The following powerpoint presentation was developed in 1998, the centennial year commemorating the riot of 1898, as part of the educational program of the 1898 Foundation, which was formed in 1996 under the leadership of Bertha Todd, Bolton Anthony, Jim Megivern and others, to contribute to racial reconciliation and a better racial future for Wilmington and the region. Over a hundred Wilmingtonians, black, white and hispanic, took an active part in the efforts of the Foundation.

        The Foundation had many successes, educational, political, economic and interpersonal. The efforts of the Foundation were critical to the gradual formation of a new collective memory of 1898, which recognized it as a white supremacist coup d'etat that dealt a devastating blow to black rights at the turn of the century, and had harmful effects on African Americans in Wilmington and in North Carolina for much of the following century. The Foundation, together with the YWCA, initiated dozens of interracial dialogue groups throughout the city, along with its educational speeches and programs. The Foundation gave rise to the Partners for Economic Inclusion, which worked with the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and local banks to promote minority business opportunities in Wilmington. The Foundation raised substantial funds for the creation of the 1898 Memorial Park, located on the north end of 3rd street at the entrance to the city from the Martin Luther King parkway, on which construction has begun and which will be dedicated in November of this year, 2008.

        I believe it is fair to say that Wilmington, North Carolina, has made racial progress since 1998, and the Foundation played a significant role in that progress. Thus, some of the remarks of Chapter 6, A Tale of Two Cities, would need to be modified today, as there is considerably greater racial inclusion in many parts of the local economy, even if in general African Americans are still disadvantaged.

        I have posted the powerpoint as it was, with the exception of Chapter 8: What can you do? since the Foundation has ceased to exist, and most of what is on that page is now irrelevant. But the work of racial reconciliation is ongoing, and it remains important for Wilmingtonians and all Americans to understand the truth of our history, if we are to arrive at a better future.