- Just ahead on "Black Issues Forum," we discussed the truth about the Wilmington 1898 massacre that overthrew a democratically elected government and dismantled a thriving Black community.

- What Wilmington tells us in that larger scope of American history is how fragile American democracy is.

[somber music] - We'll talk about it with one of the descendants coming up next.

Stay with us.

- [Narrator] Quality public television is made possible through the financial contributions of viewers like you who invite you to join them in supporting "PBS NC."

[bright upbeat music] ♪ - Welcome to "Black Issues Forum."

I'm your host, Kenia Thompson.

Well, today we confront one of the most devastating and under-reported chapters in American History, the Wilmington Massacre of 1898.

The recently released PBS North Carolina documentary, "American Coup: Wilmington 1898," highlights the devastating massacre in what used to be North Carolina's largest city.

In a few moments, we will talk to a descendant about her great, great grandfather's legacy, but first, let's take a look at a clip from the documentary.

[somber music] - Before 1898, Wilmington exemplified the spirit of reconstruction.

Wilmington was the state's largest city.

- As one of the few open ports for international travel and traffic in North Carolina, this was a very prosperous city.

The railroad system drove back country items straight into the port in Wilmington, and then out into the rest of the world.

So tar pitch and turpentine, the things that came from the forest to North Carolina, really drove some of this economy.

[gentle music] [gulls squawking] The Sprunt cotton compress here in Wilmington, they were one of the largest exporters of cotton in the world by this time.

[gentle music] - Wilmington was one of those important centers for newly, freed people to find opportunity.

- There was really no other major city in the south like Wilmington.

First of all, it had a majority Black population of 56%.

- They have the opportunity to compete with whites for well-paying jobs for both skilled and unskilled labor.

So we see African Americans working as brick masons, blacksmiths, carpenters.

- You have folks who are stevedores working on the docks.

[gentle music] You're having the Black leadership that have college degrees.

- There was a professional class there of doctors, and teachers, and lawyers.

- You've got the array of of hardworking Black folk up and down the class line.

It was a real community.

- That was just a glimpse into the documentary that just recently released.

You can find it on pbsnc.org, or on the PBS video app.

But, today, like I said earlier, our guest is someone whose family's history is deeply intertwined into this history in the events of 1898.

Inez Campbell-Eason is the great, great granddaughter of Isham Quick, one of the most prominent Black businessmen in the 1890s in Wilmington.

She joined us today to share her personal connection to the history.

Welcome.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

- Thanks for having me.

- I'd love your initial thoughts on that clip that we just watched.

I mean, again, it's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to that documentary.

But what does it bring up for you?

- It just brings up the potential, not only for present day Wilmington, but the entire country as far as Black skilled labor that was available.

During reconstruction, post slavery, or post enslavement, because the working class, basically largely, as far as labor were those who were in exodus from slavery.

So it just kinda brings into focus the importance of Black skilled labor at that time, which we don't really have today, I guess vocationally.

- Yeah, well share with us, you, again, are the great-great granddaughter of Esham Quick, share with us who he was.

- Well, Esham Quick, he was born enslaved.

He was born in 1843.

Our Family Bible, the Quick Family Bible, it's over a hundred years old, but it lists his birth in 1843 in Anson County, South Carolina.

During research you won't find Anson County, South Carolina, you'll find Anson County, North Carolina.

And from the research that I had done, Anson County, I guess prior to 1750, was considered South Carolina, but now it's North Carolina.

But he basically, after emancipation, made his way to Wilmington, and I'm not sure if he met his wife prior to Wilmington or after Wilmington, but her name was Julia Brown Quick and she was from Blackville, South Carolina.

And after they were married they had nine children.

- Oh wow.

- He was on the board of trustees for St. Stephens AME Church.

He was a wood and coal dealer.

He and his son had a Draymond business together.

Draymond's were teamsters.

They basically, I guess modern day, well, I guess today you would call it U-Haul.

They basically transported people's goods when they moved or relocated.

And then he was on the board of directors for three Black owned banks during that time.

- And during that time, again, it was a very thriving Black community in Wilmington, but that was kind of unheard of, right, to have Black leaders like that of power and influence.

Share what it's like today.

You currently live in Wilmington, and how is that growing up as his descendant in the same area?

And what are some of the parallels or differences that you can identify?

- Well, you really don't know the disparity until you leave the area and come back.

Growing up there wasn't really an issue, but living abroad in different places and then when you return, you kind of see this staunch contrast between more progressive areas than Wilmington.

After learning the history of 1898, you see, I guess the permeation of that whole White Declaration of Independence that was written, you know, to never have Black leadership in the city again.

And currently we really don't have any Black leadership.

We have maybe like one or two people on the city council board and that's it.

We don't have anyone Black on the school boards or county commissioners currently.

So that lack of Black representation is definitely present today.

We had, at that time, it was 60% Black population.

Presently, 2024, the Black population of Wilmington is like 16%.

- Wow.

- So, if we were an endangered species, you have teams of people, you know, coming to find out, you know, why, you know, this diminished population.

- That's what I was gonna ask.

Do you have insight as to why that decrease has happened?

- Of course, the massacre impacted it a lot.

Because overnight that 60% population shifted to about, you know, 40%, you know.

And so, from people being massacred, thrown in the river, having to flee for their lives, or those who actually had to flee prior to the massacre ensuing because it was a year-long strategy.

It wasn't an overnight situation.

And then over time, the...

I guess, the continual exodus of African Americans from the city was still a strategy, you know, because, eventually, they would dismantle large Black voting blocks by tearing down the properties.

And no one, you know, no one would know where those displaced families would go.

And then, sometimes, they would utilize, when I say they, the infrastructure of Wilmington, they would utilize hurricanes sometimes to say, "Oh, you know, those homes are, you know.

They have mold, so you can't live there anymore."

So, instead of putting, you know, the FEMA trailers and things to help repair those homes, that would be another way to cause exodus from the city.

So, they're very, you know, making sure that, you know, Blacks couldn't get the types of jobs that they have the skill levels for.

So, a lot of times our children, when they would come back home from college, you know, they couldn't get the jobs that their white peers could get returning.

So, it was still menial type work that wasn't equitable to what you should have gotten.

You know?

Salary wise.

- Yeah.

That makes sense.

Right?

That does seem like a strategic way to kind of move a population out.

- And so, they would, you know, come to Raleigh, you know.

- Right.

- Go to other larger metropolitan areas, so.

- In the documentary, you know, we hear how this is one of the largest unheard stories in history.

Why haven't we heard of this?

And just for our viewers out there and educators in particular, in 2025, we will be creating a K-12 curriculum to teach students about this because it is being omitted.

And so, do you think that was strategic?

What is it?

Why is it that we haven't heard much about this massacre?

- I believe because it was so many components that, you know, it actually went up, you know, to the executive level, you know, as far as the president.

President McKinley knew about what was about to happen.

You know?

Governor Russell, at the time, knew about what was about to happen, and they kind of turned a blind eye and allowed the citizens to be massacred.

So, the hand, you know, it's a heavy hand that our government played in allowing this to occur.

And even though it was celebrated largely, you know, by those who were participants.

- I think over time, they began to just not talk about it, you know.

So, because of the repercussions of perhaps reparations and things like that, so... - Right.

- And one time, I heard that there was actually some type of rule or something that was written, you know, in the state to suppress the information.

- And some people may ask, well, why does it matter if we know?

We've seen from other historical events that it's important that we know our history, right?

Because the African adages, if we don't know our past and we're deemed to repeat it in the future, how impactful is it not having this knowledge versus being able to move forward with understanding what's happened and how we change a city like Wilmington?

- It's impactful not knowing, because number one, it's about controlling the population.

And so, you know, Wilmington lies on the coast.

You know, it's a beach community.

They don't really want to have that enticement or encouragement of people to return, or more Black people to come to the area.

So, I believe it just makes more sense for them to keep things controlled in the way that they allowed it to happen for so long.

- Yeah.

You know, today, we're seeing a lot of resurgence or just maybe a clearer view of things that were happening undercover, the injustices that a lot of minorities face.

1898, that feel so long ago, but yet, a lot of the things that we're experiencing in 2024 feel very similar.

- Mm-hmm.

- What parallels can you draw from the two eras?

- Well, you know, it's been a maybe 125 years, so it's really not that long ago.

- [Interviewer] True.

- A little over a century.

- [Interviewer] Yeah.

- The parallels, I guess if you wanted to compare what happened on January 6th with the insurgents, you know, rushing into the tundra and, you know, and trying to overthrow the state capitol.

- Yeah.

- You know, in comparison to what happened in Wilmington when a legally elected government was overthrown- - [Interviewer] Yeah.

- And others swore themselves into office, it didn't reach that culmination.

But you can compare the two- - Yeah.

Similarities - You know, with the violence that was almost, almost, you know, synonymous to what happened, you know, then.

- Yeah.

You know, as a legacy holder, we have responsibilities, right?

And I think everyone, if you think about your lineage, you're a legacy holder to your family's legacy, and you've taken your responsibility with this knowledge and information, and kind of filtered that into other work.

Talk about your work with the Wilmington 1898 Museum.

- Well, it's a fledgling project.

I was invited by the former endowment CEO for Wilmington, William Buster.

And once he left the Endowment Commission, he started talking with others putting together a museum.

And so, we just formed the board.

You know, the whole project- - Mm-hmm.

- We're hoping that it will be completed by 2028.

- [Kenia] Okay.

- And we want to incorporate ways of empowerment through education, you know, virtual reality as far as a part of the museum, perhaps economic empowerment attached to the museum.

So it's still new.

We hadn't actually had meetings with the community yet to get the community's aspect on what they would like, you know, to be a part of the museum.

But from just the brief conversations that we've had amongst ourselves as a board, we see it as a very positive step towards some repair.

You know, for Wilmington.

But it's instrumental that we have not only a museum, but also the economic impact because, you know, what's the purpose of having a museum if there won't be any black people in the city?

- [Kenia] That's true.

- And we're already at 16%.

So there has to be a way to bring a resurgence of black people back to the area.

So I don't know how they'll do that, with a black-owned tech company or something.

But there has to be a way for black tourism to increase as well as you know, the vitality of black people returning to the area.

- And I was gonna ask, is that part of your activism work?

Do you find yourself or do you call yourself an activist?

- Well activism is just advocation.

So, you know, through being a community advocate, you know, you become an activist.

- [Kenia] Yeah.

- In so many words.

I basically just take, extrapolate things that I've been going through as a descendant.

'Cause I know if I'm going through it, others will be going through it as well.

I have a LLC called The Wisteria Group LLC.

And so a platform under the spectrum of the LLC is "Don't sell grandma's house."

So that's a program where we're trying to get angel investors and those to help fund heirs from not losing property, you know, if they're behind on mortgages or taxes.

Just ways to help sustain black legacies in the area as far as property.

Another component is we work with my, I care for my mom.

She had dementia, Alzheimer's.

So we have like, a microgrants, you know, for those who care for their family members.

- [Kenia] Yeah.

- You know, so if they need to get the nails done or a massage or something.

- That's great.

- And then the third component is I often take first generationers back to Africa.

I do a lot of Ghanaian tours.

- [Kenia] Yeah.

- And then offer some educational scholarships for those who are either in maybe their last year of school or just starting.

- I wanna pause you there because we've come to the show where this season we are highlighting small businesses.

- [Guest] Okay.

- And so before we end, I don't wanna forget to share this week's small business feature.

We're inching closer and closer to Christmas, and some of us are feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders.

Let's take some time to press pause, relax, and let the stress just melt away.

This week we take you to a local spa that's mastered the art of self-care.

Take a look.

- I am Ashley Ratliff and I am the co-owner of the MassageLuXe in Wake Forest, which I own with my husband, French.

We are a locally owned and operated wellness spa.

We're one of three in the area.

We're right here in downtown Wake Forest, but there's also one in Raleigh that's black-owned as well, and then one in Apex.

We specialize in providing a variety of massage therapy and facial services.

Our menu includes everything from deep tissue, Swedish, and prenatal is kind of like our standards, but then we also have trigger points, sports massage, reflexology, hot stove, and then our licensed aestheticians work with our clients to find the best facial service for them in their skin type.

My husband and I, we really wanted to create something for ourselves.

We come from families of entrepreneurs, both of us.

So we wanted to create something for ourselves, a legacy for our two kids.

Really, one day, I was looking for a massage and I couldn't find an appointment.

Every place was booked.

And not to mention they were more expensive, and we were like, okay, so I need to like plan for this.

And my husband, he was like, "Huh, I wonder if we should look into opening a spa since apparently we might need one."

And so we started doing research and we found the MassageLuXe brand.

We immediately fell in love with it because one of the environment that it provides, it feels like a traditional high-end spa, but additionally, the entire program that they've put together as a franchise really supports the franchisee.

The support that they give you from marketing to construction, to ongoing management, just to training guides.

Like they really built out a playbook that was easy to follow.

And with that, we were able to put in elements of ourself to make it something special.

And if you provide a quality service, then no one can take that away from you.

And I think that that's something that we really have brought with us as we've opened MassageLuXe here, we want our spa to be something different, both in the front of the house and the back of the house.

It's really hard to prioritize self-care.

Finding the time to take a moment for yourself to really focus on yourself, it doesn't become a priority.

And I think that that's an issue both in the black community, but in many communities.

Like, I'm a mom of two kids under the age of six.

I come last, right?

I put myself last, I make sure everyone else is taken care of.

But when it comes to really finding the time for me, it can be difficult.

But that's why we really like the concept of our spa because we are a membership spa.

There's so many benefits to massage therapy.

It helps with your wellbeing.

It can help you have better sleep.

It can improve your circulation.

I mean, there's so many benefits.

A lot of times self-care routines can be expensive.

And that's another benefit of our spa.

It's an affordable rate and it's a high end spa.

It gives that feel of luxury and warmth when you come in.

It's under a hundred dollars, and so it makes it easier for you to take that moment for yourself.

We have a number of products.

Most of these here are skincare products that our estheticians will recommend.

All of our facials they follow, like these regimen, right?

So we have some for oily skin, we have T-zone area, we have some for dry skin, combination skin.

Additionally, we have some really wonderful soaps from Finchberry, which smell great.

The Rosey Posey is my absolute favorite and there's a sea salt that goes with it.

We're just trying to make sure that the experience people get when they're here in spa, they can take home with them.

And so whichever facial that they get, they can also take some of those products home.

So right now for the holidays, we're running a buy one, get one promotion.

It allows you to come in, get a massage or a facial for yourself, and then you also get one to gift to someone for the holidays.

Our website is massageluxe.com, you can go to location.

I mentioned there were three in the area, but you'd look for Wake Forest here.

We're also on Facebook and Instagram.

It's @MassageLuXe Wake Forest, NC.

- Well, I already have my massage scheduled.

I could not leave without getting one 'cause I definitely am feeling the stress and so I can't wait to relax and just melt it all away.

We've got one more week of our small business feature, so make sure you tune in next week to watch our last highlights.

And I have a very special guest that will be joining me on stage, and you don't wanna miss it.

We'll be giving away some goodies, so make sure you tune in.

Inez you know, before we end the show, I'd love for you to just leave our viewers with, why is it important to know this history, Wilmington 1898 massacre?

- A lot of times we just get really comfortable.

One thing to extrapolate from what happened in 1898 is, you know, Maya Angelou had that saying, you know, believe a person when they show you who they are the first time.

- Yeah.

- So, and I think that's what, we have to be vigilant, when we hear our politicians and people say certain things, - Mm-hmm.

- we can't afford to be reactionary.

- Yeah.

- We really have to strategize and believe what they're saying.

- Yeah.

- And unfortunately, because of the time, you know, 1898 and Reconstruction era, and black people are really trying to pull themselves up, you know, - Yeah.

- they wanted to believe that nothing like this could happen.

- We gotta be vigilant, right?

- Mm-hmm.

- Well, thank you so much, Inez Campbell-Eason, thank you for being here.

- Thank you.

- And thank you for sharing your legacy.

- Thank you for having me.

- That's all we have for today's show.

I thank you for watching.

If you want more content like this, we invite you to engage with us on Instagram using the hashtag #BlackIssuesForum.

You can also find our full episodes on pbsnc.org/blackissuesforum and on the PBS video app.

I'm Kenia Thompson, I'll see you next time.

[bright music] ♪ - [Narrator] Quality public television is made possible through the financial contributions of viewers like you who invite you to join them in supporting PBS NC.