On November 10, 1898, an angry white mob led by prominent Wilmingtonians like Alfred Moore Waddell, Hugh MacRae, George Rountree, and J. Allen Taylor, murdered anywhere from a dozen to 300 people. These white supremacists forcefully removed black politicians from power, and hundreds of black business owners and residents fled in the aftermath. This feature includes video interviews with local leaders.
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This page documents the only known coup d’état in American history. A 2008 memorial on North 3rd Street in downtown Wilmington commemorates the coup, yet the significance of the event has not reached Americans’ collective consciousness. Through the resources collected here, WHQR hopes to advance the conversation about this seminal American tragedy. Below you will find interviews conducted with Wilmingtonians on the topic of the 1898 and what it means in the 21st century, as well as an interactive map which chronicles the historical events sur