umfleet was released in 2006. In January 2007, the North Carolina Democratic Party
North Carolina Democratic Party
The North Carolina Democratic Party is the North Carolina affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the United States. It is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are located in the historic Goodwin house which is located in the downtown area of Raleigh at 220 Hillsborough Street...
officially acknowledged and renounced the actions by party leaders during the Wilmington insurrection and the white supremacy campaigns.
Historians noted that the press in Raleigh contributed to the riots by publishing inflammatory stories in addition to the results of the elections in Wilmington. This encouraged white men from other parts of the state to travel and participate in the upcoming coup d'état. Articles in the Charlotte Observer have also been cited as adding to the inflamed emotions.
In Literature
The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 is fictionalized, with great attention to contemporary documents, within Book Two of John SaylesJohn Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
' 2011 novel, A Moment in the Sun, where it takes up roughly 20% of Sayle's narrative. While many of the characters are fictional, Sayles' account does include some historical figures.
The Marrow of Tradition
The Marrow of Tradition
The Marrow of Tradition is a historical novel by African-American author Charles Chesnutt first published in 1901.-Plot introduction:A fictional retelling of the rise of the white supremacist movement, specifically as it aided the fomentation of what was originally referred to as the “race riots”...
was written by African-American author Charles Waddell Chesnutt in 1901 as a plea for racial justice.
See also
- Mass racial violence in the United StatesMass racial violence in the United StatesMass racial violence, also called race riots can include such disparate events as:* attacks on Irish Catholics, the Chinese and other immigrants in the 19th century....
- Election Riot of 1874Election Riot of 1874The Election Riot of 1874 or Coup of 1874 took place on election day, November 3, 1874 near Comer, Alabama. On that day, the White League , formed an armed mob and invaded Eufaula, killing at least seven black Republicans, injuring at least 70 more, and driving off over 1,000 defenseless...
- Rosewood Massacre
- Tulsa Race RiotTulsa Race RiotThe Tulsa race riot was a large-scale racially motivated conflict, May 31 - June 1st 1921, between the white and black communities of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which the wealthiest African-American community in the United States, the Greenwood District also known as 'The Negro Wall St' was burned to the...
External links
- 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission, North Carolina Office of Archives & History
- "The North Carolina Election of 1898", University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library
- "The Ghosts of 1898", The News & ObserverThe News & ObserverThe News & Observer is the regional daily newspaper of the Research Triangle area of the U.S. State of North Carolina. The N&O, as it is popularly called, is based in Raleigh and also covers Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. The paper also has substantial readership in most of the state east of...
, 3 May 2010 - News & Observer: "City confronts a past long buried", The News & Observer, November 10, 2006
- News & Observer: "Group denies state's race riot report", The News & Observer, November 10, 2006
- Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy, University of North Carolina PressUniversity of North Carolina PressThe University of North Carolina Press , founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina....
, 1998 - "Governor Aycock Pleads with the Race", Cleveland Gazette, March 23, 1901
- "Alex Manly – Wilmington Race Riots", State Library of North CarolinaState Library of North CarolinaThe State Library of North Carolina is an institution which serves North Carolina libraries, state government employees, genealogists, and the citizens of North Carolina...
- "A Statement of Facts Concerning the Bloody Riot in Wilmington, N.C.", University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library