FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, 10/16/2024 — A coproduction of PBS North Carolina, American Experience and 371 Productions, American Coup: Wilmington 1898 premieres Tuesday, November 12, 9–11 PM (ET), on PBS NC and PBS member stations across the country. It will also be available for streaming on PBS.org and the free PBS app. After the film’s premiere, curriculum resources will be shared through PBS LearningMedia for educators and students. Additionally, there will be screening events in communities across the state and throughout the country.
American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898—the only successful coup d’état in the history of the U.S. White supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically elected, multiracial government. The story of these harrowing events was suppressed for several decades until scholars as well as descendants of the perpetrators and victims began to investigate.
“American Coup: Wilmington 1898 is a cautionary tale about a breakdown of a cornerstone of our democracy: fair and free elections,” says Rachel Raney, PBS North Carolina’s Director of National Productions and co-executive producer of the film. “When we started researching these events in Wilmington, we quickly discovered that many North Carolinians are not aware of this important history, in part because it was intentionally buried. The more we learned, the more it became clear that all Americans need to know what happened.”
American Coup: Wilmington 1898 was codirected by award-winning filmmakers Brad Lichtenstein (When Claude Got Shot) and Yoruba Richen (The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks) and executive produced by Cameo George and Rachel Raney.
“It’s important to tell the history of one of America’s most egregious racist and violent moments and also bring to light the stories of the descendants, Black and white, who are actively seeking truth and accountability more than 125 years after the coup and massacre,” said filmmakers Lichtenstein and Richen.
The film features commentary of descendants who describe their ancestors’ connection to the coup and its enduring legacy in their lives. Filmmakers also collaborated with scholars Carol Anderson (Emory) and NC natives Glenda Gilmore (Yale) and Crystal R. Sanders (Emory), as well as journalist David Zucchino, author of Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy. Also featured is LeRae Umfleet of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, principal researcher of a 2006 report on the race massacre and coup. Commissioned by the North Carolina General Assembly, the report included a call to produce and nationally distribute a documentary about the massacre and coup and to create curriculum for classrooms.
The film’s score includes an original song by NC native Rhiannon Giddens, a Grammy Award-winning musician, MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient and Pulitzer Prize-winner, whose music was featured in Beyoncé’s 2024 album, Cowboy Carter. She joins Emmy Award-winner Keith David and a cast of national and NC actors in reading original accounts of the events of 1898 in the film.
For more information about the film, visit the PBS PressRoom.
On Thursday, November 7, PBS North Carolina will host a premiere screening event at Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Wilmington. It is offered in conjunction with a series of events commemorating the 1898 massacre and coup.
Additionally, screenings will be held nationwide, including the world premiere at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival on October 21 and a screening at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on October 29. PBS North Carolina has partnered with nonprofits Working Films and Picture Motion to organize screening events across North Carolina and the country over the course of the next twelve months.
To help educators teach this difficult history and examine themes that remain pertinent today with their students, PBS North Carolina’s education team will create lesson plans aligned to academic standards set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. These resources will be available for free on PBS LearningMedia. The team will also facilitate workshops, webinars and an online forum for educators to exchange ideas and information.
These resources have been developed in partnership with an advisory committee of K–12 educators, university faculty and subject-matter experts as well as collaborators from state institutions, including the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Wilmington.
“PBS North Carolina is committed to sharing this troubling chapter of American history on air, online, in classrooms and within communities across the state and nation,” says David Crabtree, CEO and General Manager of PBS North Carolina. “The violent events explored in the film unfolded right here along the Cape Fear River and traumatized generations of our fellow North Carolinians. As a statewide public media organization, we have a responsibility to engage communities, educators and students about our own history and foster dialogue that can lead to better understanding and healing.”
Major funding for American Experience provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance, Carlisle Companies and by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Funding for American Coup: Wilmington 1898 provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Atlantic Packaging, Ford Foundation JustFilms, GBH Voices and Equity Fund, members of The Better Angels Society including The Fullerton Family Charitable Fund, Firelight Media and Black Public Media. Additional funding for American Experience provided by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, The American Experience Trust, and public television viewers. American Experience is produced for PBS by GBH Boston.
Support for complementary education and engagement initiatives provided by the Elizabeth L. Carter Foundation, the Truist Foundation and North Carolina Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by Wendy and Michael Brenner, Blanche Williamson, The Robinson-Hill Humanitarian Fund, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, John and Mary Louise Burress, Leigh Carter, Michael and Kathleen Glancy, Kate Woodbury and an anonymous donor.
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this film do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
371 Productions has produced award-winning documentaries and VR projects since 2003, receiving four Emmy Award nominations and one win for the 2022 film When Claude Got Shot, now being adapted as a scripted film. 371 has won 2 duPont-Columbia Awards and has been nominated twice for a George Foster Peabody Award. 371 has long prided itself in supporting the work of women and filmmakers of color. Learn more at 371productions.com.
For over 35 years, American Experience has been television’s most-watched history series, bringing to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present. American Experience documentaries have been honored with every major broadcast award, including 30 Emmy Awards, five duPont-Columbia Awards and 19 George Foster Peabody Awards. PBS’s signature history series also creates original digital content that innovates new forms of storytelling to connect our collective past with the present. Cameo George is the series executive producer. American Experience is produced for PBS by GBH Boston. Visit pbs.org/americanexperience and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to learn more.
As North Carolina’s statewide PBS network serving the country’s third largest public media market, PBS North Carolina educates, informs, entertains and inspires its audience on air, online and in person. Through its unique partnership of public investment and private support, the network includes in-person engagement, digital-first social and online content delivery and four over-the-air channels: PBS NC, the North Carolina Channel, Rootle 24/7 PBS KIDS channel and the Explorer Channel. Its transformational events and content spark curiosity and wonder for all North Carolinians. Additionally, PBS North Carolina serves as the backbone for North Carolina’s state emergency services. To learn more about PBS North Carolina, visit pbsnc.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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