1. Racial Antagonism and White Domination in Early 20th Century America 1917 East St. Louis

2. Turn of the 20th Century Climate in America
Reconstruction had collapsed at the end of 19th century
Freedmen’s Bureau fails at land distribution for African Americans
Technology, mechanized farming, drives great migration to cities
Jim Crow laws & segregation intersect with migration in cities
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 establishes “separate but equal”
The physical barrier of segregation created and maintained the myth of inferiority
Whites feel threatened by both Black migrants and immigrants
Competition for jobs & political posts (e.g., Wilmington)
White violence targets AF AMs to create an environment of terror & repression
mob violence frequently incorporated lynching
Socially, whites resentful and angry about Black successes
Whites promote stories of AF AM aggression & assault or rape of white women
Newspapers fuel anti-Black sentiment with dubious stories
In combination with political and economic advances, this leads to violence

3. 1898 Wilmington, NC
Wilmington 60% Black and the city had built political “fusion” party
Black population was doing well socially, economically & politically
Worried about loosing ground, white elites inflamed racial fears in papers & speeches to sway races for state offices—promised NC would return to “order” with white political, social and commercial domination
Former confederate soldier Alfred Waddell campaigns in favor of white domination exploiting fear Black prosperity & protecting white womanhood—a theme that continues throughout the 20th century
Red shirts, the paramilitary wing of the democratic party, intimidated Blacks in Wilmington and across NC stoking violence

4. NC News & Observer Cartoon from 1898

5. Wilmington post election
Democrats win 1898 elections but many local officials still in office
Wilmington was a source of Black pride and white anxiety
The “secrete 9” influential whites called for an overthrow
Unveiled a “white declaration of independence”
Demanded whites take Black jobs, Black paper cease, Blacks stop voting
Burned down Alex Manly’s Daily Record, killed hundreds of AF AMs
Forced mayor, police chief and aldermen to resign at gun point
This is the only known coup in American history where sitting government ousted
Thousands of AF AMs abandoned Wilmington.
Wilmington cemented Jim Crow as the permeant social order
Waddell’s piece in Collier’s magazine justifying overthrow is one of the first known uses of “race riot” in print
Letter from Wilmington woman to W. Wilson after racial violence

6. Collier’s 1898 cover

7. Wilmington NC, Alex Manly’s Daily Record Burned

8. Major Violence Prior to US Entry into WWI
1904 Statesboro, GA
2 Black men accused of being “Black Mafia” & murdering a white farmer
The 2 were convicted but mod took them from courthouse and burned them alive in front of a white crowd then ravaged the Black community.
Sets the stage for the 1909 Atlanta unrest
1906 Atlanta, GA
Atlanta is segregated, has Black upper class, Blacks can vote, job competition
Governor’s race pitted candidates trying suppress Black vote
Candidates used newspapers to rally whites and inflame race hatred
Papers report 4 alleged assaults on white women by Black men
Whites burned down Black business and murdered dozens of Black people
Blacks arm themselves and Governor calls in state militia to quell

9. Will Cato & Paul Reid, 1904 Statesboro http://originalpeople

10. 1906 Atlanta Mob Violence French publication Le Petit Journal The original caption translates as "Lynchings in the United States."