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.
