Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Wilmington's Lie by David Zucchino

1. Had you known of the Wilmington massacre before reading David Zucchino's book? If so, what was your understanding of the events recounted in the book?
2. Does Wilmington's Lie challenge your view of who we are as a nation? Have we changed over the past 120+ years? How or how not?
3. Why do white people have difficulties with black peoples' self-assertion? To what extent does white anger still exist in the 21st century? What is or was the source of white anger? What about black anger?
4. Josephus Daniels, publisher of the Record, and Furnifold Simmons of the state's Democratic Party were able to exploit the anger and fears of the white population through an intentional campaign of disinformation. Is today's public as gullible as it was at the turn of the 20th century? Or, given the impact of social media, are we perhaps more so?
5. Talk about the response of the governor of North Carolina, as well as that of President William McKinley? What prevented both men from intervening?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Atlantic Monthly Press. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.