Project Director
Dr. Cara Ward is an assistant professor in the Watson College of Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where she teaches elementary and secondary social studies methods courses. She has 23 years of experience in K-12 instruction and curriculum development having served the public school system in North Carolina since 2000. Cara has a B.A. in History and an M.A.T. in Secondary Social Studies from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Cara has multiple publications and presentations related to teaching the 1898 coup and massacre. She was the project director for a $1 million US Department of Education Teaching American History Grant where she coordinated 120 hours of professional development per year for a cohort of 25 teachers.
Project Co-Directors
Dr. Tiffany Gilbert is department chair and professor of English at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she teaches primarily in the areas of post-1945 American literature, film, and popular culture. Tiffany has a B.A. in English from The College of William and Mary, an M.A. in English from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. in English from The University of Virginia. With Dr. Lynn Mollenauer, she spearheaded The 1898 Legacies and Futures Research Collective to nurture constructive dialogue, innovative pedagogies and new partnerships that will contribute to the ongoing remembrance and restoration efforts already taking place throughout Wilmington and the Cape Fear region. Together, they are coediting a volume of essays, The 1898 Wilmington Massacre: Critical Explorations on Insurrection, Black Resilience, and Black Futures, contracted with Louisiana State University Press.
Dr. Lynn Wood Mollenauer is associate professor in the Department of History at University of North Carolina Wilmington. A cultural historian whose research examines the interconnections between science, magic, and religion, she holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in history and fine arts from Amherst College. Her recent work focuses on the legacies of the 1898 Wilmington massacre and coup and its lasting impact on the greater Wilmington community. She and Dr. Tiffany Gilbert are the founding co-directors of UNCW’s 1898 Legacies and Futures Research Collective as well as an annual summer curriculum development workshop, “1898: Futures and Legacies.” The workshop brings together UNCW faculty to design courses and place-based applied learning experiences for students to reconstruct the lives of Black people in the Cape Fear region over the long 20th century, from before the massacre of 1898 to the incarceration of the Wilmington Ten. The volume of essays that she is co-editing with Dr. Gilbert, The 1898 Wilmington Massacre: Critical Explorations on Insurrection, Black Resilience, and Black Futures, should be available in 2024 from Louisiana State University Press.
Program Assistant
Chandler Hicks is a first year MA student at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he is studying Southern U.S. History. He is a Wilmington local with a passion for educating others and exploring historical narratives.
Website Designer
Emmanuel Mitcham serves as the Marketing and Communication Specialist within UNCW’s College of Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts. He is a professional graphic designer and illustrator with a strong background in higher education, diversity and marketing.
He is very passionate about his work, both personally and professionally.