Sundown town
Sundown towns are communities in the United States that historically enforced exclusionary practices aimed at keeping minorities, particularly African Americans, out after dark. Originating in the late 19th century, these towns often employed intimidation, violence, and discriminatory laws, such as sundown ordinances, to maintain their all-white status. While many sundown towns explicitly excluded Black residents, others also targeted groups like Asian Americans and Jews. The phenomenon was widespread, with thousands of such towns identified across the country, from urban suburbs to rural areas. The existence of sundown towns led to the creation of resources like The Negro Motorist Green Book, which helped Black travelers navigate these potentially dangerous areas. Although formal legislative barriers have been removed, some communities have retained their predominantly white demographics and an unwelcoming atmosphere for minorities, manifesting in more subtle forms of exclusion, such as discriminatory policing. Historian James Loewen's research highlights the persistence of these issues in contemporary America, suggesting that many former sundown towns still grapple with the legacies of their past.
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Sundown town
Sundown towns were all-White communities with overtly racist policies that attempted to exclude minorities by intimidation, violence, or other means. Another term used in some areas was gray towns. Sundown towns usually excluded Black individuals, but some communities have had sundown ordinances that banned other groups, such as Asian Americans or Jews. Black individuals might be permitted to work in the communities but would not be allowed within the communities after dark—some towns even posted signs to this effect. Sundown towns emerged in the late nineteenth century and were common in many parts of the United States, where few minority individuals had been present before the 1880s. Guides for Black Americans, such as The Negro Motorist Green Book, were published in part to aid travelers in avoiding these communities.
Some claim sundown towns still exist in the United States, but because legislation is no longer employed to keep people out, the exclusion is more subtle. For example, individuals may be subject to frequent traffic stops or meet with hostility. Decades later, many of these communities have remained predominantly White.
Historian James Loewen wrote extensively about sundown towns. He discovered thousands of them across the United States, including the suburbs of urban areas, farming communities, and vacation towns. In 2005, he published Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. His research found sundown towns in every part of the country, from New England to California.
Background
Following the American Civil War, Black Americans accounted for about 40 percent of the population of Southern states. White people wanted to retain control of these states but did not want to drive out Black people, who they relied on for field work and other labor. For this reason, few sundown towns existed in the Deep South, but life remained difficult. Starting in the 1880s, Jim Crow laws were established to disenfranchise African Americans and ensure most remained impoverished. For example, formerly enslaved persons were required to sign yearly labor contracts or risk arrest for vagrancy. Such contracts prevented many from moving or finding other employment.
Many Black Americans who were able to move out of the South did so. The first period of mass migration took place in the 1870s and peaked in 1879. Many moved North and West. Legislation and hostile actions meant to inspire fear contributed to further migration in the following decades.
Overview
Some communities outside the South that had long been all White tried to prevent minorities from moving in or sought to force out those who had settled there. Communities, especially wealthier neighborhoods, passed racist housing ordinances or zoning laws. Restrictive covenants included in housing deeds prevented the properties from being sold to or occupied by anyone who was not White.
Some communities used threats to force Black families to sell their homes and move away or committed acts of violence—mobs ran Black Americans out of town, destroyed their property, or killed or beat people. Some burned down homes, businesses, or neighborhoods. Sometimes, communities found other means of encouraging people to move, such as by refusing to fund local Black schools. Landlords raised rents or refused to renew leases. Law enforcement repeatedly stopped Black individuals, harassing them until they avoided these communities. Some towns brazenly stated their hatred of Black people by erecting signs warning them to get out by sundown, a practice that led such localities to be labeled sundown towns. In some towns, a bell rang to tell minorities when to leave.
Sundown towns primarily excluded Black Americans, but other people were excluded as well. In various places, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, Indigenous Americans, and immigrants from Italy, Germany, and other parts of the world were kept out of communities. Catholics, Jews, and Mormons were also shunned or driven out. For example, the arrival in New England mill towns of many Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Canada prompted the growth of Ku Klux Klan groups in the early twentieth century. Discrimination against Jews was quite common in many parts of the country. In Connecticut in the 1920s, some community groups asked homeowners not to sell to Jews, while some realtors vowed not to meet with anyone whose name suggested they were Jewish. The town of Darien, Connecticut, became infamous because Jews were not permitted to spend the night there; a 1947 film starring Gregory Peck, Gentleman’s Agreement, exposed the practice.
The federal government enabled some places to remain sundown towns. Discriminatory mortgage practices were common before they began to change later in the twentieth century. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlawed housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, family status, or national origin. However, in the twenty-first century, many of the sundown towns retained a reputation for being unfriendly to minorities. Black Americans said they avoided such towns because they feared being the victim of driving while Black—targeted by police for traffic stops that involve intensive questioning about why they are in town.
Loewen noted that former sundown towns often continue to have issues related to past practices. For example, the city workforce typically remains all White or majority White for some time. The community’s culture, such as hiring practices, tends to remain little changed. School staff tend to lack diversity. Even when the evidence is undeniable, some residents and public officials may deny their community’s racist past. Loewen provided three steps former sundown towns should take. He said they should admit it, apologize for what was done, and renounce past practices. Doing so, he said, would undermine any bigots who were still around.
Bibliography
Bazzi, Samuel, Andreas Ferrara, Martin Fiszbein, Thomas Pearson, and Patrick A. Testa. “Sundown Towns and Racial Exclusion: The Southern White Diaspora and the ‘Great Retreat.’” American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, vol. 112, 2022, pp. 234–238, DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20221104. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
Daniel, Stephanie. “Chinese Miners Faced Racism, Violence as Mountain West Sundown Towns Excluded Them.” KUNC, 13 Sept. 2021, www.kunc.org/2021-09-13/chinese-miners-faced-racism-violence-as-mountain-west-sundown-towns-excluded-them. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
Givel, Michael S. "Evolution of a Sundown Town and Racial Caste System: Norman, Oklahoma from 1889 to 1967." Ethnicities, 28 Apr. 2021, doi.org/10.1177/14687968211011174. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
Headlee, Celeste, and Camila Beiner. “What Sundown Towns Represent for Black Drivers Today.” WBUR, 26 Aug. 2021, www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/08/26/sundown-towns-black-travel. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“Historical Database of Sundown Towns.” History and Social Justice, justice.tougaloo.edu/sundown-towns/using-the-sundown-towns-database/state-map. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
Loewen, James. Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. New Press, 2005.
Onibada, Ade. “Sundown Towns Are Still a Problem for Black Drivers.” BuzzFeed News, 22 July 2021, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adeonibada/sundown-towns-racism-black-drivers-tiktok. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“The Secret History of New England’s Sundown Towns.” New England Historical Society, 2023, www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/secret-history-new-englands-sundown-towns. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
Winkie, J. Davis. “Sundown Towns.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, 10 May 2022, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/sundown-towns. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.