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During a November election nearly 123 years ago
Democrats in North Carolina would overthrow
The biracial Fusion party made up of Republicans and Populists
Who empowered the mostly black and affluent population of Wilmington, North Carolina’s metropolis
The Democrats deployed the Red Shirts (a para-military terrorist group) to stymie the black vote
And leveraged all of the daily newspapers stating that quote,
‘This is a white man’s country, and white men must control and govern it’
The Democrats published their Handbook statewide to make it legit
They swept every position, electing every Democrat who ran
But then they went after acres of black owned businesses and land
Murdering hundreds of black men, women, and children, causing thousands more to flee
Who never returned to NC by threat of death by bullet or tree
The leader of the resistance, Alfred Moore Waddell, declared himself mayor
Nothing could save black folks then, the law, even prayer!
This was 23 years before Tulsa, and 25 years before Rosewood
We can ask for reparations and fair elections, but will it do any good?
In the last century, the parties may have changed
But our history still remains the same
We keep mastering and playing by their rules
But they just keep changing the game...
