WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – UNCW will host a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute on the 1898 Wilmington coup and massacre July 8-19. It’s made possible through a $167,000 grant from the NEH.
The institute will bring 25 sixth through 12th-grade educators from across the country to the university, who will spend 10 days learning about the subject matter and attending presentations from authors, filmmakers and historians.
Known as one of the darkest days in Wilmington’s history, on Nov 10, 1898, white supremacists burned down black-owned businesses, took power away from Black political leaders and murdered countless others.
Director Cara Ward says it’s a dark topic but one that is important.
“We’re hoping that not only they learn the specifics of the 1898 coup and massacre and can teach about the importance of that, but we’re also hoping that they can go back to wherever they’re from and see if there are other hidden histories where they are,” Ward said.
Ward says in a time where there’s a strong political divide, learning about the coup is especially relevant.
“It was a moment in time where democracy actually failed on a local level,” Ward said. “And so it seems very timely right now.”
Ward also hopes the institute will enable teachers to leave feeling prepared to teach about some of the darkest days in history.
Lynn Mollenauer and Tiffany Gilbert are co-directors for the event. Mollenauer says the institute will focus on Wilmington as a case study for how democracy operates.
“It offers us an opportunity to think through the implications of democracy, who has access to democracy, how fragile democracy is,” Mollenauer said.
Gilbert says the end goal is for teachers to take what they’ve learned and translate it into a lesson for their classroom.
“It’s a very, you know, fraught subject, but how can you make it accessible to all students, regardless of their abilities?” Gilbert said.
Some of the special guests will include Pulitzer Prize winning author David Zucchino, filmmaker Chris Everett and author Barbara Wright.
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