On this day in 1898: Thousands of white Americans marched the streets of Wilmington, North Carolina, a once-majority black town, burning homes and businesses, including the offices of The Daily Record, a black-owned newspaper. At least 60 people were slaughtered, many of them African Americans. The mob overthrew the just-elected local government, putting white supremacists in their place. The Atlantic magazine wrote about the incident, “For all the violent moments in United States history, the mob’s gruesome attack was unique: It was the only coup d’état ever to take place on American soil.” More than 1,400 African Americans and many white Republicans were forced to leave the city, and the legally elected mayor and several members of the city council were forced from power. The Wilmington Massacre signaled a turning point in history for North Carolina, helping fuel disenfranchisement of African Americans across the South — a move inspired by Mississippi’s 1890 Constitution. In 2007, a state resolution apologizing for the massacre failed.
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