RACE

The Art of the Backlash

From the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 to the present day, America’s legacy of vigilantism against Blacks — as well as their White allies — is alive and well

Photos of the aftermath of the 1898 Wilmington, North Carolina coup and massacre. (1) Co-instigator Alfred M. Waddell, who promised before the coup to ‘choke the current of the Cape Fear River’ with black bodies; after the coup, he had himself installed as mayor; (2) Manhattan Park, where a white mob shot a group of Black Wilmingtonians; (3) Fourth and Harnett Streets in Wilmington, where first Black men fell; (4) E.G. Parmalee, who took over as chief of police after the coup; (5) Vigilantes stand outside the wrecked remains of the black ‘Daily Record’ newspaper building. History.com/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

When I researched an article on the Wilmington Coup of 1898 earlier this year, several things struck me about this little-known historical event. As I delved into the motivations for the attack on the Port City, I was stunned, not only by its diabolical efficiency but also by the plot’s familiarity.

One thing that stood out was the blatant, unapologetic racism of the massacre’s perpetrators, not just against Black Wilmingtonians but also against the Whites who dared to align themselves politically with Blacks. Here’s how I described 1898’s Wilmington Massacre, which holds the distinction of being the only successful coup d’etat in the nation’s history:

On November 10, 1898, White supremacist Democrats staged a violent attack by an armed mob of roughly 2,000 White men in Wilmington, North Carolina. Led by the city’s light infantry and a band of vigilantes armed with rifles and a Gatling gun, their objective was to remove the city’s elected Fusionist government to install White supremacist Democratic Party members. The mob forced the city’s elected leaders out of…