Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 - in Literature

In Literature

• Charles Waddell Chesnutt's novel The Marrow of Tradition (1901), addressed the rise of white supremacists and gave a fictional account of events that was more accurate than portrayals by southern white newspapers. He portrayed the "riots" accurately as white violence against blacks.

• The Wilmington author Philip Gerard's novel, Cape Fear Rising (1994), recounts the 1898 campaign and events leading to the burning of the Wilmington Daily Record.

• John Sayles used contemporary documents to portray the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 in Book Two of his novel, A Moment in the Sun (2011). Sayles combines fictional characters with historical figures.

• North Carolina based rock band, Druid Pryde, is currently writing a musical based on the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898.

• Barbara Wright's young adult novel, Crow (2012), portrays the events through a fictional young African-American boy, the son of a reporter on the black newspaper.