Government Overthrow

[screenmagic13]

The only violent overthrow of a government in US History was the 1898 Race Riot in Wilmington, NC. So why has this History been buried to the point where almost no one has heard of it?

I've been part of a group of young filmmakers that has worked tirelessly to put this event on film over the last 4 years. We face constant "warnings" and resistance from revisionist historians, and other self-proclaimed "Heritage Groups" (you can probably guess some of them). Why is this? I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts.

Also, feel free to take a look at our efforts so far (called "The Red Cape" on Kickstarter), feedback is warmly appreciated as we try gain support for this important project.

 

[William Joyce]

When blacks get policies and officials to go their way under threat of rioting, what do you call that?

 

[screenmagic13]

I agree that wouldn't be the most civil way to handle things - its sort of like threatening to go on strike when work conditions are bad, but I guess sometimes its the only option. That's not what happened in 1898, however. Wilmington was very progressive in giving blacks civil liberty, and the riot was a white revolt against progress that was being made by black citizens.

My question isn't "why did the riot happen", but rather, "Why has it been conspicuously left out of History books?"

 

[squeeze berry]

I agree that wouldn't be the most civil way to handle things - its sort of like threatening to go on strike when work conditions are bad, but I guess sometimes its the only option. That's not what happened in 1898, however. Wilmington was very progressive in giving blacks civil liberty, and the riot was a white revolt against progress that was being made by black citizens.

My question isn't "why did the riot happen", but rather, "Why has it been conspicuously left out of History books?"

it certainly has not been left out of all history books or you would not know about it. Was it really a major event in US history?

Methinks you have an agenda.

 

[NeoTemplar]

I agree that wouldn't be the most civil way to handle things - its sort of like threatening to go on strike when work conditions are bad, but I guess sometimes its the only option. That's not what happened in 1898, however. Wilmington was very progressive in giving blacks civil liberty, and the riot was a white revolt against progress that was being made by black citizens.

My question isn't "why did the riot happen", but rather, "Why has it been conspicuously left out of History books?"

because it doesn't fit the political agenda if you actually do some thorough research you'll find many things on both sides that have been purposely left out of the history books such as the fact that black american slavery was created by a black man who wanted to own his black slaves and the fact that prior to that people of every race were made slaves.

 

[screenmagic13]

it certainly has not been left out of all history books or you would not know about it. Was it really a major event in US history?

Methinks you have an agenda.

History books are not firsthand accounts - they are compiled by "interpreters" of historical documents. This was indeed a major civil rights event, and the only coup de ‘etat in our history. Only in 2006 was an official study and report released about the event (it can be accessed online). Otherwise, the history has been suppressed.

My only "agenda" is to preserve information about our the history of our race relations, even when its uncomfortable. You can't find progress by pretending the past didn't happen.

 

[screenmagic13]

You may be onto something. The victors of battle write the history, right?

 

[NeoTemplar]

You may be onto something. The victors of battle write the history, right?

Yes history is written by the victors who are obviously not going to portray themselves as the bad guys, its bad for business unfortunately the battle is not always easily seen or even believed, the majority of people around the world don't care about such things so the victor can easily pull the proverbial wool over our eyes.

 

[screenmagic13]

So unfortunate. To bury our history, even if embarrassing, stunts our progress.

 

[uscitizen]

Wilmington is the government?

You really should get out more.

 

[Godboy]

There is an unlimited amount of history to choose from to teach our kids at school, but they only have so much time to teach it. This is why we limit our history lessons to what has become historically relevant. If this story is unknown to the general public, then it probably doesn't have much historical relevance. In other words, if no one knows about it, it couldn't have shaped our country in any meaningful way.

 

[Pheonixops]

I agree that wouldn't be the most civil way to handle things - its sort of like threatening to go on strike when work conditions are bad, but I guess sometimes its the only option. That's not what happened in 1898, however. Wilmington was very progressive in giving blacks civil liberty, and the riot was a white revolt against progress that was being made by black citizens.

My question isn't "why did the riot happen", but rather, "Why has it been conspicuously left out of History books?"

because it doesn't fit the political agenda if you actually do some thorough research you'll find many things on both sides that have been purposely left out of the history books such as the fact that black american slavery was created by a black man who wanted to own his black slaves and the fact that prior to that people of every race were made slaves.

That is TOTALLY inaccurate.Slavery and the African slave trade existed long before that case in Virginia. Slavery was codified in Massachusetts before the middle 1600's.

 

[Huey]

must be cause a lot of whites got their azz kicked."hoorah"

 

[William Joyce]

So unfortunate. To bury our history, even if embarrassing, stunts our progress.

Progress toward what? White genocide?

Oh, wait. Obama told us not to let that one slip. Slipsies.

 

[screenmagic13]

The Wilmington government is a government. In fact, at the time it was the largest city and center of commerce in the south. The event was not irrelevant - it shook the entire nation to the point that a state of emergency was declared. However, the federal government refused to send troops to intervene. This lack of support directly paved the way for the numerous other race riots at the turn of the century, and lead to the Jim Crow laws that disenfranchised blacks through the 1960s.

The overthrow of the biggest city government in the south definitely qualifies as a coup. Democracy was overturned, and ignored by the US government. This is the ONLY time this has happened in our nation's history. Is that not significant enough to be in history books?

 

[screenmagic13]

Progress toward what? White genocide?

Obviously not - I speak of progress toward civil equality. I'm white, by the way. And a Republican. But I believe in the civil liberties on which our founding fathers built the nation. Even if I don't agree with your opinions and way of life, you should be allowed to have them.

 

[screenmagic13]

I won't repeat everything I said in another reply I just posted, but the event certainly was of national concern at the time. It shaped our nation's history by paving the way for subsequent race riots across the US, and helped catalyze the Jim Crow laws (arguably more than any other event). An it is the only time that a government has been completely overthrown in US history.

 

[screenmagic13]

To answer some of the questions about this coup's significance, here is a synopsis of the history:

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND SYNOPSIS

After the abolishment of slavery, many black citizens found economic and political prosperity in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. The black community dominated the labor force, had a fearless and outspoken newspaper named The Daily Record, and sustained many working professionals, including the Collector of Customs, John Campbell Dancy: one of the wealthiest men in the city. Meanwhile, a small clandestine group of affluent white men, known as the Secret 9, plotted the riot 6-12 months in advance to disenfranchise the black community from the politics and economics of Wilmington.

The Secret 9 employed the silver-tongued orator, Alfred Moore Waddell, a former congressman, to lead an inflammatory campaign against the impending "Negro Domination" in Wilmington. In the months prior to the November 8th election, Waddell provoked much anger toward the success of the black community and pledged his resolve to reverse the progress even if they have to "choke the current of the Cape Fear with the carcasses of the blacks." On election day, it was reported that a group of whites broke into the 5th Precinct and 1st Ward, the largest African-American voting precinct in the city, where they stuffed the ballot boxes with fabricated votes for their party. *This was later proven in the WRR Commission's Final Report as there were many more votes than registered voters in the precinct.

The following morning, Alfred Waddell read a series of resolutions, known as the White Declaration of Independence, that the Committee of Colored Citizens must respond to by 7:30am the next day. The resolutions called for a large part of the employment of black laborers to be replaced with white ones, as well as the banishment of Alexander Manly, the outspoken editor of The Daily Record newspaper. A final resolution demanded that the Mayor and his Board of Aldermen relinquish their duties as public officials.

The Committee of Colored Citizens gathered that evening in David Jacob's Barber Shop and drafted their response. The letter was given to the young lawyer, Armond Scott, to deliver directly to Alfred Waddell's home. However, upon arrival, Scott was frightened away by armed white men. He fled the area and dropped the Committee's response into the post office drop box. The response never arrived. By 8:30 the next morning, a huge crowd of whites had armed themselves at the Wilmington armory.

Led by Alfred Waddell, an armed mob of whites marched from the Wilmington Armory to the The Daily Record newspaper. They broke in and set it on fire. Widespread panic began to ensue. Claims of black retaliation caused more armed whites to join the crowd. They marched into the heart of the black community of Brooklyn where they opened fire on an unarmed crowd of black citizens. Meanwhile, the instigators of the riot, including Alfred Waddell, held Mayor Silas P. Wright and his board of aldermen, three of whom were black, at gunpoint and forced them to resign. Alfred Moore Waddell, then became the mayor of Wilmington.

Targets of the white banishment campaign, most of whom were either prominent black citizens or black sympathizers, were apprehended or killed during the fighting. The violence continued throughout the afternoon and eventually calmed as nightfall set in. No historians know concretely how many were injured or killed during the fighting; although no white fatalities were recorded. In the wake of the riot, hundreds of citizens and families were exiled from the city. Although letters of complaint regarding the massacre and coup were written to the state and federal governments, including President William McKinley, no action was taken to resolve the situation.

In less than a year, the 1899 NC General Assembly passed the first Jim Crow law in the state, introducing the Grandfather clause. Generations to come would live in a world of intolerance and segregation.

 

[squeeze berry]

it certainly has not been left out of all history books or you would not know about it. Was it really a major event in US history?

Methinks you have an agenda.

History books are not firsthand accounts - they are compiled by "interpreters" of historical documents. This was indeed a major civil rights event, and the only coup de ‘etat in our history. Only in 2006 was an official study and report released about the event (it can be accessed online). Otherwise, the history has been suppressed.

My only "agenda" is to preserve information about our the history of our race relations, even when its uncomfortable. You can't find progress by pretending the past didn't happen.

suppressd my ass, it's on wikipedia

 

[William Joyce]

Progress toward what? White genocide?

Obviously not - I speak of progress toward civil equality. I'm white, by the way. And a Republican.

Do you think the races are capable of being "made equal"?