June 2, 2025 • 47 mins
History's Greatest Crimes 🏛️🔪
Democracy Overthrown: The Dark Legacy of Wilmington 1898
The Wilmington coup of 1898 represents a chilling and unprecedented event in American history, characterized as the sole successful overthrow of a domestic government on American soil. This meticulously orchestrated assault, executed by a coalition of white supremacists, culminated in a horrific massacre that claimed the lives of hundreds of black citizens and their white allies, and resulted in the systematic dismantling of a multiracial government in Wilmington. Following the brutal violence, the perpetrators successfully crafted a narrative that misrepresented the coup as a spontaneous race riot, effectively silencing the victims and obscuring the calculated political machinations that led to this atrocity. The implications of this event extended far beyond Wilmington, serving as a blueprint for the establishment of Jim Crow laws and the disenfranchisement of black voters across the South. As we explore this dark chapter, we confront the uncomfortable truths about the fragility of democracy and the continual vigilance required to protect it from those who seek to dismantle it for their own ends.
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Hosts: Michael and Alana are professional historians with a passion for bringing the most captivating and often overlooked criminal events of the past to light. ✨
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Takeaways:
- The Wilmington coup of 1898 was a meticulously orchestrated event that resulted in the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government on American soil.
- This incident stands as the only successful overthrow of a domestic government in American history, marking a significant moment of racial violence.
- The narrative surrounding the coup was intentionally distorted to portray it as a race riot, thus obscuring the true nature of the events that unfolded.
- The aftermath of the coup led to the implementation of Jim Crow laws, disenfranchising black voters and enshrining white supremacy in the political framework of North Carolina.
- The events in Wilmington were not merely a local incident but served as a catalyst for white supremacist movements across the Southern United States.
- The long-term suppression of the truth regarding the Wilmington coup illustrates the enduring impact of historical narratives shaped by those in power.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:25):
Welcome back to History'sGreatest Crimes, where we unearth
the stories that textbookoften forget or perhaps choose to
ignore.
And today, Michael, we're notjust talking about a stolen jewel
or a cunning heist, or we'retalking about a stolen city, a stolen
government, right here onAmerican soil.
That's right, Elena. OnNovember 10, 1898, two days after
(01:47):
the election of stateofficials in North Carolina, the
residents of the coastal cityof Wilmington experienced a carefully
orchestrated descent intochaos. The city, which stood as a
beacon of black advancement inthe post Reconstruction south, became
the target of a mob ofthousands of white vigilantes, and
in the process, whitesupremacists killed hundreds of black
(02:08):
residents and pro Republicanwhite residents as they carried out
a political coup to replaceall of the city's leaders with Democratic
officials.
Indeed, what became known asthe Wilmington coup of 1898 stands
as the only successfuloverthrow of a domestic government
in American history. And theevent was so audacious, so brutal,
(02:31):
that it was deliberatelymislabeled and buried for nearly
a century.
In the days following theWilmington massacre and political
coup on November 10, thenarrative spun by the perpetrators
was that the black citizens ofthe city had spontaneously erupted
in such violence that itnecessitated an equally violent white
response. From that point on,the event was labeled a race riot.
(02:55):
It was described as beingcarried out by a rampaging black
population who were angry atthe outcome of an election.
But the truth was that theWilmington coup of 1898 was not an
act of spontaneous violence,nor was it carried out by any black
citizens. Instead, the eventsof November 10, 1898, were the result
(03:16):
of a long range campaignstrategy by Democratic party leaders.
This premeditation is key.
In that sense. This was acrime not just against individuals,
but against democracy itself.And the narrative was itself part
of the crime. The very act ofmislabeling the 1898 coup and burying
(03:37):
the truth for over a centuryafterwards was an extension of the
original transgression. Itensured that the perpetrator's version
of the event dominated,silencing the victims and obscuring
the calculated politicalmachinations at play.
The architect of the coup, menlike Alfred Moore Waddell, who would
emerge as a key figure,immediately begin crafting this false
(03:59):
narrative to legitimize theiraction. Newspapers like Joseph Daniels,
Raleigh News and Observer wereinstrumental in spreading propaganda
both before and after thecoup, effectively controlling the
story that reached the widerpublic. This wasn't an accidental
misinterpretation of events.It was a deliberate strategy to demonize
(04:21):
the black community. Justifythe violence and ensure the coup's
leaders escapedaccountability. The 120 years of
silence and fear that onedescendant spoke of testifies to
the chilling success of thisprolonged suppression.
So let's pull back the curtainon this meticulously planned, brutally
(04:41):
executed, and deliberatelyforgotten crime.
(05:03):
To understand the explosion ofthe 1898 coup, Michael, we first
need to understand the powderkeg. Wilmington in the 1890s wasn't
just any southern city, but itexisted within a south that was rapidly
and violently trying toreassert white dominance after the
promises of Reconstruction.
Exactly the 1890s. They were adark and defining decade for the
(05:26):
south. The optimism ofreconstruction, with its constitutional
amendments aimed at ensuringblack citizenship and voting rights,
were being systematicallydismantled. Across the south, Southern
cities, which had seen pocketsof black political and economic progress,
became battlegrounds. This wasthe era of the redeemers, White southern
(05:47):
democrats determined to rollback these gains and and re establish
the pre civil war racial andpower dynamics.
And they did this through asystem known as Jim crow. It wasn't
just about separate waterfountains, Michael. It was a comprehensive
legal and social systemdesigned to disenfranchise black
(06:07):
citizens, segregate them, andensure their subordination. States
across the south wererewriting their constitutions, implementing
poll taxes, literacy tests,and grandfather clauses, all designed
to strip black men of the votethey had exercised during reconstruction.
But Wilmington in this contextwas an anomaly, an affront to this
(06:30):
rising tide of whitesupremacy. It was North Carolina's
largest city at the time, abustling port, and crucially, it
had a black majoritypopulation, about 56%.
And these black citizensweren't just laborers. They were
artisans, business owners,professionals. There was a genuine
black middle class and heldsignificant political power. As documented,
(06:53):
three of the city's 10aldermen were black. Ten of the city's
26 policemen were black. Andthere was also black magistrates.
This level of blackparticipation and governance was
remarkable for the era, adirect challenge to the post reconstructive
narrative that black peoplewere unfit to govern. Wilmington
was for its time a remarkablyprogressive and in some ways integrated
(07:17):
city.
This was the era of fusionpolitics. In the late 1890s, there
were three main politicalparties, the republicans, the populists,
and the democrats. However,Republican and populist leaders realized
a need to collaborate inopposition to the democratic party
by joining together therepublican goal of gaining equal
(07:37):
rights for black Americans andthe populist goal of helping poor
farmers in the nation. Thefusionists hoped to combat the white
supremacist ideals in RisingTide and of the Democratic party
in the state.
And that political strategy ofthe fusionists had been successful
in cities throughout NorthCarolina, and particularly Wilmington,
which, as noted, was home to alarge, politically active and economically
(08:02):
successful Black community. In1898, Wilmington's key political
power was in the hands of the,quote, big four, who were representative
of the Fusion ticket. Theyincluded Wilmington Mayor Dr. Silas
P. Wright, the county sheriffGeorge Zaduck French, the Postmaster
W.H. chadbourne, and theChairman of Commissioners Flavell
(08:25):
Foster. These four officialsbelonged either to the Republican
party or the populist party,and they were committed to working
together toward their shared goals.
But this black success, thisfusion power, was poison to the white
Democratic elite who saw theirtraditional dominance, their very
sense of social andhierarchical order, slipping away.
(08:46):
This was fueled by a pervasiveideology of white supremacy, often
cloaked in the language ofrace science. This pseudoscience,
which was very popular in thelate 19th century, purported to prove
the inherent superiority ofthe Anglo Saxon race in the inferiority
of others, particularly thoseof African descent. It was used to
justify colonialism, tojustify segregation and the denial
(09:09):
of basic rights. Theybelieved, or at least they propagated,
that black people wereintellectually and morally inferior
and therefore incapable ofself government or to be responsible
citizens.
Democratic leaders and theirsupporters viewed the rise of black
political and economicinfluence as nothing less than an
(09:30):
existential threat to whitesupremacy. So they launched what
they openly, even proudly,called the, quote, white supremacy
campaign. So this wasn't asubtle behind the scenes effort.
Furnifold Simmons, theambitious Democratic party chairman,
and Josephus Daniels, theinfluential publisher of the Raleigh
(09:51):
News and Observer, were keyarchitects of this strategy. Their
stated goal was chillinglyclear. To eliminate forever by ballot
or bullet, black politicalparticipation in North Carolina.
Democratic chairman FurnifoldSimmons succinctly summarized his
approach to ending blackpolitical participation as a three
(10:11):
pronged strategy. TheDemocratic leaders intended to use,
quote, men who could write,speak and ride, end quote, to carry
out their white supremacycampaign, a coordinated assault on
multiple fronts.
The writers they spoke of weremen like Josephus Daniels, whose
newspaper, the Raleigh Newsand Observer, became a veritable
(10:33):
factory of virulent racistpropaganda. The popular newspaper
included heavy handed,outrageously offensive political
cartoons, tunes. And theseweren't just words. They were images
designed to dehumanize,drawing on the tropes of race science,
depicting black people asgrotesque, dim witted figures, or
(10:56):
in a particularly vile trope,as sex starved, threatening white
womanhood. Given that about20% of white North Carolinians were
Illiterate at this time, thesecartoons were. Were an especially
potent tool for disseminatinghate and fear.
Then came the speakers,figures like future North Carolina
(11:17):
Governor Charles B. Icock andthe former Confederate colonel Alfred
Moore Waddell. They were thecharismatic demagogues delivering,
quote, fiery speeches toinflame white voters. And they used
the rhetoric of fear andracial animosity, often invoking
the specter of. Of blackdomination and the supposed dangers
(11:39):
in racial equality. Waddell,in particular, would become a central
figure in the violence to come.
Waddell was an interesting guyin a historical villain sort of way.
As mentioned, he was a formerConfederate colonel, a Democrat,
and a firm supporter of whitesupremacy. He was a lawyer and briefly
owned a newspaper before theCivil War broke out, through which
(12:01):
he actually prompted his viewsopposing secession. But when the
war actually broke out,Waddell joined the Confederacy and
rose to the rank of lieutenantcolonel in the 3rd Cavalry. After
the war, he was elected threetimes to Congress. As a conservative
Democrat, he served on the KuKlux Klan committee. And by the 1890s,
(12:22):
Waddell was no longer acongressman, but he had remained
active in politics, continuingto campaign for Democratic candidates
on the state and nationallevel. And more importantly, he lived
in Wilmington, making him agreat point guy for the state Democrats.
And finally, we have theRiders. These are the infamous Red
(12:43):
Shirts. They weren't justdisgruntled citizens, they were a
paramilitary force,effectively the Ku Klux Klan. In
a different uniform, clad intheir distinctive loose red tunics,
these heavily armed groupsterrorized black communities and.
And their white Republican andpopulist allies.
They conducted nighttimeraids, quote, bursting into homes
(13:06):
to threaten them with violenceshould they vote, or just to simply
beat them, end quote. If theydidn't vote for a Democratic candidate.
They disrupted black churchservices, broke up Republican meetings,
and patrolled polling placeswith open intimidation. Their presence
was a constant, loomingthreat. In the lead up to the 1898
(13:26):
election.
Beyond the Red Shirts, therewere other white supremacist organizations
like the White GovernmentUnion and various white supremacy
clubs. These groups worked toconsolidate white political power
and enforce racial hierarchythrough social pressure and, when
deemed necessary, violence.
And while this statewidecampaign of terror and propaganda
(13:48):
was unfolding, a morelocalized conspiracy was brewing
in Wilmington itself. A groupof influential white businessmen
who came to be known as thesecret nine, were meticulously planning
the local takeover. Men likeHugh McRae, a prominent developer
and a top leader in theWilmington cotton business, and J.
(14:10):
Allen Taylor, president of theWilmington Chamber of Commerce, were
among them.
All of this underscores thatthe Wilmington coup wasn't some spontaneous
uprising as it was laterportrayed. It was a meticulously
planned and executed plotorchestrated from the very top of
North Carolina's white elite.
That's right, Michael. You hadpoliticians like Furnifold Simmons
(14:32):
devising the statewidestrategy, newspaper publishers like
Josephus Daniels shapingpublic opinion through relentless
propaganda, former Confederateofficers like Alfred Waddell inciting
violence and leading thecharge on the ground around, and
future governors like CharlesAcock lending their voice to the
cause. And finally, the secretnine in Wilmington were the local
(14:56):
implementers, the ones whoknew the city and could manage the
logistics of the coup.
The level of this coordinationis actually quite astounding. They
had a comprehensive strategyinvolving media manipulation, inflammatory
political rhetoric,paramilitary terror, and secret planning
committees. They even securedpromises from corporations that their
(15:17):
taxes wouldn't be raised ifthe Democrats won the election, indicating
a deep network of supportwithin the local business community.
This wasn't mob rule. It was acalculated political revolution driven
by the elite's desire toreclaim white supremacy and consolidate
their power.
The flashpoint, the spark thatthe conspirators were waiting for,
(15:39):
came In August of 1898, abouttwo months before the election and
its violence. A Georgia womannamed Rebecca Ann Felton, who was
a prominent suffragist butalso a virulent white supremacist,
had recently given a widelyreported speech. In it, she advocated
violence towards black men toprotect white women. To give you
(16:03):
the full statement, she said,when there is not enough religion
in the pulpit to organize acrusade against said, nor justice
in the courthouse to promptlypunish crime nor manhood enough in
the nation to put a shelteringarm around about innocence and virtue.
If it needs lynching toprotect woman's dearest possession
(16:26):
from the ravening human beast,then I say lynch a thousand times
a week if necessary.
For our listeners out therewho may not be familiar with this
history, it was actuallypretty common for white female suffragists
to express racist views andrefuse to work with black women towards
their goals. It may seemstrange from our modern perspective
(16:47):
because you would expect twominority groups to work together
towards gaining more rights.But that actually simply wasn't the
case. In fact, some historianshave suggested the feminists of the
19th century may have stymiedtheir own efforts as a result of
this racism.
So, as we mentioned, In Augustof 1898, Rebecca Felton gave an extraordinarily
(17:07):
racist speech. She gave thespeech in Tybee Island, Georgia,
to the Georgia StateAgricultural Society. But newspapers
across the south reprinted Atranscript of Felton's speech to
garner support for theDemocratic party. And Alexander Manley,
the editor of the Wilmingtonnewspaper, the Daily Record, responded
(17:28):
with an editorial that didn'tpull any punches.
Alexander Manley and hisnewspaper were powerful voices within
the black community inWilmington. In 1898, his newspaper,
the Daily Record, proudlybilled itself as, quote, the only
black daily in the world. Andimagine the significance of that
paper in the Jim Crow South.
(17:48):
Absolutely. Manley and hisnewspaper were a tangible symbol
of black literacy, politicalengagement, economic aspirations,
and the refusal to be silencedin an era of increasing oppression.
A daily newspaper owned andoperated by black men was a direct
challenge to the whitesupremacist narrative of black inferiority.
(18:11):
So he couldn't let what Ms.Felton said go away. In his op ed
responding to Ms. Felton,Alexander Manly pointed out that
blatant hypocrisy of whitesociety. He wrote, and this is the
crucial part that is oftendistorted or selectively quoted by
the white press. Quote, if thepapers and speakers of the other
race would condemn thecommission of the crime because it
(18:33):
is a crime and not to try tomake it appear that the black men
and women were the onlycriminals, they would find their
strongest allies, and togetherthe whites and blacks would root
the evil out. He wasessentially calling for equal justice
in a shared effort againstcrime regardless of race.
And then the lines that trulyset the white supremacist press aflame,
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the lines that challenged thedeepest racial and sexual taboos
of the South. Manley notedthat some white women were in fact
attracted to black men andthat consensual relationships occurred.
He wrote that many of thoselynched, far from being big, burly
black brutes, weresufficiently attractive for white
(19:19):
girls of culture andrefinement to fall in love with them,
as is very well known to all,in quite quote. And he delivered
the stinging rebuke. He said,quote, you set yourselves down as
a lot of carping hypocrites.In fact, you cry aloud for the virtue
of your women while you seekto destroy the morality of ours,
(19:40):
end quote. He was directlyconfronting the historical reality
of white men's sexualexploitation of black women, a truth
that white society desperatelywanted to ignore.
The white democratic press,already primed by the white supremacy
campaign, seized on Manley'seditorial with calculated fury. Newspapers
(20:01):
like the Wilmington Star,Joseph S. Daniels, News and Observer
and Rally and others reprintedManley's words often out of context,
though they appeared underscreaming headlines like, quote,
vile and villainous and also,quote, an insult to the white women.
Of North Carolina, end quote.Some papers, like the Wilmington
(20:21):
Star, reportedly reprinted theeditorial in nearly every issue in
the months leading up to theNovember election, ensuring it remained
a constant source of agitationand on voters minds.
Manley's op ed became atouchstone of the Democratic white
supremacy campaign in NorthCarolina. It was a carefully chosen
(20:42):
instrument to, quote, furtheranger whites, end quote. Thomas Claussen,
the editor of the Wilmingtonmessenger, later claimed that the
editorial, quote, madeWilmington seethe with uncontrollable
indignation, bitterness andrage. This outrage, however, was
largely manufactured andexpertly manipulated, playing directly
(21:06):
into the white supremacistideology that framed any challenge
to racial hierarchy as anexistential threat.
This is a crucial point.Manley's editorial, while undoubtedly
bold and a direct challenge tothe racial and sexual hypocrisies
of the time, was not the causeof the coup. It was the pretext.
The white supremacy campaign,the organization of the red shirts,
(21:28):
and the secret plotting by thesecret nine were already well underway
months before Manley'seditorial appeared in August.
Exactly. The white pressimmediately and relentlessly amplified
the editorial, framing it inthe most inflammatory way possible
to stoke white fears andresentment. Democrats, as one source
(21:49):
notes, capitalized on Manley'seditorial, carrying copies with them
to generate controversy andstrengthen their appeal. But if Manley
had never written hiseditorial, the conspirators would
likely have found or createdanother justification. The level
of planning and determinationindicates the coup was not contingent
(22:10):
on this single event. As thenovelist Charles Chestnut, writing
about the period, astutelyobserved, a peg was needed upon which
to hang a coup d' etat, andManly's words became that peg.
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So far, we've discussed howDemocrats in Wilmington used Alexander
Manley's editorial aspropaganda. In the months leading
up to the 1898 election. Theycoupled the successful propaganda
campaign with widespread voterintimidation by the red shirt patrols
at polling stations andoutright ballot stuffing. On the
eve of the election onNovember 7, the former Confederate
(23:01):
Colonel Alfred Moore Waddelleven made a call to direct murder.
He told white citizens inWilmington to, quote, go to the polls
tomorrow. If you find a blackman out voting, tell him to leave
the polls. If he refuses, killhim, shoot him down in his tracks,
end quote. Similarly, inanother speech that day, Waddell
suggested that white citizensshould, quote, choke the Cape Fear
(23:23):
river with carcasses, endquote, if necessary to keep African
Americans from voting.
It's no surprise, then, thatthe Democrats swept the election
across North Carolina. TheWilmington messenger on November
9th didn't mince words,declaring, yesterday was a glorious
day for white supremacy in NewHanover county, end quote.
(23:44):
But even with this statewidevictory, the legitimately elected
multiracial government inWilmington was still in place. Local
municipal elections weren'tscheduled until the following year.
That delay was unacceptable tothe conspirators. The very next day,
November 9, hundreds of whiteleaders and citizens convened. They
passed a series of resolutionsthat would become known, chillingly
(24:07):
as the, quote, whiteDeclaration of Independence, end
quote.
This document was anunambiguous assertion of white power.
It declared that whitecitizens in the city of Wilmington
and the county of New Hanoverwould, quote, never again be ruled
by men of African origin, endquote. It demanded that Alexander
(24:27):
Manley leave the cityimmediately and cease publication
of his paper. And it calledfor the resignations of Wilmington's
Republican mayor, SilasWright, and the chief of police,
George Zaduck French.
A committee led by none otherthan Waddell, the former Confederate
colonel, was selected toimplement these resolutions in Wilmington.
They presented their demandsto a hastily formed Committee of
(24:50):
Colored Citizens, a group ofprominent black local leaders.
The committee was given analmost impossibly short deadline.
They had to comply with alldemands by 7:30 the next morning,
November 10th. One member ofthe committee, attorney Armand Scott,
was tasked with delivering thecommittee's response to Waddell.
(25:11):
However, fearing for hissafety if he delivered it in person
to Waddell's home, hereportedly mailed it instead. A small
act of defiance, perhaps, orsimply self preservation in the face
of overwhelming menace.
The deadline loomed. Thereply, whether it arrived or not,
seemed almost irrelevant.Waddell and his men were already
(25:32):
gathering. It seemed like thewhole city of Wilmington was holding
its breath.
On the morning of November 10,there was no satisfactory response
from the committee of blackleaders. Or at least that's the claim
made by the white. Waddell, aman of his violent word, was at the
Wilmington Light infantryarmory. A crowd began to gather quickly,
(25:54):
swelling to an estimated1500-2000 armed white men. This wasn't
just a spontaneous mob.
No, this was a well armedforce. It included townsfolk, local
businessmen, and crucially,members of the local white militia
units like the WilmingtonLight infantry, who were present
and ready to support the redshirts and Alfred Moore. Waddell,
(26:15):
the silver tongue orator ofwhite supremacy, was now effectively
their general providingmarching orders.
The first target of the mobwas Alexander Manley's Daily Record
newspaper office. Waddell ledthe procession of armed men to the
newspaper office, which waslocated in the Love and Charity hall,
an important black communitycenter and a symbol of Black enterprise.
(26:37):
They broke into the building,ransacked the office, destroyed the
printing presses andequipment, and then they set it ablaze,
burning the building to theground. The destruction of the Daily
Record was not just aboutsilencing one editor. It was about
extinguishing a vital voicefor the entire black community. Alexander
Manley and his brother Frank,by this point had likely already
(26:58):
fled Wilmington, possiblyusing their light skin to pass as
white and escape the lynch mobthat was undoubtedly hunting for
them.
The Reverend J. Allen Kirk, ablack pastor in Wilmington, who was
himself a target of the whitesupremacists, later wrote an eyewitness
account of the event called AStatement of Facts concerning the
(27:18):
Bloody riot in Wilmington,North Carolina. He described how
on the morning of the 10th, hesaw a young man rushing by on his
wheel whom he called to andasked what the trouble was. He said
they were all gathering at thearmory on Market street, preparing
to burn the Record. Realizingthe imminent danger, Reverend Kirk,
(27:39):
quote, took his family to thesuburbs of the city, hiding in the
black cemetery until thedisturbances of the day were quite
over. End quote.
By 11am the violence was nolonger contained to the newspaper
office. It exploded across thecity. Shots rung out and, quote,
each side claimed the firstshot was fired by the other, end
quote. But in reality, thepower imbalance was grotesquely skewed.
(28:03):
Red shirts, local militiamenand white vigilantes, now emboldened
by the destruction of thenewspaper office and the lack of
any opposition, turned theirguns on black residents throughout
Wilmington. Some black menfacing annihilation, attempted to
return fire, but they werehopelessly outmanned and outgunned.
The white supremacists hadensured this imbalance. In the days
(28:26):
leading up to the coup, localmerchants had actually intentionally
and knowingly stopped sellingammunition to black, black customers.
And they had a machine gun.This wasn't just rifles and pistols.
The Wilmington Light infantry,one of the white militia units, boasted
a machine gun squad, completewith a rapid fire Gatling gun. This
(28:46):
modern weapon of war had beenpurchased by white businessmen specifically
for this purpose before theelection and was mounted on a wagon
ready for deployment againstthe city's black population. The
sight of a Gatling gun beingturned on a civilian population is
horrifying to imagine.
Reverend Kirk's account of theensuing terror is harrowing and provides
(29:07):
a visceral sense of the chaos.He said, quote, firing began, and
it seemed like a mightybattle. In wartime. The streets were
dotted with their dead bodies,end quote.
He continued, describing theindiscriminate nature of the violence.
Quote, they gathered aroundblack homes firing like great sportsmen
firing at rabbits in an openfield. Field. One fellow was walking
(29:29):
along a railroad and they shothim down without any provocation.
End quote. Nada. McDonaldCotton, who was just a young child
at the time, also left atypescript detailing her family's
terrifying experience. Herfamily was the only black family
living in their whiteneighborhood, making their situation
particularly perilous. Butultimately, members of the neighborhood
(29:51):
came together to guard theCotton house through the day and
night of November 10th and11th, which saved the family and
their home.
The exact death toll remains asubject of debate and sorrow, largely
because the records wereeither not kept or were deliberately
obscured by the perpetrators.One source suggests that at least
(30:11):
14 and perhaps as many as 60men were murdered. However, other
estimates suggest the numbercould be as high as 300 black citizens
killed. We know the names of afew of the murdered as reported to
the coroner. They were JoshHalsey, Daniel Wright, William Muzan,
John L. Gregory, John L.Townsend, Silas Brown and Sam McFarland.
(30:38):
Each name represents a life stolen.
Reverend Kirk mentioned awhite gentleman telling him he saw,
quote, 10 bodies lying in theundertaker's office at one time,
end quote. And that somevictims bodies were left lying in
the streets into the next dayor were only found later due to the,
quote, unquote, stench andmiasma that came forth from their
decaying bodies under their houses.
(31:00):
While this horrific massacrewas unfolding in the streets, Alfred
Waddell and the other leadersof the white supremacist movement
were busy with the coup partof this event. The legitimately elected
city officials, the Republicanmayor, Silas P. Wright, the city
alderman, both black andwhite, who were part of the fusionist
government, and the chief ofpolice, all of them were forced to
(31:23):
resign at gunpoint in City Hall.
By late afternoon of November10, the Government of Wilmington
had been entirely dismantledand it was replaced by men hand picked
by the leading Democrats. Andwho was elected, in quotes, mayor,
by the newly seated, whollyillegitimate board of Aldermen. Well,
none other than former ColonelAlfred Moore Waddell. The man who
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had led the mob and incitedthe violence was now mayor.
We should also note that someof the members of the Secret Nine,
that influential behind thescenes democratic group in Wilmington,
were given offices in themunicipal government. Hugh McRae,
the developer and cottonbusinessman, became a city alderman.
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It seems that the 1898 coupwas politically and economically
advantageous to elite membersof the Secret Nine as well then.
And the purge didn't stop withthe elected officials, prominent
black citizens, communityLeaders, successful businessmen,
ministers, anyone who could beseen as a voice of opposition, along
with their white allies whohad supported the Fusion government,
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were rounded up. They wereforcibly marched to the train station,
often under armed guard, andbanished from Wilmington, threatened
with death if they ever daredreturn to the city. This systematically
stripped the black communityof its leadership and its allies.
The violence on November 10was not just random chaos. It had
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a terrifying dual nature. Onone hand, it was a brutal, performative
display of terror meant to cowthe entire black population into
submission and send a messagethat any resistance was futile. The
indiscriminate shootings, theburning of the daily record in full
view of the cheering mob, theparading of the Gatling gun, these
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were all designed to inflictmaximum psychological damage.
But simultaneously, it was aseries of calculated strategic actions
and aimed at dismantling blackinstitutions, at eliminating black
leadership through murder orbanishment, and seizing complete
political control of the city.The forced resignations at city hall
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were happening while thebullets were flying in other parts
of the city. The burning ofthe press was both symbolic, the
silence of a powerful blackvoice, as well as practical destroying
a very successful black ownedbusiness. The killings were intended
to terrorize the broadercommunity and physically eliminate
individuals perceived asthreats or those who might rally
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resistance.
This wasn't just a, quote,riot that got out of hand. It was
controlled chaos, meticulouslydirected towards achieving specific
strategic outcomes, whichincluded the utter subjugation of
Wilmington's black communityand the seizure of all levels of
power by white supremacists.
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The smoke eventually clearedover Wilmington, but the ashes left
a permanent stain not just onthe city, but on North Carolina and
arguably the nation. Thesilence that followed the violence
was almost as damning as theviolence itself.
In the wake of such blatantviolence, the murder of scores of
citizens and an illegaloverthrow of an elected government,
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you'd expect a swift anddecisive response from higher authorities.
Right. Federal troops torestore order. Arrest of the ringleaders,
prosecution for murder andtreason. Something right, actually.
Crickets. State and federalleaders largely failed to react,
or their reactions weretoothless. President William McKinley,
despite the national attentionthe events garnered, received no
(35:14):
official request forassistance from the North Carolina's
Governor, Daniel Russell.Russell himself was a Republican,
theoretically opposed of theDemocratic white supremacists. But
he seemed powerless. Orperhaps he was unwilling to intervene
effectively against suchentrenched and violent movement.
Governor Russell was aperplexing guy. As mentioned, he
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was a Republican and supportedmost Republican policies. But he
did not see black and whitemen as Equals, nor did he want them
to be. Around the same timethat the Wilmington coup was taking
place. Governor Russellrefused to deliver a speech to a
black audience, noting that inview of my activity in the white
supremacy campaign, I feltthat the black residents might not
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relish my addressing them.
The Governor's racist viewsappear to have been common knowledge.
In 1898 in the city ofWilmington, Republicans had already
split themselves into twofactions of anti Russell Republicans
and pro Russell Republicans.One recent anti Russell meeting,
attended only by blackRepublicans, adopted resolutions
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opposing Russell's nominationfor governor in the next round of
elections. And an anti Russellarticle in the newspaper, the Wilmington
Sentinel, had recentlyattacked Governor Russell's character
and asserted that he would notbe nominated since Russell had called
black people savages and haddenied that they were fit to actually
carry out the vote. It alsoquoted Governor Russell as having
(36:40):
stated, quote, all blacks arenaturally born thieves. They will
steal six days in a week andgo to church on Sunday and shout
and pray it off, end quote.
So it doesn't exactly soundlike Governor Russell was very friendly
with the targeted blackcommunity in Wilmington and perhaps
that's why he never requestedfederal assistance in putting down
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the massacre and coup inNovember of 1898.
I think that's actually reallylikely, Elena. It's also possible
that President WilliamMcKinley might not have even sent
federal troops to assist evenif Governor Russell had requested
it. In the aftermath of the1898 massacre and coup, black Americans
nationwide tried to pressurethe President into action, but with
no success.
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We should also note that theU.S. attorney General's office did
conduct a cursoryinvestigation of the event, but the
files were quietly closed in1900 with no indictments ever issued.
It's really quite astoundinghow public all of this really was.
As scholars of this horribleevent have noted, quote, the murderers
gloated about the day, thenational white press concurred and
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historians at the time laudedit. End quote. No one was ever held
accountable for the Wilmingtoncoup. Not a single white supremacist
was ever investigated, chargedor punished for the murders, the
arson, the destruction ofproperty, or the overthrow of the
government. All crimes carriedout in full public view. This lack
of accountability isabsolutely crucial for understanding
(38:07):
why the coup was successfuland why its impacts were so devastating
and long lasting. It sent aclear message to Wilmington, to North
Carolina, and to the widerUnited States that such actions would
not only be tolerated, butpossibly even implicitly endorsed.
The coup leaders moved quicklyto consolidate their ill gotten power.
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Alfred Waddell and the newunlawfully installed board of aldermen
were officially elected inMarch of 1899, facing no Republican
resistance because theopposition had been effectively terrorized
into silence or banished. Thenew Democratic controlled state legislature,
also swept into power throughthe violence and intimidation of
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the 1898 campaign, wasted notime in cementing white supremacy
into law. This was the tragicpattern across much of the south
in this era. Violence andintimidation paving the way for discriminatory
legislation.
They enacted the state's firstJim Crow legislation. Beginning with
the mandated separation ofraces in train passenger cars and
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then the hammer blow to blackpolitical participation, a new suffrage
amendment was added to thestate constitution by voters in 1900.
This amendment, with itsliteracy tests and poll taxes, often
coupled with a grandfatherclause that exempted most white voters,
effectively disenfranchisedblack voters across North Carolina
(39:34):
for generations.
And the impact of suchlegislation was dramatic and immediate.
In 1896, there were 126,000registered black voters in North
Carolina. By 1902, just sixyears later and after the coup and
the new suffrage laws, thatnumber had plummeted to a mere 6,000.
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Economically, black Wilmingtonwas devastated. Successful black
owned businesses weredestroyed during the coup or abandoned
as their owners fled for theirlives. The vibrant black middle class
that had been a hallmark ofthe city was shattered, and the outmigration
following the violencenegatively affected the ability of
black Americans to recover. Inthe weeks and months following the
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Coup, an estimated 2,100 blackWilmingtonians abandoned the city,
seeking safety and opportunityelsewhere. A significant loss of
talent, capital and community.
And for decades, the officialstory, the white narrative meticulously
crafted by the perpetratorsand their allies, was that the events
(40:36):
of November 1898 were a raceriot. This insidious lie painted
black citizens as theaggressors or suggested that the
violence was a necessary,albeit regrettable measure to restore
order. Newspapers like theWilmington messenger and Josephus
Daniels, Raleigh News andObserver were pivotal in creating
(40:59):
and perpetuating this false narrative.
From the outset, the truth wassystematically suppressed. And over
the next century, a falsehistory was taught in schools, reinforcing
the white supremacistworldview. Organizations like the
United Daughters of theConfederacy played a central role
in shaping this distortedhistorical narrative, ensuring that
generations of studentslearned a sanitized and self serving
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version of the events.
Furthermore, quite a few ofthe players in the 1898 white supremacy
campaign went on to becomevery wealthy and even had buildings
named after them atprestigious state universities. For
example, Josephus Daniels,editor of the Raleigh News and Observer,
and the future Democraticgovernor, Charles Brantley Acock,
both of that speaking group ofthe White Supremacy campaign, had
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buildings on the UNC campusnamed for them. And while one could
argue that neither Daniels orAycock actually participated in the
violence of the coup inWilmington in 1898, the same cannot
be said for Cameron Morrison,the leader of a local band of Red
Shirts who did activelyparticipate in participate and who
also had a UNC building namedfor him in 1965, as well as the library
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in Charlotte, North Carolina,and a residence hall at North Carolina
A and T University. However,in 2020, the library and residence
hall were renamed due toMorrison's ties to the Red Shirts
and white supremacy.
It took until the 1990s forhistorians to really begin to dismantle
this lie and excavate thetruth from beneath the layers of
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propaganda and deliberate forgetting.
The eminent historian JohnHope Franklin, whose own work transformed
our understanding of Southernhistory, called the Wilmington Coup
a, quote, turning point inAmerican history. Nothing less than
a revolution againstinterracial democracy, end quote.
He argued its aftermath,quote, strangled the aspirations
(42:55):
of generations of blacks andwhites, end quote.
The Wilmington Coup, afterall, wasn't just an isolated tragic
event. It was a pivotal eventthat served as a direct and rapid
catalyst for the legalcodification of white supremacy across
North Carolina and by anexample in itself, emboldened similar
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efforts throughout theSouthern United States. The fact
that the coup was successful,that the perpetrators seized power,
faced no punishment, and sawtheir actions legitimized by state
and federal inaction was agreen light for the widespread implementation
of Jim Crow laws and voter disenfranchisement.
The coup demonstrated withbrutal clarity that violent overthrow
(43:37):
of a multiracial governmentand the suppression of black political
power would go unpunished byfederal authorities. This created
a permissive, even encouragingenvironment for the forces of white
supremacy. The coup wasn'tjust about local control of Wilmington.
It was a strategic move toreclaim the entire state of North
Carolina and fundamentallyalter its legal and social structure
(44:02):
to ensure permanent white dominance.
The speed with whichdisenfranchisement laws and Jim Crow
statutes followed the coup isundeniable evidence of this direct
linkage. As John Hope Franklinexplicitly stated, it brought the
birth of the Jim Crow socialorder, the end of black voting rights,
and the rise of a one partypolitical system in the south, end
(44:23):
quote. Wilmington, in itstragedy marked a new epoch in the
history of violent racerelations in the US a dark precedent
for places like Atlanta in1906, Tulsa in 1921, and Rosewood
in 1923.
All future episodes a Crimeburied, a truth distorted, a city's
(44:44):
vibrant future stolen. When alie holds for so long, what does
it take to finally bring thetruth to light? And what does that
truth demand of us today?
The Wilmington coup of 1898.It's a story that forces us to confront
uncomfortable truths aboutAmerican history, truths that many
would prefer remain buried.
(45:06):
Contemporary analysis haverightly called the 1898 Wilmington
coup a quote, blueprint forsuppressing democracy. The tactics
employed there, the calculateduse of propaganda and disinformation
rooted in racist ideologieslike race science, widespread voter
intimidation, the deploymentof paramilitary violence by groups
(45:28):
like the Red Shirts, the coopting of legal and political structures,
and then, crucially, the longterm control of the historical narrative.
We've seen echoes of thesetactics throughout history, haven't
we?
And we have. And that'sprecisely why remembering Wilmington
is so critical for us today.It's not just about correcting a
historical wrong, though thatis profoundly important to do. It's
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about understanding theinherent fragility of democracy and
the constant vigilancerequired to protect it from those
who would dismantle it fortheir own ends, often using the same
playbook of fear,disinformation and the demonization
of the other.
Understanding this rhetoricalinversion, how language often infused
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with the poison of racescience was twisted to justify unimaginable
oppression that is key todeconstructing white supremacist
narratives, both historicaland contemporary.
The story of Wilmington isalso, in its own way, a testament
to the resilience of those whosought the truth, like the descendants
of both victims andperpetrators who are now part of
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the difficult but natural,necessary reconciliation efforts
in the city. And it's a stark,enduring reminder of what can happen
when hate is organized, whenit is backed by power, and when democracy
is left undefended.
A crime that lay hidden inplain sight for far too long, its
echo still resonating in thefault lines of American society today.
(46:55):
Join us next time on History'sGreatest Crimes as we delve into
another chapter of the pastthat refuses to stay buried. I'm
Alana.
And I'm Michael. Until we meetagain, stay curious.
Welcome back to History'sGreatest Crimes, where we unearth
the stories that textbookoften forget or perhaps choose to
ignore.
And today, Michael, we're notjust talking about a stolen jewel
or a cunning heist, or we'retalking about a stolen city, a stolen
government, right here onAmerican soil.
That's right, Elena. OnNovember 10, 1898, two days after
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the election of stateofficials in North Carolina, the
residents of the coastal cityof Wilmington experienced a carefully
orchestrated descent intochaos. The city, which stood as a
beacon of black advancement inthe post Reconstruction south, became
the target of a mob ofthousands of white vigilantes, and
in the process, whitesupremacists killed hundreds of black
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residents and pro Republicanwhite residents as they carried out
a political coup to replaceall of the city's leaders with Democratic
officials.
Indeed, what became known asthe Wilmington coup of 1898 stands
as the only successfuloverthrow of a domestic government
in American history. And theevent was so audacious, so brutal,
(02:31):
that it was deliberatelymislabeled and buried for nearly
a century.
In the days following theWilmington massacre and political
coup on November 10, thenarrative spun by the perpetrators
was that the black citizens ofthe city had spontaneously erupted
in such violence that itnecessitated an equally violent white
response. From that point on,the event was labeled a race riot.
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It was described as beingcarried out by a rampaging black
population who were angry atthe outcome of an election.
But the truth was that theWilmington coup of 1898 was not an
act of spontaneous violence,nor was it carried out by any black
citizens. Instead, the eventsof November 10, 1898, were the result
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of a long range campaignstrategy by Democratic party leaders.
This premeditation is key.
In that sense. This was acrime not just against individuals,
but against democracy itself.And the narrative was itself part
of the crime. The very act ofmislabeling the 1898 coup and burying
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the truth for over a centuryafterwards was an extension of the
original transgression. Itensured that the perpetrator's version
of the event dominated,silencing the victims and obscuring
the calculated politicalmachinations at play.
The architect of the coup, menlike Alfred Moore Waddell, who would
emerge as a key figure,immediately begin crafting this false
(03:59):
narrative to legitimize theiraction. Newspapers like Joseph Daniels,
Raleigh News and Observer wereinstrumental in spreading propaganda
both before and after thecoup, effectively controlling the
story that reached the widerpublic. This wasn't an accidental
misinterpretation of events.It was a deliberate strategy to demonize
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the black community. Justifythe violence and ensure the coup's
leaders escapedaccountability. The 120 years of
silence and fear that onedescendant spoke of testifies to
the chilling success of thisprolonged suppression.
So let's pull back the curtainon this meticulously planned, brutally
(04:41):
executed, and deliberatelyforgotten crime.
(05:03):
To understand the explosion ofthe 1898 coup, Michael, we first
need to understand the powderkeg. Wilmington in the 1890s wasn't
just any southern city, but itexisted within a south that was rapidly
and violently trying toreassert white dominance after the
promises of Reconstruction.
Exactly the 1890s. They were adark and defining decade for the
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south. The optimism ofreconstruction, with its constitutional
amendments aimed at ensuringblack citizenship and voting rights,
were being systematicallydismantled. Across the south, Southern
cities, which had seen pocketsof black political and economic progress,
became battlegrounds. This wasthe era of the redeemers, White southern
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democrats determined to rollback these gains and and re establish
the pre civil war racial andpower dynamics.
And they did this through asystem known as Jim crow. It wasn't
just about separate waterfountains, Michael. It was a comprehensive
legal and social systemdesigned to disenfranchise black
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citizens, segregate them, andensure their subordination. States
across the south wererewriting their constitutions, implementing
poll taxes, literacy tests,and grandfather clauses, all designed
to strip black men of the votethey had exercised during reconstruction.
But Wilmington in this contextwas an anomaly, an affront to this
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rising tide of whitesupremacy. It was North Carolina's
largest city at the time, abustling port, and crucially, it
had a black majoritypopulation, about 56%.
And these black citizensweren't just laborers. They were
artisans, business owners,professionals. There was a genuine
black middle class and heldsignificant political power. As documented,
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three of the city's 10aldermen were black. Ten of the city's
26 policemen were black. Andthere was also black magistrates.
This level of blackparticipation and governance was
remarkable for the era, adirect challenge to the post reconstructive
narrative that black peoplewere unfit to govern. Wilmington
was for its time a remarkablyprogressive and in some ways integrated
(07:17):
city.
This was the era of fusionpolitics. In the late 1890s, there
were three main politicalparties, the republicans, the populists,
and the democrats. However,Republican and populist leaders realized
a need to collaborate inopposition to the democratic party
by joining together therepublican goal of gaining equal
(07:37):
rights for black Americans andthe populist goal of helping poor
farmers in the nation. Thefusionists hoped to combat the white
supremacist ideals in RisingTide and of the Democratic party
in the state.
And that political strategy ofthe fusionists had been successful
in cities throughout NorthCarolina, and particularly Wilmington,
which, as noted, was home to alarge, politically active and economically
(08:02):
successful Black community. In1898, Wilmington's key political
power was in the hands of the,quote, big four, who were representative
of the Fusion ticket. Theyincluded Wilmington Mayor Dr. Silas
P. Wright, the county sheriffGeorge Zaduck French, the Postmaster
W.H. chadbourne, and theChairman of Commissioners Flavell
(08:25):
Foster. These four officialsbelonged either to the Republican
party or the populist party,and they were committed to working
together toward their shared goals.
But this black success, thisfusion power, was poison to the white
Democratic elite who saw theirtraditional dominance, their very
sense of social andhierarchical order, slipping away.
(08:46):
This was fueled by a pervasiveideology of white supremacy, often
cloaked in the language ofrace science. This pseudoscience,
which was very popular in thelate 19th century, purported to prove
the inherent superiority ofthe Anglo Saxon race in the inferiority
of others, particularly thoseof African descent. It was used to
justify colonialism, tojustify segregation and the denial
(09:09):
of basic rights. Theybelieved, or at least they propagated,
that black people wereintellectually and morally inferior
and therefore incapable ofself government or to be responsible
citizens.
Democratic leaders and theirsupporters viewed the rise of black
political and economicinfluence as nothing less than an
(09:30):
existential threat to whitesupremacy. So they launched what
they openly, even proudly,called the, quote, white supremacy
campaign. So this wasn't asubtle behind the scenes effort.
Furnifold Simmons, theambitious Democratic party chairman,
and Josephus Daniels, theinfluential publisher of the Raleigh
(09:51):
News and Observer, were keyarchitects of this strategy. Their
stated goal was chillinglyclear. To eliminate forever by ballot
or bullet, black politicalparticipation in North Carolina.
Democratic chairman FurnifoldSimmons succinctly summarized his
approach to ending blackpolitical participation as a three
(10:11):
pronged strategy. TheDemocratic leaders intended to use,
quote, men who could write,speak and ride, end quote, to carry
out their white supremacycampaign, a coordinated assault on
multiple fronts.
The writers they spoke of weremen like Josephus Daniels, whose
newspaper, the Raleigh Newsand Observer, became a veritable
(10:33):
factory of virulent racistpropaganda. The popular newspaper
included heavy handed,outrageously offensive political
cartoons, tunes. And theseweren't just words. They were images
designed to dehumanize,drawing on the tropes of race science,
depicting black people asgrotesque, dim witted figures, or
(10:56):
in a particularly vile trope,as sex starved, threatening white
womanhood. Given that about20% of white North Carolinians were
Illiterate at this time, thesecartoons were. Were an especially
potent tool for disseminatinghate and fear.
Then came the speakers,figures like future North Carolina
(11:17):
Governor Charles B. Icock andthe former Confederate colonel Alfred
Moore Waddell. They were thecharismatic demagogues delivering,
quote, fiery speeches toinflame white voters. And they used
the rhetoric of fear andracial animosity, often invoking
the specter of. Of blackdomination and the supposed dangers
(11:39):
in racial equality. Waddell,in particular, would become a central
figure in the violence to come.
Waddell was an interesting guyin a historical villain sort of way.
As mentioned, he was a formerConfederate colonel, a Democrat,
and a firm supporter of whitesupremacy. He was a lawyer and briefly
owned a newspaper before theCivil War broke out, through which
(12:01):
he actually prompted his viewsopposing secession. But when the
war actually broke out,Waddell joined the Confederacy and
rose to the rank of lieutenantcolonel in the 3rd Cavalry. After
the war, he was elected threetimes to Congress. As a conservative
Democrat, he served on the KuKlux Klan committee. And by the 1890s,
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Waddell was no longer acongressman, but he had remained
active in politics, continuingto campaign for Democratic candidates
on the state and nationallevel. And more importantly, he lived
in Wilmington, making him agreat point guy for the state Democrats.
And finally, we have theRiders. These are the infamous Red
(12:43):
Shirts. They weren't justdisgruntled citizens, they were a
paramilitary force,effectively the Ku Klux Klan. In
a different uniform, clad intheir distinctive loose red tunics,
these heavily armed groupsterrorized black communities and.
And their white Republican andpopulist allies.
They conducted nighttimeraids, quote, bursting into homes
(13:06):
to threaten them with violenceshould they vote, or just to simply
beat them, end quote. If theydidn't vote for a Democratic candidate.
They disrupted black churchservices, broke up Republican meetings,
and patrolled polling placeswith open intimidation. Their presence
was a constant, loomingthreat. In the lead up to the 1898
(13:26):
election.
Beyond the Red Shirts, therewere other white supremacist organizations
like the White GovernmentUnion and various white supremacy
clubs. These groups worked toconsolidate white political power
and enforce racial hierarchythrough social pressure and, when
deemed necessary, violence.
And while this statewidecampaign of terror and propaganda
(13:48):
was unfolding, a morelocalized conspiracy was brewing
in Wilmington itself. A groupof influential white businessmen
who came to be known as thesecret nine, were meticulously planning
the local takeover. Men likeHugh McRae, a prominent developer
and a top leader in theWilmington cotton business, and J.
(14:10):
Allen Taylor, president of theWilmington Chamber of Commerce, were
among them.
All of this underscores thatthe Wilmington coup wasn't some spontaneous
uprising as it was laterportrayed. It was a meticulously
planned and executed plotorchestrated from the very top of
North Carolina's white elite.
That's right, Michael. You hadpoliticians like Furnifold Simmons
(14:32):
devising the statewidestrategy, newspaper publishers like
Josephus Daniels shapingpublic opinion through relentless
propaganda, former Confederateofficers like Alfred Waddell inciting
violence and leading thecharge on the ground around, and
future governors like CharlesAcock lending their voice to the
cause. And finally, the secretnine in Wilmington were the local
(14:56):
implementers, the ones whoknew the city and could manage the
logistics of the coup.
The level of this coordinationis actually quite astounding. They
had a comprehensive strategyinvolving media manipulation, inflammatory
political rhetoric,paramilitary terror, and secret planning
committees. They even securedpromises from corporations that their
(15:17):
taxes wouldn't be raised ifthe Democrats won the election, indicating
a deep network of supportwithin the local business community.
This wasn't mob rule. It was acalculated political revolution driven
by the elite's desire toreclaim white supremacy and consolidate
their power.
The flashpoint, the spark thatthe conspirators were waiting for,
(15:39):
came In August of 1898, abouttwo months before the election and
its violence. A Georgia womannamed Rebecca Ann Felton, who was
a prominent suffragist butalso a virulent white supremacist,
had recently given a widelyreported speech. In it, she advocated
violence towards black men toprotect white women. To give you
(16:03):
the full statement, she said,when there is not enough religion
in the pulpit to organize acrusade against said, nor justice
in the courthouse to promptlypunish crime nor manhood enough in
the nation to put a shelteringarm around about innocence and virtue.
If it needs lynching toprotect woman's dearest possession
(16:26):
from the ravening human beast,then I say lynch a thousand times
a week if necessary.
For our listeners out therewho may not be familiar with this
history, it was actuallypretty common for white female suffragists
to express racist views andrefuse to work with black women towards
their goals. It may seemstrange from our modern perspective
(16:47):
because you would expect twominority groups to work together
towards gaining more rights.But that actually simply wasn't the
case. In fact, some historianshave suggested the feminists of the
19th century may have stymiedtheir own efforts as a result of
this racism.
So, as we mentioned, In Augustof 1898, Rebecca Felton gave an extraordinarily
(17:07):
racist speech. She gave thespeech in Tybee Island, Georgia,
to the Georgia StateAgricultural Society. But newspapers
across the south reprinted Atranscript of Felton's speech to
garner support for theDemocratic party. And Alexander Manley,
the editor of the Wilmingtonnewspaper, the Daily Record, responded
(17:28):
with an editorial that didn'tpull any punches.
Alexander Manley and hisnewspaper were powerful voices within
the black community inWilmington. In 1898, his newspaper,
the Daily Record, proudlybilled itself as, quote, the only
black daily in the world. Andimagine the significance of that
paper in the Jim Crow South.
(17:48):
Absolutely. Manley and hisnewspaper were a tangible symbol
of black literacy, politicalengagement, economic aspirations,
and the refusal to be silencedin an era of increasing oppression.
A daily newspaper owned andoperated by black men was a direct
challenge to the whitesupremacist narrative of black inferiority.
(18:11):
So he couldn't let what Ms.Felton said go away. In his op ed
responding to Ms. Felton,Alexander Manly pointed out that
blatant hypocrisy of whitesociety. He wrote, and this is the
crucial part that is oftendistorted or selectively quoted by
the white press. Quote, if thepapers and speakers of the other
race would condemn thecommission of the crime because it
(18:33):
is a crime and not to try tomake it appear that the black men
and women were the onlycriminals, they would find their
strongest allies, and togetherthe whites and blacks would root
the evil out. He wasessentially calling for equal justice
in a shared effort againstcrime regardless of race.
And then the lines that trulyset the white supremacist press aflame,
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the lines that challenged thedeepest racial and sexual taboos
of the South. Manley notedthat some white women were in fact
attracted to black men andthat consensual relationships occurred.
He wrote that many of thoselynched, far from being big, burly
black brutes, weresufficiently attractive for white
(19:19):
girls of culture andrefinement to fall in love with them,
as is very well known to all,in quite quote. And he delivered
the stinging rebuke. He said,quote, you set yourselves down as
a lot of carping hypocrites.In fact, you cry aloud for the virtue
of your women while you seekto destroy the morality of ours,
(19:40):
end quote. He was directlyconfronting the historical reality
of white men's sexualexploitation of black women, a truth
that white society desperatelywanted to ignore.
The white democratic press,already primed by the white supremacy
campaign, seized on Manley'seditorial with calculated fury. Newspapers
(20:01):
like the Wilmington Star,Joseph S. Daniels, News and Observer
and Rally and others reprintedManley's words often out of context,
though they appeared underscreaming headlines like, quote,
vile and villainous and also,quote, an insult to the white women.
Of North Carolina, end quote.Some papers, like the Wilmington
(20:21):
Star, reportedly reprinted theeditorial in nearly every issue in
the months leading up to theNovember election, ensuring it remained
a constant source of agitationand on voters minds.
Manley's op ed became atouchstone of the Democratic white
supremacy campaign in NorthCarolina. It was a carefully chosen
(20:42):
instrument to, quote, furtheranger whites, end quote. Thomas Claussen,
the editor of the Wilmingtonmessenger, later claimed that the
editorial, quote, madeWilmington seethe with uncontrollable
indignation, bitterness andrage. This outrage, however, was
largely manufactured andexpertly manipulated, playing directly
(21:06):
into the white supremacistideology that framed any challenge
to racial hierarchy as anexistential threat.
This is a crucial point.Manley's editorial, while undoubtedly
bold and a direct challenge tothe racial and sexual hypocrisies
of the time, was not the causeof the coup. It was the pretext.
The white supremacy campaign,the organization of the red shirts,
(21:28):
and the secret plotting by thesecret nine were already well underway
months before Manley'seditorial appeared in August.
Exactly. The white pressimmediately and relentlessly amplified
the editorial, framing it inthe most inflammatory way possible
to stoke white fears andresentment. Democrats, as one source
(21:49):
notes, capitalized on Manley'seditorial, carrying copies with them
to generate controversy andstrengthen their appeal. But if Manley
had never written hiseditorial, the conspirators would
likely have found or createdanother justification. The level
of planning and determinationindicates the coup was not contingent
(22:10):
on this single event. As thenovelist Charles Chestnut, writing
about the period, astutelyobserved, a peg was needed upon which
to hang a coup d' etat, andManly's words became that peg.
(22:41):
So far, we've discussed howDemocrats in Wilmington used Alexander
Manley's editorial aspropaganda. In the months leading
up to the 1898 election. Theycoupled the successful propaganda
campaign with widespread voterintimidation by the red shirt patrols
at polling stations andoutright ballot stuffing. On the
eve of the election onNovember 7, the former Confederate
(23:01):
Colonel Alfred Moore Waddelleven made a call to direct murder.
He told white citizens inWilmington to, quote, go to the polls
tomorrow. If you find a blackman out voting, tell him to leave
the polls. If he refuses, killhim, shoot him down in his tracks,
end quote. Similarly, inanother speech that day, Waddell
suggested that white citizensshould, quote, choke the Cape Fear
(23:23):
river with carcasses, endquote, if necessary to keep African
Americans from voting.
It's no surprise, then, thatthe Democrats swept the election
across North Carolina. TheWilmington messenger on November
9th didn't mince words,declaring, yesterday was a glorious
day for white supremacy in NewHanover county, end quote.
(23:44):
But even with this statewidevictory, the legitimately elected
multiracial government inWilmington was still in place. Local
municipal elections weren'tscheduled until the following year.
That delay was unacceptable tothe conspirators. The very next day,
November 9, hundreds of whiteleaders and citizens convened. They
passed a series of resolutionsthat would become known, chillingly
(24:07):
as the, quote, whiteDeclaration of Independence, end
quote.
This document was anunambiguous assertion of white power.
It declared that whitecitizens in the city of Wilmington
and the county of New Hanoverwould, quote, never again be ruled
by men of African origin, endquote. It demanded that Alexander
(24:27):
Manley leave the cityimmediately and cease publication
of his paper. And it calledfor the resignations of Wilmington's
Republican mayor, SilasWright, and the chief of police,
George Zaduck French.
A committee led by none otherthan Waddell, the former Confederate
colonel, was selected toimplement these resolutions in Wilmington.
They presented their demandsto a hastily formed Committee of
(24:50):
Colored Citizens, a group ofprominent black local leaders.
The committee was given analmost impossibly short deadline.
They had to comply with alldemands by 7:30 the next morning,
November 10th. One member ofthe committee, attorney Armand Scott,
was tasked with delivering thecommittee's response to Waddell.
(25:11):
However, fearing for hissafety if he delivered it in person
to Waddell's home, hereportedly mailed it instead. A small
act of defiance, perhaps, orsimply self preservation in the face
of overwhelming menace.
The deadline loomed. Thereply, whether it arrived or not,
seemed almost irrelevant.Waddell and his men were already
(25:32):
gathering. It seemed like thewhole city of Wilmington was holding
its breath.
On the morning of November 10,there was no satisfactory response
from the committee of blackleaders. Or at least that's the claim
made by the white. Waddell, aman of his violent word, was at the
Wilmington Light infantryarmory. A crowd began to gather quickly,
(25:54):
swelling to an estimated1500-2000 armed white men. This wasn't
just a spontaneous mob.
No, this was a well armedforce. It included townsfolk, local
businessmen, and crucially,members of the local white militia
units like the WilmingtonLight infantry, who were present
and ready to support the redshirts and Alfred Moore. Waddell,
(26:15):
the silver tongue orator ofwhite supremacy, was now effectively
their general providingmarching orders.
The first target of the mobwas Alexander Manley's Daily Record
newspaper office. Waddell ledthe procession of armed men to the
newspaper office, which waslocated in the Love and Charity hall,
an important black communitycenter and a symbol of Black enterprise.
(26:37):
They broke into the building,ransacked the office, destroyed the
printing presses andequipment, and then they set it ablaze,
burning the building to theground. The destruction of the Daily
Record was not just aboutsilencing one editor. It was about
extinguishing a vital voicefor the entire black community. Alexander
Manley and his brother Frank,by this point had likely already
(26:58):
fled Wilmington, possiblyusing their light skin to pass as
white and escape the lynch mobthat was undoubtedly hunting for
them.
The Reverend J. Allen Kirk, ablack pastor in Wilmington, who was
himself a target of the whitesupremacists, later wrote an eyewitness
account of the event called AStatement of Facts concerning the
(27:18):
Bloody riot in Wilmington,North Carolina. He described how
on the morning of the 10th, hesaw a young man rushing by on his
wheel whom he called to andasked what the trouble was. He said
they were all gathering at thearmory on Market street, preparing
to burn the Record. Realizingthe imminent danger, Reverend Kirk,
(27:39):
quote, took his family to thesuburbs of the city, hiding in the
black cemetery until thedisturbances of the day were quite
over. End quote.
By 11am the violence was nolonger contained to the newspaper
office. It exploded across thecity. Shots rung out and, quote,
each side claimed the firstshot was fired by the other, end
quote. But in reality, thepower imbalance was grotesquely skewed.
(28:03):
Red shirts, local militiamenand white vigilantes, now emboldened
by the destruction of thenewspaper office and the lack of
any opposition, turned theirguns on black residents throughout
Wilmington. Some black menfacing annihilation, attempted to
return fire, but they werehopelessly outmanned and outgunned.
The white supremacists hadensured this imbalance. In the days
(28:26):
leading up to the coup, localmerchants had actually intentionally
and knowingly stopped sellingammunition to black, black customers.
And they had a machine gun.This wasn't just rifles and pistols.
The Wilmington Light infantry,one of the white militia units, boasted
a machine gun squad, completewith a rapid fire Gatling gun. This
(28:46):
modern weapon of war had beenpurchased by white businessmen specifically
for this purpose before theelection and was mounted on a wagon
ready for deployment againstthe city's black population. The
sight of a Gatling gun beingturned on a civilian population is
horrifying to imagine.
Reverend Kirk's account of theensuing terror is harrowing and provides
(29:07):
a visceral sense of the chaos.He said, quote, firing began, and
it seemed like a mightybattle. In wartime. The streets were
dotted with their dead bodies,end quote.
He continued, describing theindiscriminate nature of the violence.
Quote, they gathered aroundblack homes firing like great sportsmen
firing at rabbits in an openfield. Field. One fellow was walking
(29:29):
along a railroad and they shothim down without any provocation.
End quote. Nada. McDonaldCotton, who was just a young child
at the time, also left atypescript detailing her family's
terrifying experience. Herfamily was the only black family
living in their whiteneighborhood, making their situation
particularly perilous. Butultimately, members of the neighborhood
(29:51):
came together to guard theCotton house through the day and
night of November 10th and11th, which saved the family and
their home.
The exact death toll remains asubject of debate and sorrow, largely
because the records wereeither not kept or were deliberately
obscured by the perpetrators.One source suggests that at least
(30:11):
14 and perhaps as many as 60men were murdered. However, other
estimates suggest the numbercould be as high as 300 black citizens
killed. We know the names of afew of the murdered as reported to
the coroner. They were JoshHalsey, Daniel Wright, William Muzan,
John L. Gregory, John L.Townsend, Silas Brown and Sam McFarland.
(30:38):
Each name represents a life stolen.
Reverend Kirk mentioned awhite gentleman telling him he saw,
quote, 10 bodies lying in theundertaker's office at one time,
end quote. And that somevictims bodies were left lying in
the streets into the next dayor were only found later due to the,
quote, unquote, stench andmiasma that came forth from their
decaying bodies under their houses.
(31:00):
While this horrific massacrewas unfolding in the streets, Alfred
Waddell and the other leadersof the white supremacist movement
were busy with the coup partof this event. The legitimately elected
city officials, the Republicanmayor, Silas P. Wright, the city
alderman, both black andwhite, who were part of the fusionist
government, and the chief ofpolice, all of them were forced to
(31:23):
resign at gunpoint in City Hall.
By late afternoon of November10, the Government of Wilmington
had been entirely dismantledand it was replaced by men hand picked
by the leading Democrats. Andwho was elected, in quotes, mayor,
by the newly seated, whollyillegitimate board of Aldermen. Well,
none other than former ColonelAlfred Moore Waddell. The man who
(31:45):
had led the mob and incitedthe violence was now mayor.
We should also note that someof the members of the Secret Nine,
that influential behind thescenes democratic group in Wilmington,
were given offices in themunicipal government. Hugh McRae,
the developer and cottonbusinessman, became a city alderman.
(32:05):
It seems that the 1898 coupwas politically and economically
advantageous to elite membersof the Secret Nine as well then.
And the purge didn't stop withthe elected officials, prominent
black citizens, communityLeaders, successful businessmen,
ministers, anyone who could beseen as a voice of opposition, along
with their white allies whohad supported the Fusion government,
(32:27):
were rounded up. They wereforcibly marched to the train station,
often under armed guard, andbanished from Wilmington, threatened
with death if they ever daredreturn to the city. This systematically
stripped the black communityof its leadership and its allies.
The violence on November 10was not just random chaos. It had
(32:47):
a terrifying dual nature. Onone hand, it was a brutal, performative
display of terror meant to cowthe entire black population into
submission and send a messagethat any resistance was futile. The
indiscriminate shootings, theburning of the daily record in full
view of the cheering mob, theparading of the Gatling gun, these
(33:09):
were all designed to inflictmaximum psychological damage.
But simultaneously, it was aseries of calculated strategic actions
and aimed at dismantling blackinstitutions, at eliminating black
leadership through murder orbanishment, and seizing complete
political control of the city.The forced resignations at city hall
(33:30):
were happening while thebullets were flying in other parts
of the city. The burning ofthe press was both symbolic, the
silence of a powerful blackvoice, as well as practical destroying
a very successful black ownedbusiness. The killings were intended
to terrorize the broadercommunity and physically eliminate
individuals perceived asthreats or those who might rally
(33:51):
resistance.
This wasn't just a, quote,riot that got out of hand. It was
controlled chaos, meticulouslydirected towards achieving specific
strategic outcomes, whichincluded the utter subjugation of
Wilmington's black communityand the seizure of all levels of
power by white supremacists.
(34:29):
The smoke eventually clearedover Wilmington, but the ashes left
a permanent stain not just onthe city, but on North Carolina and
arguably the nation. Thesilence that followed the violence
was almost as damning as theviolence itself.
In the wake of such blatantviolence, the murder of scores of
citizens and an illegaloverthrow of an elected government,
(34:50):
you'd expect a swift anddecisive response from higher authorities.
Right. Federal troops torestore order. Arrest of the ringleaders,
prosecution for murder andtreason. Something right, actually.
Crickets. State and federalleaders largely failed to react,
or their reactions weretoothless. President William McKinley,
despite the national attentionthe events garnered, received no
(35:14):
official request forassistance from the North Carolina's
Governor, Daniel Russell.Russell himself was a Republican,
theoretically opposed of theDemocratic white supremacists. But
he seemed powerless. Orperhaps he was unwilling to intervene
effectively against suchentrenched and violent movement.
Governor Russell was aperplexing guy. As mentioned, he
(35:34):
was a Republican and supportedmost Republican policies. But he
did not see black and whitemen as Equals, nor did he want them
to be. Around the same timethat the Wilmington coup was taking
place. Governor Russellrefused to deliver a speech to a
black audience, noting that inview of my activity in the white
supremacy campaign, I feltthat the black residents might not
(35:57):
relish my addressing them.
The Governor's racist viewsappear to have been common knowledge.
In 1898 in the city ofWilmington, Republicans had already
split themselves into twofactions of anti Russell Republicans
and pro Russell Republicans.One recent anti Russell meeting,
attended only by blackRepublicans, adopted resolutions
(36:18):
opposing Russell's nominationfor governor in the next round of
elections. And an anti Russellarticle in the newspaper, the Wilmington
Sentinel, had recentlyattacked Governor Russell's character
and asserted that he would notbe nominated since Russell had called
black people savages and haddenied that they were fit to actually
carry out the vote. It alsoquoted Governor Russell as having
(36:40):
stated, quote, all blacks arenaturally born thieves. They will
steal six days in a week andgo to church on Sunday and shout
and pray it off, end quote.
So it doesn't exactly soundlike Governor Russell was very friendly
with the targeted blackcommunity in Wilmington and perhaps
that's why he never requestedfederal assistance in putting down
(37:01):
the massacre and coup inNovember of 1898.
I think that's actually reallylikely, Elena. It's also possible
that President WilliamMcKinley might not have even sent
federal troops to assist evenif Governor Russell had requested
it. In the aftermath of the1898 massacre and coup, black Americans
nationwide tried to pressurethe President into action, but with
no success.
(37:22):
We should also note that theU.S. attorney General's office did
conduct a cursoryinvestigation of the event, but the
files were quietly closed in1900 with no indictments ever issued.
It's really quite astoundinghow public all of this really was.
As scholars of this horribleevent have noted, quote, the murderers
gloated about the day, thenational white press concurred and
(37:45):
historians at the time laudedit. End quote. No one was ever held
accountable for the Wilmingtoncoup. Not a single white supremacist
was ever investigated, chargedor punished for the murders, the
arson, the destruction ofproperty, or the overthrow of the
government. All crimes carriedout in full public view. This lack
of accountability isabsolutely crucial for understanding
(38:07):
why the coup was successfuland why its impacts were so devastating
and long lasting. It sent aclear message to Wilmington, to North
Carolina, and to the widerUnited States that such actions would
not only be tolerated, butpossibly even implicitly endorsed.
The coup leaders moved quicklyto consolidate their ill gotten power.
(38:28):
Alfred Waddell and the newunlawfully installed board of aldermen
were officially elected inMarch of 1899, facing no Republican
resistance because theopposition had been effectively terrorized
into silence or banished. Thenew Democratic controlled state legislature,
also swept into power throughthe violence and intimidation of
(38:50):
the 1898 campaign, wasted notime in cementing white supremacy
into law. This was the tragicpattern across much of the south
in this era. Violence andintimidation paving the way for discriminatory
legislation.
They enacted the state's firstJim Crow legislation. Beginning with
the mandated separation ofraces in train passenger cars and
(39:13):
then the hammer blow to blackpolitical participation, a new suffrage
amendment was added to thestate constitution by voters in 1900.
This amendment, with itsliteracy tests and poll taxes, often
coupled with a grandfatherclause that exempted most white voters,
effectively disenfranchisedblack voters across North Carolina
(39:34):
for generations.
And the impact of suchlegislation was dramatic and immediate.
In 1896, there were 126,000registered black voters in North
Carolina. By 1902, just sixyears later and after the coup and
the new suffrage laws, thatnumber had plummeted to a mere 6,000.
(39:55):
Economically, black Wilmingtonwas devastated. Successful black
owned businesses weredestroyed during the coup or abandoned
as their owners fled for theirlives. The vibrant black middle class
that had been a hallmark ofthe city was shattered, and the outmigration
following the violencenegatively affected the ability of
black Americans to recover. Inthe weeks and months following the
(40:16):
Coup, an estimated 2,100 blackWilmingtonians abandoned the city,
seeking safety and opportunityelsewhere. A significant loss of
talent, capital and community.
And for decades, the officialstory, the white narrative meticulously
crafted by the perpetratorsand their allies, was that the events
(40:36):
of November 1898 were a raceriot. This insidious lie painted
black citizens as theaggressors or suggested that the
violence was a necessary,albeit regrettable measure to restore
order. Newspapers like theWilmington messenger and Josephus
Daniels, Raleigh News andObserver were pivotal in creating
(40:59):
and perpetuating this false narrative.
From the outset, the truth wassystematically suppressed. And over
the next century, a falsehistory was taught in schools, reinforcing
the white supremacistworldview. Organizations like the
United Daughters of theConfederacy played a central role
in shaping this distortedhistorical narrative, ensuring that
generations of studentslearned a sanitized and self serving
(41:22):
version of the events.
Furthermore, quite a few ofthe players in the 1898 white supremacy
campaign went on to becomevery wealthy and even had buildings
named after them atprestigious state universities. For
example, Josephus Daniels,editor of the Raleigh News and Observer,
and the future Democraticgovernor, Charles Brantley Acock,
both of that speaking group ofthe White Supremacy campaign, had
(41:46):
buildings on the UNC campusnamed for them. And while one could
argue that neither Daniels orAycock actually participated in the
violence of the coup inWilmington in 1898, the same cannot
be said for Cameron Morrison,the leader of a local band of Red
Shirts who did activelyparticipate in participate and who
also had a UNC building namedfor him in 1965, as well as the library
(42:10):
in Charlotte, North Carolina,and a residence hall at North Carolina
A and T University. However,in 2020, the library and residence
hall were renamed due toMorrison's ties to the Red Shirts
and white supremacy.
It took until the 1990s forhistorians to really begin to dismantle
this lie and excavate thetruth from beneath the layers of
(42:32):
propaganda and deliberate forgetting.
The eminent historian JohnHope Franklin, whose own work transformed
our understanding of Southernhistory, called the Wilmington Coup
a, quote, turning point inAmerican history. Nothing less than
a revolution againstinterracial democracy, end quote.
He argued its aftermath,quote, strangled the aspirations
(42:55):
of generations of blacks andwhites, end quote.
The Wilmington Coup, afterall, wasn't just an isolated tragic
event. It was a pivotal eventthat served as a direct and rapid
catalyst for the legalcodification of white supremacy across
North Carolina and by anexample in itself, emboldened similar
(43:15):
efforts throughout theSouthern United States. The fact
that the coup was successful,that the perpetrators seized power,
faced no punishment, and sawtheir actions legitimized by state
and federal inaction was agreen light for the widespread implementation
of Jim Crow laws and voter disenfranchisement.
The coup demonstrated withbrutal clarity that violent overthrow
(43:37):
of a multiracial governmentand the suppression of black political
power would go unpunished byfederal authorities. This created
a permissive, even encouragingenvironment for the forces of white
supremacy. The coup wasn'tjust about local control of Wilmington.
It was a strategic move toreclaim the entire state of North
Carolina and fundamentallyalter its legal and social structure
(44:02):
to ensure permanent white dominance.
The speed with whichdisenfranchisement laws and Jim Crow
statutes followed the coup isundeniable evidence of this direct
linkage. As John Hope Franklinexplicitly stated, it brought the
birth of the Jim Crow socialorder, the end of black voting rights,
and the rise of a one partypolitical system in the south, end
(44:23):
quote. Wilmington, in itstragedy marked a new epoch in the
history of violent racerelations in the US a dark precedent
for places like Atlanta in1906, Tulsa in 1921, and Rosewood
in 1923.
All future episodes a Crimeburied, a truth distorted, a city's
(44:44):
vibrant future stolen. When alie holds for so long, what does
it take to finally bring thetruth to light? And what does that
truth demand of us today?
The Wilmington coup of 1898.It's a story that forces us to confront
uncomfortable truths aboutAmerican history, truths that many
would prefer remain buried.
(45:06):
Contemporary analysis haverightly called the 1898 Wilmington
coup a quote, blueprint forsuppressing democracy. The tactics
employed there, the calculateduse of propaganda and disinformation
rooted in racist ideologieslike race science, widespread voter
intimidation, the deploymentof paramilitary violence by groups
(45:28):
like the Red Shirts, the coopting of legal and political structures,
and then, crucially, the longterm control of the historical narrative.
We've seen echoes of thesetactics throughout history, haven't
we?
And we have. And that'sprecisely why remembering Wilmington
is so critical for us today.It's not just about correcting a
historical wrong, though thatis profoundly important to do. It's
(45:51):
about understanding theinherent fragility of democracy and
the constant vigilancerequired to protect it from those
who would dismantle it fortheir own ends, often using the same
playbook of fear,disinformation and the demonization
of the other.
Understanding this rhetoricalinversion, how language often infused
(46:11):
with the poison of racescience was twisted to justify unimaginable
oppression that is key todeconstructing white supremacist
narratives, both historicaland contemporary.
The story of Wilmington isalso, in its own way, a testament
to the resilience of those whosought the truth, like the descendants
of both victims andperpetrators who are now part of
(46:32):
the difficult but natural,necessary reconciliation efforts
in the city. And it's a stark,enduring reminder of what can happen
when hate is organized, whenit is backed by power, and when democracy
is left undefended.
A crime that lay hidden inplain sight for far too long, its
echo still resonating in thefault lines of American society today.
(46:55):
Join us next time on History'sGreatest Crimes as we delve into
another chapter of the pastthat refuses to stay buried. I'm
Alana.
And I'm Michael. Until we meetagain, stay curious.
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