Scene on Radio

S6 E4: The Forgetting

34 snips
Jan 31, 2024
Exploring the whitewashing of history after the 1898 massacre in North Carolina, the erasure of Black voices, and the struggle for truth. Unveiling distorted narratives, the literary realist Charles W. Chesnutt's defiance, and the evolution of the southern strategy from segregation to coded racism. Delving into the tragic events of Wilmington in the 1890s and the historical origins of white supremacy, highlighting its impact on society.
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INSIGHT

Propaganda Rewrote Wilmington History

  • White supremacists rewrote Wilmington 1898 as a race riot to justify violence and seize power.
  • That false narrative persisted because white-owned presses controlled the public story and suppressed evidence.
ANECDOTE

Bellamy's Proud Role And Impunity

  • John D. Bellamy Jr. hosted planning meetings, led mobs, and won a fraud-tainted congressional seat after Wilmington 1898.
  • He even bound the court transcript into a book to show visitors, signaling no accountability.
INSIGHT

Legal Machinery Locked In Jim Crow

  • After the coup, North Carolina's legislature rapidly codified disenfranchisement and segregation into law.
  • Laws like poll taxes and literacy tests plus a grandfather clause erased Black voting power by 1904.
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