A thread was started some time ago about the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. From that thread:

Quote :

"BridgetSPK: So I'm reading Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy. I'll let y'all know if it's good. It's the "legacy" part that I'm interested in. I'd like to be able to show some folks how things like these are not always "in the past.""

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=373551

Also from that thread:

Quote :

"aaronburro: ummm. 107 years ago. ITS IN THE PAST, BITCH!"

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=373551

It's not in the past.

Democrats in NC got very comfortable with their power, supporting banks and railroads over the interests of the general population. Republicans floundered but thrived in Wilmington, a Mecca for blacks in NC where there were black businesses, black lawyers, black pharmacists, black policemen, black firemen, and even black government officials. Blacks were playing by the rules and finally seeing success, finally seeing a chance at power and legitimacy. There was a black-owned newspaper in Wilmington--some say it was the only black daily newspaper in the entire country. It was right here in North Carolina! We were different than the rest of the South.

Soon the Populist Party shot up in the state and joined forces with the Republicans to push the Democrats out of their comfy positions of powers. Together they advocated "freer elections, popular control of local government, and regulation to contain the excesses of the monopoly capitalism" (taken from a book for a paper I wrote). The two parties combined won big, getting the position of governor, winning the General Assembly, and tons of local offices across the state; blacks and whites joined together to achieve their common goals. And again, they played by the rules.

Democrats could not stand this. So in the months leading up to the elections of 1898, a group of Democrats trained a small army to break up political rallies and threaten the general population. They also put the message of white supremacy out, using fear of black aggression and other things to incite white North Carolinians. And on November 8, 1898, the men showed up at the polls across the state to assault, accost, and intimidate with threats and real violence any black or Republican voter. Their campaign of white supremacy and violence worked; Democrats regained power.

But offices that were not up for election that year still remained in Republican/Populist power, and they would focus the battle in Wilmington. On November 10, two days after the Democrat success at the polls, Colonel Alfred Moore Waddell led groups of “vigilantes” into the black power center of North Carolina, Wilmington. They destroyed the black printing press and office, forced Republicans to resign from their positions and swore in Democrats on the spot, and roamed the streets of black neighborhoods, injuring and killing blacks as they appeared on the street to defend themselves. Hundreds of blacks fled their homes and hid in the swamps and woods for days. When they returned, destroyed businesses had been taken over by whites and the city’s most outspoken leaders had been banished.

In just a few days, decades of struggle and work and playing by the rules were violently and unjustifiably stolen from whites and particularly blacks in North Carolina, and the Democrats who arranged this had done so by breaking the rules. To ensure they remained in power, Democrats revoked voting rights to kick off the Jim Crow laws, and they continued to beat the drum of white supremacy.

Which brings us to today...this campaign of terror most definitely impacts us today. Whites who resent blacks today may not be so ugly if the two groups hadn't been ripped apart and had their common interests obscured by fear and racism. Blacks would be better off if they hadn't had to endure the Jim Crow laws, the theft of power, the complete disallusionment with a system--a system with rules that they played by, seemingly sacred rules that were changed on them overnight...

Quote :

"bruiserbrody: Remembering it as a part of history, sure. Demanding that white people that did not exist in 1898 apologize to black people that didn't exist in 1898...gimma a freak'n break! Were there severe wrongs committed in the past, yes. However, white guilt, no, I don't take guilt trips anymore, especially when the actions occured between others that are NO LONGER ON THIS PLANET!"

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=373551

This isn't about black and white. Whites were hurt in this too. That's one thing that's important to understand. Blacks and whites were working together, apprehensively, but still...we were different than our neighbors to the south. But through a campaign of terror, they took that from us and sent us all backwards.

They betrayed all of us.

[Edited on November 10, 2006 at 4:22 PM. Reason : sss]

11/10/2006 4:21:31 PM

ITS IN THE PAST, BITCH!

11/10/2006 4:29:37 PM

107 years ago is not the past? What year is it?

11/10/2006 5:57:27 PM

aha n/m

[Edited on November 10, 2006 at 6:02 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2006 6:00:56 PM

so how long till someone is like "OMF SEE DEMOCRATS ARE RACIST" and then we have a history lesson

11/10/2006 6:33:54 PM

It took brave men like Jesse Helms to end their reign of terror in NC.

11/10/2006 6:38:23 PM

^^^^I'm arguing against "It's in the past" where "It's in the past" is a phrase used to dismiss very real consequences.

[Edited on November 10, 2006 at 8:03 PM. Reason : sss]

11/10/2006 7:59:34 PM

Who really cares about what happened so long ago? Looks like you're arguing with yourself, because noone else seems to care either.

11/10/2006 8:52:53 PM

Quote :

"bethaleigh: Who really cares about what happened so long ago?"

I do. Historians do. A good understanding of history is valuable in many ways, an important one being the ability to understand current situations and ensure history does or does not repeat itself.

The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 is particularly important to me because very few people know about it, and it played a critical role in the political development and race relations in North Carolina.

Quote :

"bethaleigh: Looks like you're arguing with yourself, because noone else seems to care either."

Yeah, I caught that. Got anything else to note, Sherlock?

11/10/2006 9:05:52 PM

who the fuck cares about something that happened this long ago

11/10/2006 9:16:31 PM

^

Quote :

"BridgetSPK: I do. Historians do. A good understanding of history is valuable in many ways, an important one being the ability to understand current situations and ensure history does or does not repeat itself. The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 is particularly important to me because very few people know about it, and it played a critical role in the political development and race relations in North Carolina."

11/10/2006 9:29:56 PM

It happened a long time ago, but we're still suffering from the effects today. It's important to understand that when trying to decide or interpret policies of racial equality.

[Edited on November 10, 2006 at 11:32 PM. Reason : ]

11/10/2006 11:32:06 PM

"If you know your history. Then you know where you're coming from" ... B. Marley

11/10/2006 11:46:35 PM

i'm like 4 generations from being a polock

11/11/2006 12:01:56 AM

Quote :

"It's not in the past"

11/11/2006 12:04:50 AM

now we have people like this in politics






THANKS ALOT!

11/11/2006 12:26:29 AM

11/10, never forget

11/11/2006 12:46:14 AM

This event is the single greatest black mark in the history of the Great State of North Carolina. It's worse than secession, which could, at least, be partially explained by the fact that we were surrounded. It's worse than the Commie-Nazi shootouts in Greensboro. It's worse than anything. It's a rejection of democracy and would be intolerable regardless of the specifics.

Everyone should know about it and I wish I knew more.

There are people who have given the state, the region, and the country a bad name, and by clinging to their memory in order to avoid shame (also known as "preserve our heritage") there are those who continue to shit on the altars of freedom, democracy, and basic human dignity.

If I don't accomplish anything else at all in my life, if I die face down in a gutter someday...I will count my life as a success if I accomplish even a small feat towards ending the failure or some to acknowledge and repudiate such unconscionable evils in our past.

For once I side with Bridget, and to hell and be damned with anybody who tries to minimalize this or the other atrocities in our collective history.

[Edited on November 11, 2006 at 2:09 AM. Reason : John Brown's body]

11/11/2006 2:06:37 AM

Quote :

"who the fuck cares about something that happened this long ago"

As others have said this sentiment is mostly likely an expression of embarassment.

No one would say - Who cares about WWI it happened nearly 100 years ago and it wasn't even on US soil. Obviosuly WWI was a big deal but it is also a source of national pride. Sadly the Wilmington Riot is a source of statewide shame, but it is still important to remember.

11/11/2006 11:36:09 AM

Wait. I thought democrats liked black people. Yet here, we have an instance of them attacking blacks? SOMEBODY CALL JESSE JACKSON! IT'S TIME TO START A PROTEST!

11/12/2006 9:26:33 PM

you're a goddamn moron. go away again

11/12/2006 9:27:40 PM

11/12/2006 10:22:07 PM

"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed regularly, and for the same reason."

-Robin Williams, Man of the Year


Absolute power corrupts absolutely. No matter the parties in power, if one party sits in power too long things get out of hand. All major parties throughout history have been guilty of such things from time to time. The key is to, as BridgetSPK said, learn from the mistakes of the past by curbing such practices in the future.

11/12/2006 11:11:55 PM

for those who prefer novels to history texts, charles chesnutt's the marrow of tradition is a pretty good book about the wilmington race riots.

[Edited on November 12, 2006 at 11:24 PM. Reason : sp]

11/12/2006 11:24:05 PM