The White Declaration of Independence

Before November 8, 1898, Wilmington, NC, might have been considered a model for successfully mixing the races. Three of the ten aldermen were Black, and the City had Black policemen and judges. Reconstruction was effectively over in most of the South from the day federal troops pulled out after the Compromise of 1877. Yet, North Carolina still had Black state legislators, and towns like Wilmington had Black elected officials among the Republicans holding office. Some white citizens found this unacceptable. Before the November 1898 mid-term election, Democrats decided they would eliminate Republican legislators, suppressing Black voters by any means necessary. The “red shirts” openly threatened Black voters, carrying weapons as they rode on horseback through Black communities. Furnifold Simmons was appointed Democratic Party Chairman for North Carolina. He sent speakers to every community with a message of white supremacy. He accused the two other major political parties, the Republicans and Populists, of supporting “negro domination.” <a href="https://medium.com/afrosapiophile/the-white-declaration-of-independence-fb95af96ab88">Read More</a>