Exactly 125 years ago, white supremacists carried out the only successful coup in United States history. It resulted in the massacre of at least 60 African Americans.

The Wilmington insurrection changed our state forever, erasing years of political and economic progress among Black people living in Wilmington. Our Siobhan Riley traveled to the coast to learn more about this historically overlooked tragedy.

Related Story: Remembering the Wilmington Massacre of 1898

David Zucchino, an adjunct instructor this semester for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism, also stops by to share some of the long-term impacts of the coup. Zucchino also won the Pulitzer Prize for his book on the insurrection, "Wilmington's Lie."

Professor Irving Joyner of North Carolina Central University served as the vice chair of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission. The commission was authorized by the General Assembly in 2000 and sought in part to develop a clear historical record of what actually happened during the insurrection.

Joyner joins us with more on the commission's findings.