Carolina Snowflakes Podcast

This week on the Carolina Snowflakes Podcast we take a trip back in time to 1898 when America’s only successful coup d’Etat occurred in Wilmington, NC.

A group of armed white supremacists violently overturned Wilmington's local government in a riot not dissimilar to the one seen recently in the Nation’s capitol.

Through gross media manipulation, physical intimidation, abuse and even murder, the group chased thousands of Black citizens out of the North Carolina town and took control of what they believed was rightfully their own.

No one was ever prosecuted or held legally responsible for the acts that occurred in Wilmington and for over 100 years the story was either obscured (whitewashed) or downplayed by the media and government institutions.

Considering recent events in the U.S., the story of the Wilmington Massacre has seen a resurgence of interest. It should be no surprise that today’s events tend to parallel the ones of 123 years ago. As they say, history repeats itself. They also say when we remain ignorant to the truth, we are doomed to repeat history over and over again.

The story of the Wilmington Massacre is fascinating, but also angering when we (The Snowflakes) admit that we were blissfully unaware of it. How did we not know something so historic happened in the state where we reside? This wasn’t taught in our history courses. Was it taught in yours?

References:

Consider This Podcast/NPR. (January 8, 2021).  “Race and the Capitol Riot: An American Story We’ve Heard Before”. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/04/953286955/race-and-the-capitol-riot-an-american-story-weve-heard-before

Randle, Aaron. (October 7, 2020). “America’s Only Successful Coup d’Etat Overthrew a Biracial Government in 1898”. https://www.history.com/news/wilmington-massacre-1898-coup

Lafrance, Adrienne & Newkirk II, Vann R. (August 12, 2017). “The Lost History of an American Coup d’Etat”. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/wilmington-massacre/536457/