Pulitzer-winning journalist tells historically untold story of Wilmington coup

When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Zucchino attended UNC, his introductory journalism classes were conducted on typewriters. 

While journalism students have traded typewriters for laptops, Zucchino said one thing that connects his past to students’ present is that buildings on UNC’s campus are named after white supremacists — the figures of his new book, “Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy."

On Monday, Zucchino returned to his alma mater to discuss his book and connect the historical legacy of white supremacy from 1898 to today. 

Zucchino was joined by associate professor Trevy McDonald and students Excellence Perry and The Daily Tar Heel Director of Investigations Charlie McGee. They spoke for the Nelson Benton Lecture Series, named after the UNC graduate and broadcast journalist. In her opening remarks, Dean Susan King credited Zucchino with his history at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times and currently, The New York Times. 

“He has been at the center of the biggest international stories of his time, and yet he always comes back home to North Carolina,” King said. 

“Wilmington’s Lie” tells the story of the coup in Wilmington, N.C. in November 1898. Zucchino said that in 1898, Wilmington was a rarity because of its majority Black population and its multi-racial government. Having Black citizens in positions of power was a threat to white supremacy, he said. 

In November 1898, white supremacists overthrew the government, killed over 60 Black citizens and appointed the rulers of the mob to government positions. Zucchino said no one was prosecuted for this massacre. Reporters covering the massacre were largely white, and a white narrative was constructed that framed these events as a “race riot.” 

“It was not a race riot, it was a racial massacre,” Zucchino said. “It was a planned murder spree and a racial revolution. In fact, it was the most successful and permanent violent overthrow of an elected government in American history, there has never been anything like it before or since.”

Zucchino said the goal of this massacre was not limited to overthrowing the government in Wilmington. Rather, the goal was to prevent Black men from voting and holding public office in the future. 

The consequences of this massacre have lasted for almost a century, Zucchino said. Before the massacre, Wilmington had a majority Black population. Today, Wilmington is only 18 percent Black. 

After 1898, the number of registered Black voters dropped drastically, and Black citizens did not vote in significant numbers until nearly 70 years later in 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

The false narrative of the 1898 massacre continued from newspaper articles into history textbooks, Zucchino said. He cited history textbooks from 1940 that framed the events as a heroic white response and good government effort.

“A number of Blacks were jailed for starting a riot, and a new white administration took over Wilmington’s government,” he quoted from a 1940s history textbook. 

Zucchino attended high school and college in North Carolina, but said he had never learned about the 1898 Wilmington massacre until he started researching for this book.

“I never heard a professor talk about it, it was never in the history books, and I found out when I was researching for this book that it’s basically been following me around my whole life,” Zucchino said. 

Zucchino cited several buildings on UNC’s campus named after figures that have ties to the rise of white supremacy in North Carolina after 1898. As a first-year, Zucchino lived in Morrison Residence Hall. This residence hall is named after former North Carolina governor Cameron Morrison, who participated in the  white supremacy campaign of 1898 . Zucchino also mentioned the UNC Student Stores, named after white supremacist Josephus Daniels.

“This really isn’t ancient history," Zucchino said. "The legacy lives with us today." 

In writing “Wilmington’s Lie,” Zucchino said he hoped to deconstruct this false narrative. 

“In part, I wrote this book to try to correct the historical record, and I truly believe we have to confront the ugliest chapters of our history to understand the roots of racism and hate and learn from them,” Zucchino said. 

The lecture was held during the MEJO 101 class period, taught by professor Deb Aikat. Aikat said he hopes the lecture impressed upon his students the power of journalism in constructing historical narratives. 

“It shows how journalism is really the first draft of history,” Aikat said.

@madelinellis

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