The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, formerly known as The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898, occurred in Wilmington, North Carolina and is considered a turning point in North Carolina politics following Reconstruction. Although it was called a riot, it is seen by many historians as an armed insurrection.

The insurrection was the nexus of white supremacists planning to reestablish the Democratic Party as the unquestioned controlling entity in the state. Wilmington was unique among Southern cities with its majority black population, large number of black professionals and strong, biracial Republican Party. Since neither the state nor federal government put down the insurrection, the incident is believed to be the first, and only, violent overthrow of a local government in U.S. history. At least 22 blacks were murdered in the streets of Wilmington during the insurrection.

Following the insurrection, Democrats came to power in the state and these Democrats passed the first Jim Crow laws for North Carolina. These new state laws rolled back many of the rights blacks in North Carolina had secured after the Civil War.

External links

• 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission

History of North Carolina | Riots and civil unrest in the United States