CAROLINA ON MY MIND

We drove on historic U.S. Highway 17 on our way to Wilmington, North Carolina. All of our reading led us to believe that Wilmington is a gem on the North Carolina coast. Buster and I wondered if maybe this would be where we would spend at least a couple of our nine lives. The downtown area is located on the Cape Fear River and has a lovely Riverwalk lined with shops and cafes. In 2014, Wilmington's riverfront was ranked as the "Best American Riverfront" by readers of USA Today. Wilmington has a beautiful historic district which spans 230 blocks of churches, beautiful homes, and amazing architecture on its brick-paved streets. We walked through the old Cotton Exchange building, which has been converted to a shopping center. We found Elizabeth’s Boutique and hit it off with Joan and Jennifer. Joan owned the shop and Jennifer worked there. These two local cats were charming and talked to us about all things Wilmington. Elizabeth’s is a funky little shop where Betty purchased a couple of new outfits. After that, we were so hungry. We had lunch at a restaurant called The Basics. We had shrimp and grits, Brunswick stew, and some yummy collards. Five paws on our scale of five!

For Christmas, Betty whipped up a pot of paella, which is a rice dish originally from Valencia in Spain. Paella is regarded as one of the community's identifying symbols. It is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. There are all sorts of recipes for it, because it’s basically peasant food. Put what you have in it. Anyway, if you haven’t had it, try it soon. Ours was six paws on our scale of five.

Then, on New Year’s Eve, we went to a restaurant in Old Wilmington (the historic downtown) called Circa 1922. Wow! Good food, good wine, and great ambience. Five out of five paws.

Then, on New Year’s Day, Betty struck again with a traditional meal with yummy pork, hoppin’ john, collard greens, and cornbread. Mmmmm. Six out of five paws.

Wilmington has a population of about 115,000. It is the principal city of the Wilmington metropolitan area, which has a population of about 286,000 human beings. Wilmington has an interesting history. In particular, the time after the Civil War perked up our ears. Wiki tells the story kind of like this:

During the Reconstruction era, former free black people and newly emancipated freedmen built a community in the city. About 55% of its residents were black people. At the time, Wilmington was the largest city and the economic capital of the state.

Three of the city's aldermen were black. Black people were also in positions of the justice of the peace, deputy clerk of court, street superintendent, coroners, policemen, mail clerks, and mail carriers. At the time, black people accounted for over 30% of Wilmington's skilled craftsmen. In addition, they owned 10 of the city's 11 restaurants and the newspaper called the Wilmington Daily Record.

In the 1890s, a coalition of Republicans and Populists (white and black people) had gained state and federal offices. The Democrats (white people) were determined to reassert their control. Violence increased around elections in this period, as armed white paramilitary insurgents, known as Red Shirts, worked to suppress black and Republican voting. White Democrats regained control of the state legislature and sought to impose white supremacy, but some blacks continued to be elected to local offices.

The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 (also known as the Wilmington Race Riot) occurred as a result of the racially charged political conflict that had occurred in the decades after the Civil War and efforts by white Democrats to re-establish white supremacy and suppress black voting. In 1898, a cadre of white Democrats, professionals, and businessmen planned to overthrow the city government if their candidates were not elected. Two days after the election, in which a white Republican was elected mayor and both white and black aldermen were elected, more than 1500 white men attacked and burned the black-owned daily newspaper and ran off the new officers. They overthrew the legitimately elected municipal government. The Red Shirts forced the elected Republican city officials to resign at gunpoint and replaced them with men selected by leading white Democrats. Prominent black Americans and white Republicans were banished from the city in the following days. This is the only such coup d'état in United States history.

White people attacked and killed an estimated 10–100 black people; no white people died in the violence. As a result of the attacks, more than 2100 black people permanently left the city, leaving a hole among its professional and middle classes. The demographic change was so large that the city became majority white, rather than the majority black it was before the coup.

Following these events, the North Carolina legislature passed a new constitution that raised barriers to voter registration, imposing requirements for poll taxes and literacy tests that effectively disfranchised most black voters, following the example of Mississippi. Black people were essentially excluded from the political system until after the enactment of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

And there you have it. That’s an extreme example of how white people suppress the vote. The suppression is usually a little more subtle these days, but it still happens. Close a polling place. Redistrict. Purge the voting rolls. Watch out guys. Particularly familiar is the notion that a group of people planned to overthrow the government if their candidates were not elected.

Now, back to the news. There are four nearby beach communities just outside Wilmington: Fort Fisher, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and Kure Beach, all within a half-hour drive from downtown Wilmington. On Christmas morning, we went to Wrightsville Beach and enjoyed a long and brisk stroll on the beach.

One afternoon we even dared to venture out onto the water and tour the WWII Battleship North Carolina which is moored across from downtown Wilmington. The ship is huge and has nine levels and three armored decks. In addition to all the obvious things you would expect on a battleship (gun turrets, a canteen, and a sick bay), there was also a post office, an ice cream shop, and a WWII version of a convenience store. I am sure that the men who were assigned to this ship appreciated the few creature comforts that reminded them of home,

While we liked the historic downtown, the city of Wilmington is really growing and the surrounding areas lack the charm we were hoping for. Once out of downtown, we might as well have been in any other mid-sized city. Market Street, in particular, is out of control with traffic - especially those cats driving Challengers and Chargers. You know who we’re talking about.

One of our cats who we know told us to check out Southport and Oak Island. Oh boy. Southport is quaint town and has been dubbed “America’s Happiest Seaside Town.” After walking around the town and enjoying a delicious lunch at Koa’s Cafe, we agree! The town has also been home to a number of movies such as “A Walk to Remember” and “Crimes of the Heart.” In fact, the greater Wilmington area is known as a hub for television and movie production. We both really fell in love with Southport, but we put our heads together and decided that it was just a little too small to fit our needs. But, I can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to experience small town charm in a beautiful coastal setting.

Oak Island is another beautiful spot and it is home to one of the longest piers on the East Coast and a cool lighthouse. Carolina Beach is another lovely town that has amusement park rides, good food and lots of festivals in the summer. Oak Island is a very popular area for those looking for an experience that is a little off the beaten path. Being cats, you may be surprised that we love the beach, but we do! Go figure!

North Carolina is a big state in area and population. There’s plenty of songs about the state and artists who call it home. One of our favorite artists is James Taylor, who wrote his classic Carolina On My Mind in the 60s. Nice tune from an iconic songwriters. We’ll write again soon.

Betty and Buster

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