History Repeats Itself

With the recent events of January 6, 2020, I’ve heard a lot of talk about how it was an unprecedented time in the history of our country. This is partly true. February is “Black History Month” and to me, it seems an ideal time to not rehash; but to remind all citizens of this nation about an event that has been buried in the annuls of time… a period hidden from Americans. This kind of sweeping under the carpet and reconfiguration of history serves only to push forward a false narrative. This brings me to the events of November 10, 1898, in Wilmington North Carolina. One of many hidden events in the history of that day was a coup carried out by white supremacists. There have been a lot of violent moments in American history. America is a nation firmly established on violence committed against both humanity and nature. What makes this attack stand out? It’s unique because it’s the only coup d’état ever on American soil. So, what happened? Why does this stand out? Why was it hidden? What’s the likelihood of another such event in our future? How do Americans avoid facing such events in the future? What happened was that two days before those traumatic events of November 10, 1898; the local citizens elected both Black and white officials to the local government, which was highly unusual for that period. The town was set upon by a violent mob of white supremacists not willing to be governed by Blacks regardless of the fact that they were duly elected by the people, in a fair election. Prior to leading the violent insurrection and all-out massacre of Black citizens, Col. Alfred Moore Waddell, Orator Leader of the Insurrectionist Movement, along with other like-minded Wilmingtonians carefully laid the plans for their devious plot to overthrow the local government. He and many of his co-conspirators went on to achieve national prominence. Southern Democrats lost power in North Carolina in 1894 and plotted to wrest control from the bi-racial Republican Party in the 1898 elections. They held supremacist rallies and parades and organized militias of “Red Shirts” to intimidate Blacks from voting. This armed insurgency wasn’t just designed to disenfranchise Black citizens; but, to eliminate their presence from the community of Wilmington, NC. The insurrectionists targeted Black residents and businesses, Elected Fusions, and the only Black-owned newspaper in town, “The Daily Record.” Up until that point the racial demographic of Wilmington had been, predominantly Black. Using a Gatling gun and over 400 personal weapons the organized militia set about committing arson, assault, murder, political terrorism, property damage and theft. Further achieving their goals through a widespread campaign of propaganda and intimidation they left an estimated 300 Blacks dead, over 2000 Blacks displaced and 20 Fusionists banned. To add further insult to injury the forced resignation of elected officials and replacement with unelected officials totally changed the racial and political demographics in Wilmington, NC for decades. To cover up the crime of insurrection (I call it treason), the actors pushed for the narrative that it was a race riot, instigated by Blacks. Why this event stands in such stark contrast to other political uprisings is that up until that time, there has never been a successful overthrow of the government in the United States. Until January 6, 2021, no other attempts at overthrowing our government have been tried. The 1898 incident was committed by so-called patriots, many of whom went on to hold public offices and/or achieve a degree of notoriety. Charles Aycock, an organizer, ran for the Senate in 1912; but unfortunately, passed away before the race was decided. There are statues honoring him on Capitol Hill and the Carolina State Capital. John Bellamy, an Orator, became a North Carolina State Senator and a U.S. Congressman. Waddell, politician and white supremacist, served as U.S. Representative from North Carolina between 1871 and 1879 and as Mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina from 1898 to 1906. This is important because in 1898 elected officials were replaced by unelected officials following the forced resignations and carnage of November 10, 1898. He seized the Mayor’s office by holding his predecessor, Silas P. Wright at gunpoint, forcing his resignation. This event was motivated to shift social, economic, and political power during reconstruction and to further push forward the narrative of white supremacy. It issued in a period of racial segregation, disenfranchisement and raised barriers for voter registration for North Carolina Blacks and Southern Blacks, in general. This hadn’t been seen since before the Civil War. The motivation for the January 6th insurrectionists is more of the same. This period in history has been mostly hidden. It’s not part of any Black History curriculum that I’ve ever been taught, and I doubt that it’s part of the material covered in Black History curriculums today. It’s like most of the history of the African Americans in America, unknown. You only find it if you search for your history, know it, and pass it on to all generations. It has been hidden for generations in an organized effort to keep African Americans subjugated. If you remove an individual’s (or group) history in a very real sense you deny their existence and in effect their humanity. This has been a cross African Americans in this country have had to bear since being relocated to this continent against our will. Americans, especially Black Americans have always known the possibility of another event mirroring the event of November 10, 1898. We’ve lived it from generation to generation, with institutional racism in the form of healthcare, criminal justice, housing, employment, economics, education, child care, food insecurity, and basic citizenship. All Americans finally got the memo following the events in the Capital, on January 6, 2021. History does repeat itself and there are lessons to be learned from the past. Americans, especially African Americans would be wise not to dismiss the lessons taught to us by the past least we find ourselves repeating it. How can America avoid similar events going forward? First and foremost, be brutally honest. Initiate an honest open dialog about how mendacity, treachery, discrimination, greed, violence, and outright thievery played a part in establishing the foundation of this nation. This is not saying that the concept or ideology of America is wrong; it’s more saying that it lacks honesty and truth at its very core. African Americans engage your grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and elders; but, don’t just sit… listen, really pay attention, ask questions, internalize their journeys and for God’s sake explore. As evidenced in what happened November 10, 1893, history is written by those who push forth the strongest narrative; because if you repeat a narrative long enough and often enough, regardless of how untrue it is, people will accept it as the truth. Create and perpetuate the truths of your own history going forward…because if you don’t speak your truth, someone else is always willing to tell your story and it may not be the truth. “What happened in Wilmington became an affirmation of white supremacy not just in that one city, but in the south and in the nation as a whole,” as it affirmed that invoking “whiteness” eclipsed the legal citizenship, individual rights, and equal protection under the law that Black Americans were guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment.” –Laura Edwards “Democracy Betrayed” (2000)