1898 memorial: Labor of love to begin

Eight scoops of dirt marked the start of a memorial to bring remembrance, healing and hope to the Wilmington community.

Work on the 1898 Memorial Park is officially about to begin.

Bronze shovels in hand, city officials, 1898 Foundation members and representatives of the state-appointed 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission stood together Thursday to break ground at the future park site at North Third and Davis streets.

A crowd ranging from former Wilmington mayors and city employees to nearby residents and NAACP members came to witness the historic event.

"We're here today out of love for our city," City Councilman Jim Quinn said. "Like most love affairs, there is a history. … I hope the memorial will be one way to remember some of the mistakes that were made in our city."

On Nov. 10, 1898, white supremacists violently overthrew Wilmington's biracial city government and forced black and white opponents of their statewide campaign out of town. An unknown number of blacks were killed and the city's race relations were forever changed.

City Councilwoman Lethia Hankins, co-chairwoman of the 1898 Foundation, said the memorial will be a gateway into the city that will offer hope to the community. "It will seek to heal the wounds," she said.

The foundation has been working since 1996 to have a memorial established and has led efforts to raise nearly $200,000 to fund it.

Controversy over the site selection and work on the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway extension nearby caused some delays in the project. But progress is now under way to complete the memorial in 2008.

The N.C. Department of Transportation awarded a contract in August for Lumina Builders to put in sidewalks and conduct other grading work, said Allen Pope, DOT division engineer. The work will be completed in January, followed by landscaping.

In a recent phone interview, Georgia artist Ayokunle Odeleye, whose memorial design was chosen in 2001, said he would be in town next week to help with site work. His work on the memorial is halfway complete.

The memorial will consist of 11 figures, each 16 feet high, in the shape of African paddles with inlays representing the history of the city, including the riots and the progress since.

Odeleye said sticking with the project has been difficult because of strict guidelines from the DOT.

For example, Odeleye needed special permission to use bronze from Japan to coat pieces of the work because of requirements that domestic materials must be used. Each portion of the project also must be inspected by the DOT before work proceeds, Odeleye said.

But he's remained committed because of the cultural significance and what it will mean to the city.

"It's an important piece," he said. "It's just a joy to be working on something so important to my heritage."

Angela Mack: 343-2009

angie.mack@starnewsonline.com