A reflective look at the only successful coup d’état in U.S. history and the deliberate destruction of a thriving Black political community.
In the late 1890s, Wilmington stood as the largest city in North Carolina and one of the most striking examples of post–Civil War Black advancement. Black residents had built businesses, owned property, shaped education, and held public office. A multiracial coalition known as the Fusion movement united Black Republicans and white Populists. It rebalanced the political landscape and offered a vision of shared governance that defied the South’s rigid expectations. That success was not symbolic; it was tangible in the daily life of the city, where Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and elected officials shaped the civic landscape with ambition and pride.
For many white supremacists, this reality was intolerable. They viewed Black political influence not as a right earned through citizenship but as a threat to the established racial hierarchy. The statewide white supremacy campaign that followed was no accident. It was a deliberate strategy engineered to dismantle the growing strength of Black communities and reverse the advancements achieved during the Fusion era. Through intimidation, propaganda, and organized sabotage, they sought to control both the narrative and the ballot box.
This tension created a volatile environment where progress met violent backlash. As Wilmington’s Black residents embraced opportunities opened by Reconstruction and the Fusion movement, their very success fueled the fears of white elites. The groundwork was laid for a conflict that would forever alter the city, the state, and the trajectory of Black political power in the American South…