Scotland County Native Debuts Award-Winning Film at Cole Auditorium

Scotland County filmmaker Chris Everett will return to the campus of Richmond Community College on April 8 to present a full screening of Wilmington on Fire, his documentary about the 1898 Wilmington Massacre that unseated an elected government and helped to create Jim Crow segregation in North Carolina.

 

Scott presented a clip of the documentary as part of a Black History Month event hosted in February by RichmondCC’s Global Diversity Committee.

 

“I am thrilled to finally show this film near my hometown”, said Everett, who directed and produced the film. “This history is not just restricted to Wilmington, but it was history that affected all of North Carolina, especially in this part of the state. You had militia groups back then from this area who actually participated in this horrific event on Nov. 10, 1898. This is a part of history that everyone should know about.”

 

The Wilmington Massacre is considered one of the only successful examples of a coup d'état in the United States that left countless numbers of African-American citizens dead and exiled from the city.

 

It is considered the springboard for the white supremacy movement and Jim Crow segregation throughout the state of North Carolina and the American South. Wilmington on Fire gives a compelling historical and present day look at this event showing how the violent overthrow of an existing government not only cemented white supremacy in the city of Wilmington and the state of North Carolina but also throughout the United States of America.

 

The documentary will be shown at 7 p.m. April 8 at the Cole Auditorium on the main campus of Richmond Community College in Hamlet. Following the screening, cast and crew members will share their experience making the film, plus discuss their perspective on the 1898 massacre and its impact today.

 

Tickets are $15, with students and senior citizens receiving a discounted price of $10. Tickets may be purchased at the Cole Auditorium Box Office, by calling (910) 410-1691 or online at www.wofcole.eventbrite.com.