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The Wilmington Ten

Violence, Injustice, and the Rise of Black Politics in the 1970s

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The Wilmington Ten

By: Kenneth Robert Janken
Narrated by: Ron Butler
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About this listen

In February 1971, racial tension surrounding school desegregation in Wilmington, North Carolina, culminated in four days of violence and skirmishes between white vigilantes and black residents. The turmoil resulted in two deaths, six injuries, more than $500,000 in damage, and the firebombing of a white-owned store before the National Guard restored uneasy peace. Despite glaring irregularities in the subsequent trial, 10 young persons were convicted of arson and conspiracy and then sentenced to a total of 282 years in prison. They became known internationally as the Wilmington Ten.

A powerful movement arose within North Carolina and beyond to demand their freedom, and after several witnesses admitted to perjury, a federal appeals court, also citing prosecutorial misconduct, overturned the convictions in 1980.

Kenneth Janken narrates the dramatic story of the Ten, connecting their story to a larger arc of Black Power and the transformation of post-civil rights-era political organizing. Grounded in extensive interviews, newly declassified government documents, and archival research, this book thoroughly examines the events of 1971 and the subsequent movement for justice that strongly influenced the wider African American freedom struggle.

©2015 Kenneth Robert Janken (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
African American Studies Crime Fiction History Literature & Fiction Racism & Discrimination State & Local United States Vigilante justice Violence in Society Fiction North Carolina Black power movement Equality Civil Rights

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