An absorbing investigation into a little-known historical tragedy—an insurrection at the turn of the twentieth century which upended post-Reconstruction gains made by Black residents in a small North Carolina town.

In the late nineteenth century, Laurinburg, North Carolina, was a beacon of racial calm—a place where Blacks and Whites could live and work together. Black families like the Malloys became landlords, businessmen, and doctors. But that progress was shattered on the eve of Election Day, 1898, when supremacist groups launched a bloody attack, forcing Laurinburg’s Black citizens to flee. This bloody race riot was the only recorded insurrection, stripping middle-class Blacks—who made strides during Reconstruction—of their seats on every electoral board.

Black, White, Colored is the first book to tell the story of the events in Laurinburg and its impact on the town’s Black occupants. Descendants, Lauretta Malloy Noble and LeeAnét Noble, carefully piece together that fateful event and its aftermath, providing compelling details of how their family became one of this Southern town’s richest and most powerful despite slavery, violent white supremacist groups, floods, war, and other roadblocks to success.

Black, White, Colored shines a spotlight on the Laurinburg Insurrection, and elevates it to its rightful place in American history, beside the 1921 race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and offers insights relevant to our society today.

BIO

Lauretta Malloy is critically acclaimed. She has a BSc degree from the New York university established by the Board of Regents and studied psychology and music at Howard University (for five years, and was on the HU Jazz ensemble 1994 album). She is certified in Genealogy Research from the University of Strathclyde and in scriptwriting from The National Film and Television School. Her work with LeeAnet for Rick Owens at Paris Fashion Week (featuring students from Howard University)  made headlines worldwide and has been inducted into over ten museums. 
 
LeeAnét Noble played in award-winning theatre productions. She graduated with honors from Howard University ('03, BFA) and is certified in Organizational Behavior from IESE Business School.  She teaches history for George Washington University’s MFA classical acting program, courses at Morgan State University and is on senior staff at Shakespeare Theatre Company where she has launched and led numerous collaborations with Howard University. 

REVIEWS

The truth of our history is so important, and all too often, left untold. I recently worked in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and had the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the massacre in the Greenwood Community. When I read Black, White, and Colored, by Lauretta Malloy and LeeAnét Noble, it resonated with my soul. I am deeply grateful to these two powerful women who dared to share their family’s history with us. Their testimony is filled with lessons and inspiration for us all.”  -- Keith David, three time Emmy and NAACP Image award winning actor, singer and voice over artist

"We must honor history. I also believe we should embrace the uncomfortable in the past in order to move forward in the present and the future. Lauretta Malloy Noble and LeeAnét Noble, mother and daughter and beneficiaries of an extraordinary family do both brilliantly in their essential read." -- Gayle Jessup White, author of Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Lasting Legacy

"Black, White, Colored is a revelatory and deeply personal excavation of American identity, race, and memory—co-authored by visionary artist and storyteller LeeAnét Noble and her mother, Lauretta Malloy Noble. This is a story of what it means to know who you are, to say your ancestors’ names out loud, and to refuse to let their stories remain buried." -- Hill Harper, four-time New York Times best-selling author

"Histories of Black freedom movements foreground the importance of intergenerational knowledge to envision and build sustainable new worlds. Black, White, Colored offers the opportunity to not only learn about the impact of cultivating intergenerational knowledge on their family’s history but also its impact on the writing process. In so doing, the book also offers the opportunity to make a significant contribution to Black life writing." -- Dr. Soyica Diggs Colbert, Ph. D. Interim Provost and Idol Family Professor, Georgetown University

[H]  Amistad Press  / November 18, 2025

0.94" H x 9.34" L x 6.23" W (0.94 lbs) 240 pages