William Rand Kenan Sr.

William Rand Kenan Sr. (August 4, 1845 – April 14, 1903) was an American merchant, military officer, and public official. He served as the Collector of the Port of Wilmington under President Grover Cleveland. Kenan was a prominent segregationist and white supremacist who was one of the lead perpetrators of the Wilmington massacre in 1898. In 1903, he was appointed to the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina.

Early life and education Kenan was born on August 4, 1845 in Kenansville, North Carolina to the planter and politician Owen Rand Kenan and Sarah Rebecca Graham Kenan. He grew up on his family's plantation, Liberty Hall. He was educated at Grove Academy and, in 1860, enrolled at the University of North Carolina. The unit had machine guns and were capable of firing 420 bullets per minute, gunning down Black residents in Wilmington at the intersection of Sixth Street and Brunswick Street. The unit used a mounted a Colt .23 caliber machine gun to a horse-drawn wagon and fired it while riding through the streets.