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Race riot was# ' b ■,-a plotted eventinsurrection to win powerWILMINGTON (AP) — What has historically been called a race riot in Wilmington in 1898 actually was a planned insurrection that white supremacists spent months organizing, according to a draft report released by a state-appointed commission.The 1898 Wilmington Riot Commission concluded that the violence, which resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of black people, “was part of a statewide effort to put white supremacist Democrats in office and stem the political advances of black citizens.”The incident is the only known violent overthrow of a government in U.S. history Afterward, white supremacists in state office passed the laws that disfranchised blacks until the civil rights movement and Voting Rights Act of the 1960s.“Essentially, it crippled a segment of our population that hasn’t recovered in 107 years,” said Harper Peterson, former mayor of Wilmington and a commission member. “It’s a major event that went unnoticed.”Some commission members have suggested financing historical exhibitions about the riot and its consequences, portraying the Wilmington riot in school history texts, and developing economic interests in affected areas.In addition, the state shouldissue some sort of apology for its inaction, said lining Joyner, vice chairman of the commission and a law professor at N.C.Central University.The commission must makerecommendations to the Legislature by May 2006.The General Assembly established the commission in2000 in response to a push from two Wilmington legislators. The 450-page report is now open for public comment, and Joyner said he wants to hear suggestions about how the community should respond.“Because Wilmington rioters were able to murder blacks in daylight and overthrow Republican government without penalty or federal intervention, everyone in the state, regardless of race, knew that the white supremacy campaign was victorious on all fronts,” the report says.The report documents the deaths of 22 blacks.“We’ll never know how many people died,” said LeRae Um-fleet, the state archives researcher who has worked with the commission since 2003. “There are not enough tombstones to tell us everyone that was murdered.”Some who heard the report’s details Thursday questioned whether the event should be recorded as a massacre rather than just a riot.“Yes, massacre does apply,” Umfleet said. That’s a big, strong word. But that’s what it was.”
Newspaper Details
Jacksonville Daily News
Jacksonville, North Carolina, US
Sat, Dec 17, 2005
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Daniel E.
FL, USA 06 May 2019
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