On Dec. 31, outgoing Gov. Bev Perdue finally pardoned The Wilmington 10 – the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Connie Tindall, Marvin Patrick, Wayne Moore, Reginald Epps, Jerry Jacobs, James McKoy, Willie Earl Vereen, William Wright, Jr. and Ann Shepard – who were all handed sentences ranging from 15 to 34 years following their convictions in 1972. Thankfully, a national struggle emerged and Perdue was forced to publicly admit that their sentences were “tainted by naked racism” (CNN, Jan. 1).

In 1978, Gov. Jim Hunt, reduced the sentences of the 10 but offered no pardon. In 1980, formal charges were overturned but still on record. It wasn’t until recently that the N.C. NAACP revealed newly discovered documentation that prosecutors intentionally sabotaged the first trial to manipulate jury selection. It was reported that prosecutors had manufactured evidence and coerced witnesses. Most members of the 10 spent several years in jail.

In 1971, racial outbursts in the city of Wilmington shocked the world. The political and social undercurrent of racism and bigotry were still festering in the aftermath of historic civil rights bills in 1964 and 1965. Wilmington had recently failed at forced integration when black students were discriminated against in the classroom. Tensions spilled over into the community. Police had murdered a black teenager, while two white security guards had been killed. Black youth armed themselves when a local minister was shot, while white allies who were seen as trying to make integration work were also targeted. The Wilmington 10 were framed and then accused of firebombing a local grocery store.

Reign of Terror

The history of The Wilmington 10 actually dates back to the 1898 Wilmington Race Riots – a shameful period of overt oppression that marked a new era of racist reign just two years after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Plessy vs Ferguson. This gave the green light to many black and progressive whites being forcibly evicted from their homes by white supremacists.

The first order of business for local klansmen was to disenfranchise Wilmington’s black working-class, which by 1895 had just begun to thrive. In this small budding city on the outer banks of North Carolina, blacks were crafts workers, tailors and furniture makers. They were brick-masons, teachers and architects. They were plumbers, plasterers and even owned a newspaper, The Daily Record. At this time, Wilmington was one of the few cities in the U.S. where blacks and whites employed each other.

The second order of business was the white working class who had allied with local blacks. The Klu Klux Klan was looking to intimidate anyone who supported an interracial new America. It was in 1898 that armed militia terrorized such social unity and achievements. Hate mongers burned down businesses. Well-organized mobs targeted black citizens and local leaders with violence, gunfire and permanent banishment. The offices of black politicians and city officials were raided and taken over. Wilmington’s 1898 Race Riot was a critical turning point in the history of the South, a crucial blow to the pursuit of freedom and equality for all.

Needless to say, The Wilmington 10 and the racial outburst of 1971 was merely a reflection of deep-rooted oppression from decades earlier – a 70-year status quo that restricted progress. In the end, The Wilmington 10 were a testament to the spirit of true struggle, the epitome of people power, and the potential of interracial solidarity. Perdue’s recent pardon was a big step forward in the struggle for justice. Let us not forget this history and build for the better.

Durham-based activist, Lamont Lilly is a contributing editor with the Triangle Free Press, Human Rights Delegate with Witness for Peace and organizer with Workers World Socialist Party.