separate but equal
Blacks found guilty of violating any of them were sentenced to work under plantation-like conditions without pay.
While Black Codes sought to control when and where Blacks worked, Jim Crow laws enforced social separation between Blacks and Whites. One of these Jim Crow laws led to a Supreme Court decision that made racial discrimination legal throughout the nation.
In 1896, the High Court upheld a Louisiana law that required Black travelers to sit in separate,“ Blacks only” coaches of a passenger train. Separate facilities for Blacks and Whites were legal, the Supreme Court said in its Plessy v. Ferguson decision, as long as they were equal. The“ separate but equal” doctrine would be the law of the land for more than half a century.
On November 1, 1898, just days before voters in Wilmington, NC went to the polls to elect a long list of state officials, The Wilmington Morning Star carried a frontpage story that lamented that Black voters outnumbered White voters in the state’ s largest city where a multiracial coalition called the“ Fusion” had won control of the city council and mayor’ s office.
The paper made it clear that Blacks, who were a majority of the city’ s population, should no longer be allowed to vote.
“ There are not enough white votes in this county to overthrow the negro majority. Consequently, the negro is not to be allowed to vote. If he stays away from the polls he will not be interfered with, otherwise his attempt to perpetuate the demoralizing rule of this negro-ridden town will be resisted by force of arms. On this point there need be no misunderstanding whatever. Believing that the negro will attempt to vote, and will be prepared to fight his way to the polls, the white citizens have also armed and are ready to meet the issue. If it comes, there will be bloodshed and plenty of it.”
To ensure that Whites had an advantage militarily, the city’ s chamber of commerce created an ad hoc militia and bought it a Colt machine gun, the only weapon of its kind in the city. This intimidated some of the city’ s Black men who had second thoughts about registering to vote in the upcoming election.
But when a group of Black women learned that some Black men refused to register to vote, they urged them to reconsider. In an article in The Daily Record, Wilmington’ s Black newspaper, the group said they would brand any Black men who didn’ t vote“ a white livered coward” and would“ teach our daughters to recognize only those young men who have the courage to vote.” On Election Day, roving bands of White supremacists attacked Black voters, stuffed ballot boxes in Black precincts and patrolled the streets of the city’ s Black neighborhood to keep Black men away from the polls.
After winning all the state positions that were on the ballot that day, the city’ s White leaders issued a“ White man’ s declaration of independence” and Blacks, they said, would never again be allowed to hold any positions of power in Wilmington, NC. Backed by a heavily armed mob, they demanded the immediate resignation of all Black public officials.
The Wilmington Light Infantry boasted a Machine Gun Squad. The machine gun was purchased by white businessmen prior to the election and was mounted on a wagon.
Umfleet, LeRae.“ The Wilmington Coup- 1898.” NCpedia. State Library of N. C. Wilmington-massacre-1898
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