In 1898 Wilmington, North Carolina, was a shining example of a mixed-race community. It was a bustling port city with a thriving African American middle class. The Republican government had black as alderman, police officers, and magistrates. All that changed when Democrats stuffed the ballot boxes and rioted in the streets. They restored racism is official policy, effectively overthrowing the sitting government . In Wilmington’s Lie, David Zucchino renders a dramatic and definitive account of this forgotten chapter in American history