MikeDunnAuthor on Nostr: Today in Labor History November 10, 1898: White supremacists launched a coup d’etat ...

Today in Labor History November 10, 1898: White supremacists launched a coup d’etat in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 is the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in U.S. history. The local white press declared it a race riot, caused by blacks, but it was actually a coup by members of the state's Democratic party, who conspired and led a mob of 2,000 white men to overthrow the legitimately elected biracial government. They deported opposition black and white political leaders from the city and may have killed over 300 people. They destroyed black property and businesses, including the only black newspaper in the city. And they got away with it, too. Charles Aycock, one of the main organizers, went on to become governor of North Carolina. Rebecca Felton, a feminist who supported equal pay for women and the lynching of black residents, went on to become the nation’s first female senator. Numerous other coup leaders and supporters went on to hold state and federal offices.

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