Alli Aweusi and The Wilmington Ten
Side A of this cassette tape showcases music from the Shona people of Rhodesia, a country that is a part of modern-day Zimbabwe. Alli Aweusi was heavily involved in the arts, especially that of African music and poetry. He has various tapes showcasing indigenous African music to celebrate the breadth and beauty of African art in this collection.
This tape is particularly interesting because side B is a recording of the 60 Minutes special of the Wilmington Ten, which aired in 1977. Aweusi did not indicate in any way that this recording was on this tape.
The Wilmington Ten is an event that happened in 1971 in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is known as one of the most egregious cases of injustice that happened in North Carolina in the Civil Rights Era.
Following Brown v. The Board of Education, racial tension was high in North Carolina with the desegregation of public schools. Black students faced violence and oppression from both classmates and administrators when they were integrated into previously all-white schools. Black students began boycotting this violence, though they were quickly met with backlash from the administrators and the KKK. The KKK began patrolling the streets shortly after these boycotts to combat any of the Black students' progress.
In February of 1971, Reverend Benjamin Chavis, a Civil Rights leader and assistant to Martin Luther King Jr., joined the United Church of Christ in Wilmington in an attempt to calm the racial tension and to give support for the Black students’ boycotts. However, when he arrived the KKK threatened the United Church of Christ attendees with violence. Then, on February 6th, the KKK firebombed the white-owned grocery store Mike's Grocery and framed the attendees of the church.
The "Wilmington Ten" refers to the 9 men and 1 woman who were wrongfully convicted for the firebombing of Mike's Grocery. They were sentenced to a total of 282 years in prison.
There wasn’t any progress to get the justice that these people deserved until news outlets like 60 Minutes or Time began publishing information about the Wilmington Ten. Amnesty International took the case in 1976 and in 1980 the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions. But, it wasn't until 2012 that the Wilmington Ten were pardoned by Beverly Perdue, the Governor of North Carolina. These events are why the Wilmington Ten is known by scholars and activists as one of the most appalling cases of injustice in North Carolina in the Civil Rights Era.
Aweusi found this report important because it demonstrates a few key aspects of Black politics in America. The first aspect is the need for boycotting. The students who attended previously all-white schools and were met with violence could not get their voices heard without boycotting. Boycotting proves as a means for Black people to have a platform to speak in a political system that attempts to suppress their voices. The second aspect is the need for international pressure. It is often the case that the Black voice is not taken seriously until there is outside pressure from foreign officials or news outlets. Justice was not given until the international news companies and Amnesty International brought attention to the Wilmington Ten.