In the 1890s, the bustling port community of Wilmington, North Carolina was the example of the promise of Reconstruction with its movement toward integration. But on November 10, 1898, the city exploded in the form of an insurrection and a deadly race massacre. Since then, the events that led to the only coup d’état in U.S. history have been deliberately hidden. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, in association with PBS North Carolina, took on the task of revealing this story and its impact in American Coup: Wilmington 1898.

Filmmakers Brad Lichtenstein and Yoruba Richen sat down with us to discuss this important film.

What do you think viewers will find most surprising about this film and this history?

Richen: I think viewers will find it surprising because it is a story that has been buried and covered up for so long. What really struck me was how right after the coup and massacre it was sung from the hilltops about how proud they were of what they had done. Then, only a few years later, it was whitewashed and eventually erased.

Lichtenstein: I think some viewers will be surprised to meet the descendants who are part of the film and to learn their stories. The history was buried even in their own families.

What were the special finds that you came upon during your research? 

Richen: One of the gems that we started to find as we were making this film were the accountings of people who were either involved as the insurrectionists or the massacre-ists and also the documentation of people who were affected. When we found that, we knew we wanted that to be a vital part of this story and the storytelling device. It’s one thing to read the history, but reading those personal accounts was very, very powerful and we knew that could help bring the story to life.

Do you feel like the people you met were open to exploring this topic or were they resistant to opening that door?

Lichtenstein: The very first time one of us went there was in 2022 for the 124th commemoration. At that point, local leaders, some descendants—had made inroads in getting the community to start to reckon with this. I was spending some of my time reaching out to White descendants and there were plenty who either just completely denied any relationship to that past even though their family lineage was there or were reluctant to really talk about it.

Richen: I just want to add how grateful we are to the descendants who did choose to work with us to tell this important story. It was an honor to be with them on this journey.

What do you think will resonate with people when they hear the story? How might it affect their view of the world today? 

Lichtenstein: I would just quote Carol Anderson, one of the scholars in our film (professor of African American Studies at Emory University) when she says that ultimately what this story is about is the fragility of democracy. This happened over 125 years ago and it’s as relevant in this moment as it has ever been.

What is different about producing films for PBS versus other films you might work on? 

Lichtenstein: The thing that’s so special about public media is in the name. It’s public and therefore, there’s an obligation to tell stories that might otherwise never be told in this medium. Throughout my career, public television has supported me in wanting to tell stories that have to do with social justice or that have to do with difficult conversations. If you look around the commercial landscape, there’s very little real estate for these kinds of films. So we’ve come to rely on public media to be the place that is willing to set aside the risks that might be involved, whether they’re the risks of putting a story out and knowing that it might engender conversations that can be heated. In fact, they embrace that.

Richen: I have made films that aired on a variety of public television programs—FRONTLINE, American Masters, P.O.V., Independent Lens, America ReFramed, and now AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Though each program has a unique approach, I would say that when producing films for public media I always am assured of their journalistic integrity, their commitment to telling stories that haven’t been told, and their steadfast belief in my vision as a filmmaker.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’s American Coup: Wilmington 1898 premiered Nov. 12 and is now available on the PBS app. To read more about AMERICAN EXPERIENCE American Coup: Wilmington 1898, visit here.

And, check out  this related digital short: The coalition that challenged white supremacy in the Old South.