The publication on July 3, 2020, of “The White Declaration of Independence and the Wilmington Massacre of 1898” on History Daily brings into sharper focus a pivotal, yet often obscured, chapter of American history. This event stands as a stark illustration of the brutal lengths to which white supremacists would go to reassert dominance and control the narrative, an echo that resonates powerfully even in contemporary discussions about American history and its teaching.
The “Wilmington Massacre of 1898” was no mere riot; it was, in fact, the “only successful coup in American history”. This violent overthrow of a democratically elected government occurred in Wilmington, North Carolina, which at the time was an “affluent majority-Black city”. The biracial Fusion Party’s success in winning a number of city offices “enrag[ed] white supremacists” in the region, who then “plotted a violent overthrow of the local government”. The consequence was horrific: an armed white mob “murdered dozens of Black residents and forced thousands of others to flee their homes”. Contemporary accounts highlighted the profound injustice, noting that Black people were subjected to a “bloody revolution” in Wilmington for “no crime except the color of their skin and a desire to exercise” their rights.
At the heart of this calculated act was the issuance of the “White Declaration of Independence, 1898”. This declaration, an explicit statement of intent, brazenly proclaimed: “We will no longer be ruled, and will never again be ruled by men of African origin”. It serves as an unequivocal testament to the white supremacist motivation behind the coup, demonstrating a clear rejection of multiracial democracy and an assertion of racial hierarchy.
Historically, the interpretation of such events has often been fraught with distortions. Textbooks and narratives sometimes downplayed the severity, describing them, for instance, as simply “another eruption of Negro dissatisfaction which, once expressed, quieted”. This framing, as the sources reveal, served to normalize violence and obscure the deliberate nature of the overthrow, effectively dismissing the very real “phantasm of Negro rule” that was conjured to rally white forces. The inclination to “shield American history and society from negative moral judgments” has been a consistent priority for some lawmakers, even as recently as 2022, seeking to forbid teaching that might suggest “slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to the authentic founding principles of the United States”. This ongoing tension around historical interpretation underscores why the accurate retelling of events like Wilmington remains crucial.
The publication of this article in 2020, a year marked by significant racial justice protests, serves as a powerful reminder of enduring patterns in American society. It connects to the broader discussion about how historical events, particularly those involving racial violence and systemic inequality, are remembered and presented. While media portrayal of violence against African Americans “very clearly demonstrated the vestiges of America’s past,” a sustained focus on “enduring inequality is always short-lived due to the prominence and effectiveness of the ideological right’s propaganda campaign”. The very act of documenting and publicizing such truths challenges simplistic “glory story” narratives that aim to present the country as “great and powerful and forever right,” prompting a necessary re-evaluation of national history. Indeed, the explicit apologies issued by the House of Representatives and the Senate for slavery, which painstakingly detail its horrors and consequences, substantiate the arguments of critical race theory that racism is “systematically structured in governmental policies and practices that have had enduring social, economic, and political consequences down to the present”. The Wilmington Massacre and the “White Declaration of Independence” are undeniable elements of this complex and often uncomfortable truth.