Excellence in Wilmington | Wilmington Before the Coup

Researched, written and produced by 11th- and 12th-grade students at Middle Creek High School in Apex, North Carolina, this video profiles two influential Black leaders from Wilmington before the 1898 Coup: William H. McLaurin, a Reconstruction-era political leader and Navy veteran, and Alexander Manly, the outspoken editor of the Wilmington Daily Record. Through faith, education, and civic action, both men exemplified Black excellence and left legacies of leadership and resistance.