Community Class Series: The Wilmington Coup of 1898 

Speakers: David Zucchino, Journalist and Author of the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy, and Dr. Darin Waters, Deputy Secretary, NC Office of Archives and History
By the 1890s, Wilmington was North Carolina’s largest city and a shining example of a mixed-race community. It was a bustling port city with a burgeoning African American middle class and a Fusionist government of Republicans and Populists that included Black aldermen, police officers, and magistrates. However, this model for the future of southern, and even American, politics would not last.
On November 10, 1898, the local government was violently overthrown, and dozens of Black citizens were killed in the culmination of an organized, months-long statewide campaign by white supremacists to halt gains made by Blacks and restore racism as official government policy, cementing White rule for another half century.
Join David Zucchino and Dr. Darin Waters for a conversation about this extraordinary event. A book signing will follow the presentation.
Dr. Darin Waters is Deputy Secretary for the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. He oversees the operations of the Divisions of State History and Maritime Museums, State Historic Sites and Properties, Archives and Records, Historical Resources, and commissions (including Roanoke Island Festival Park and Tryon Palace), as well as Education and Outreach. He is also the secretary of the North Carolina Historical Commission and serves as the State Historic Preservation Officer.
David Zucchino is a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist who has 50 years of experience as a journalist and reporter. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he began his journalism career at the Raleigh News and Observer. He also has worked for the Detroit Free Press and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently a contributing writer for the New York Times. In his latest book, Wilmington's Lie, Zucchino uses contemporary newspaper accounts, diaries, letters, and official communications to create a gripping and compelling narrative that weaves together individual stories of hate, fear, and brutality. This is a dramatic and definitive account of a remarkable but largely forgotten chapter of American history.