Join us in Historic Thalian Hall's City Council Chambers for a talk with LeRae Umfleet- author of A Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot. LeRae and WHQR’s Rachel Lewis Hilburn will discuss an overview of the causes and effects of the white supremacy campaign of 1898, along with discussion of the violence that unfolded on November 10, 1898.  Historic maps, original documents, and images from the period will provide contrasts to the modern landscape and how the city has changed as a result of the violence that unfolded.. There will be time for audience questions, book signing, and Pomegranate Books will be in the building selling A Day of Blood. Registrations are required.

About the Author:

LeRae Umfleet works with the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to develop outreach and specialty programming projects on behalf of the Secretary’s office, including her latest project – coordinating the America 250 NC commemoration.   

Throughout her career in public history, LeRae has worked with a multitude of sites in a variety of capacities, including the Office of Archives and History, the North Carolina Collection in Chapel Hill, the Joel Lane Museum House in Raleigh, and Historic Hope Plantation in Windsor.  LeRae has served on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Museums Council, the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, the North Carolina Preservation Consortium, the Historic Stagville Foundation, the Raleigh Heritage Trail, the Bertie County Arts Council, and as the Historiographer for the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern North Carolina.

Originally from Bath, North Carolina, LeRae graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1991 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History.  She then attended East Carolina University where she graduated with a Master’s Degree in 1998.  Reflecting her personal interest in plantation slavery, her thesis was entitled “Slavery in Microcosm: Bertie County, North Carolina 1790-1810.”  LeRae also published A Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot, based on research for which she was awarded the American Association of State and Local History Award of Merit and their prestigious WOW Award (2007).