Chester Douglas - The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898: The Democrats, The Secret Nine, and The Rise of White Supremacy

The Wilmington insurrection of 1898: The Democrats, The Secret Nine, and The Rise of White Supremacy

By

CHESTER DOUGLAS

On August 6, 2017, the North Carolina GOP Executive Director, Dallas Woodhouse, used Twitter to go back in time and chastise Democrats for murdering blacks more than a century ago. In response to a tweet from the North Carolina Democratic Party about the Voting Rights Act, Woodhouse tweeted:

After they murdered blacks in Wilmington @NCDemParty , passed what they called the White Declaration of Independence

Other Woodhouse tweets included:

From the party that ran a racist campaign of murder and closed the polls to blacks who were Republicans, gaining power for 100 years

And...

The Wilmington Riot of 1898 was not an act of spontaneous violence...The events of Nov. 10, 1898 were a result of the long-range campaign strategy by Democratic Party leaders to regain political control of Wilmington at that time (the) states most populous city and North Carolina in the name of white supremacy

Why was a Republican leader castigating the Democrats for a race riot from the late-1800s? What was the White Declaration of Independence? What was he even talking about? Although there have been race riots in the United States for centuries that have been researched by historians, scholars, and journalists, in 2017 Woodhouse was referring to a racially violent incident that happened in his own backyard the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898. And, this was a violent outbreak that, for years, was falsified in history books, educational books, and in conversation. Until recently, this story was lied about for decades. But, this is the true story. And, Woodhouse was correct the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 was not a bout of spontaneous violence. Instead, it was a calculated effort by a political party the Democratic Party to murder blacks and their white allies, run the rest out of town, and ultimately steal an election.

THE RACIST BACKGROUND OF THE DEMOCRATS

O n November 10, 1898 , Conservative Democrats did the unthinkable they took to the streets as an armed militia, burned down a building that housed an African-American newspaper, murdered blacks and their white allies, and forcefully took over a legally elected government. They did give the African-American newspaper owner warning end your newspaper and leave town forever, or else. Although the editor did leave town, they still destroyed the newspapers building, murdered their enemies, and destroyed the landscape of Wilmington, a once racially integrated city.

Led by a former congressman, a white mob caused racially motivated violence that would change a city, a state, and even the racial construction of the United States. This group of whites even used what they called a White Declaration of Independence to further support their inflammatory rhetoric in support of white supremacy. The result was the banishment of African Americans from the city, their white counterparts, the Republicans and Populists who were elected to run the city, and anyone else who was in the Conservative Democrats' way. They even put together a militia called the Red Shirts to further the violence and intimidation. Finally, the Democrats cheated in the North Carolina elections two days before their violent attack to further steal the local and state governments.

Some have called this horrible blemish in North Carolinas vast history a race riot, others have called it a revolution, and still others have used probably one of the most appropriate terms a coup detat. This violent event from North Carolinas past has also been deemed the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, the Wilmington Massacre of 1898, and the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. No matter the term, this racist time was the most dangerous, racially violent event in North Carolinas history and a turning point in North Carolina politics. Up until recently, however, these tumultuous times remained hidden from North Carolinas vast history. Why?

Those who have written about the events that happened in Wilmington in 1898 were not always accurate for years the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 was thought to be a race riot caused by blacks. Even worse, the white Conservative Democrats were deemed as heroes, not murderers. It took nearly a century for the true story of this racist, violent time in Wilmington to finally surface a group of hateful, white supremacists destroyed a black newspaper, killed innocent black and white victims, and overthrew a duly-elected government in what is seen today as the only coup detat to ever happen on American soil.

A CALCULATED PLAN OF WHITE SUPREMACY

T he events that took over Wilmington in 1898 did not happen overnight and they were not the result of spontaneous violence; instead, they were the result of a premeditated and deliberate campaign by some of the areas most prominent Democrats who campaigned on one issue: white supremacy. These leading figures in North Carolinas political history would not only succeed in constructing a one-party state built on hate and racism. Their actions would also be just the beginning of the rise of white supremacy and Jim Crow throughout the United States. And what was even more disturbing, the actions taken on that fateful day were a highly-calculated plan by a group of racist, white Democrats. Their plan had four distinctive parts:

1. Steal the local and state elections away from Republicans and Populists The Democratic Party decided to first run on one issue: white supremacy. When that did not work to lure voters away from the other two parties Republicans and Populists they used threats to blacks and Republican and Populist whites so they would not vote; intimidation from a group of armed militants called the Red Shirts; disseminated hateful, racist anti-black propaganda through pamphlets and in the media; and even stuffed ballot boxes with Democratic votes in order to steal the statewide elections on November 8, 1868.
2. Start a riot Two days after they stole the elections, on November 10, 1868, white men attacked a building that housed an African American-owned newspaper in Wilmington, burned it to the ground, and then went on to attack, torture, and kill blacks and their white allies throughout the city.
3. Stage a coup detat While the riotous violence was evolving throughout the city, a band of white Democrats, led by a former congressman, would then use their armed militia of Red Shirts to force the Republican and Populist white leaders who were not up for re-election on November 8 the mayor of Wilmington, the chief of police, and other local leaders to resign from office. The Democrats were ultimately in charge of the city.