MARROWS OF TRADITION CHESNUTT, HANSBERRY, AND WILMINGTON 1898.

The article focuses on the historical 1898 Wilmington coup d’état by White supremacists and its literary and cultural aftermath, particularly through the works of Charles W. Chesnutt and Lorraine Hansberry. Chesnutt’s 1901 novel *The Marrow of Tradition* was inspired by the violent overthrow of Wilmington’s interracial government and exposes the brutality of White supremacy during the post-Reconstruction era. Decades later, playwright Lorraine Hansberry devoted seven years to adapting Chesnutt’s novel for the stage, creating a complex and unfinished work that deepened the novel’s themes of racial terror, family, and identity while adding new dramatic elements such as a haunting prologue. Hansberry’s engagement with Chesnutt’s novel reflects a sustained political and artistic dialogue between two prominent African American writers addressing race, violence, and justice in American history.