PBS NC's Exclusive Preview Screening of American Coup: Wilmington 1898

Please join us at Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts for a special event to recognize the extraordinary work of so many to bring this important film to PBS audiences across the country.
The evening begins with a North Carolina premiere screening of the full two-hour film American Coup: Wilmington 1898. Following the screening, David Crabtree, CEO, PBS North Carolina will facilitate a brief Q&A with the filmmakers and others who are featured in the film.

Event Details:

• Date and Time: Thursday, November 7 at 6:30 PM
• Location: Thalian Hall Center for Performing Arts located at 310 Chestnut Street, Wilmington

Agenda:

• 6 PM - Doors Open
• 6:30 PM -Premiere Screening of American Coup: Wilmington 1898
• 8:30 PM - Filmmaker discussion and Q+A
• 9 PM - Event concludes

Other important event info:

Registration:

This is a free event, but advance registration is required. Please reserve your seat(s) by registerering via Eventbrite. If you have any quesitons about the event or registration, email Karen Nowak at [email protected].

Parking:

• Thalian Hall Center for Performing Arts has a free parking lot.
• On-site free parking is availabile at 5 PM along Chestnut, Princess and N 3rd Streets.
• Parking is also available at the City of Wilmington 2nd Street Parking Deck located at 212 N 2nd Street. Parking fee is $1.00 per hour.

More about American Coup: Wilmington 1898

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a race massacre and coup d’état in Wilmington, NC, in which white supremacists overthrew the multi-racial “Fusion” government of North Carolina’s largest city through a coordinated campaign of violence and intimidation that destroyed Black political and economic power and imposed white control. The film’s narrative will be structured around the harrowing events of November 1898, framed against the broader sweep of American history surrounding the coup. Its protagonists are the historical characters at the heart of the events: coup participants and victims, leaders and ordinary citizens. Their stories are brought to life through exhaustively researched archival materials, interviews with scholars, journalists, and descendants, evocative animation, and readings of first-person historical accounts. Interwoven into the historical narrative are interviews and scenes with present-day descendants -- Black as well as white -- seeking the truth about this long, intentionally buried history, with music by North Carolina native and Grammy-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens.

The film is a coproduction between PBS North Carolina, American Experience and 371 Productions.

Documentary funding for American Coup: Wilmington 1898 has been made possible in part by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Atlantic Packaging. Additional support comes from the Ford Foundation, Firelight Media, Black Public Media and Andy and Tracy Lowenthal.

Host or Publisher PBS North Carolina