<p>The True Story Behind the Wilmington Ten is a non-fiction, historical account of the events that led up to the Wilmington (N.C.) Incident of 1971 (commonly called the Wilmington Ten incident), a week-long incident of racial violence which resulted in two deaths, six injuries and over $500,000 worth of property damage. The 1971 incident is significant because it led to the arrest, trial, conviction and incarceration of a group of young people who were later referred to internationally as the Wilmington Ten. The group consisted of nine black males and a white female. Their 1972 convictions for firebombing Mike's Grocery, a white-owned business, and hindering firemen from saving the store netted them each one of the lengthiest terms in the state's history. They all declared that they were framed and innocent of the charges. Their case was taken up by Amnesty International and other human rights groups who called them political prisoners. The intense publicity was an embarassment to President Carter who had stated that Russia had political prisoners that should be released. The Russian government said that the U.S. had political prisoners too and cited the Wilmington Ten as prime examples. The case was riddled with contadictions and questionable judicial procedures and made the national and international news with coverage in the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, CBS-TV's 60 Minutes and other major news sources. Finally, in 1978, the state's governor reduced their sentences and they were gradually released from prison. Later, a U.S. Appeals Court ruled that their original trial was full of errors and that they deserved another one. But by that time they were all out of prison and financial support. Most of them led tragic and uneventful lives after that, except their leader Rev. Benjamin Chavis, who later became head of the N.A.A.C.P., and a top minister in the Nation of Islam.</p>

The true story behind the Wilmington Ten

History

Thomas, Larry Reni

Americas

U.B. & U.S. Communications Systems

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Books by Thomas, Larry Reni

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Thomas, Larry Reni. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The true story behind the Wilmington Ten