In his book Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism (2005; New York: Touchstone), James Loewen discusses cities that had a “no Blacks after dark” policy. They were called “sundown towns” because African Americans were actively informed that they should be out of town by sundown; if not, they were subject to arrest or violence. Of course, the purpose of these regulations was to keep Blacks from settling permanently in these towns. If they couldn’t be in town limits after dark, they clearly couldn’t live there. Here is an example of a sundown town: this ad encouraging people to move to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, says, over in the lower right corner, “No Malaria, No Mosquitoes, No Negroes.”
Found here.
NOTE: As Mr. Loewen pointed out in a comment, I had originally said he discussed “cities in the South,” as though that was all his book concentrated on. That was poor wording on my part, as I had been reading the sections of the book that covered some areas in the South I was specifically interested in (particularly Oklahoma). I did not mean to imply that sundown towns existed only in the South or that Mr. Loewen only discusses the South.
Comments 8
Sanguinity — July 18, 2008
It went beyond mere towns: Oregon was admitted to statehood with a "black exclusion" clause in its constitution, which remained in Oregon's Bill of Rights (!?) until 1926.
Unsurprisingly, Oregon is still very, very white.
Anonymous — July 20, 2008
Iowa was also admitted with a clause in its state constitution that required African-Americans to post a $1000 cash bond at the state capital prior to establishing residence within the boundaries of the state.
A possible link that might be of interest:
Jame's Loewen's Sundown town website, where you can look up these towns by state.
http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/index.php
James Loewen — August 29, 2008
Most sundown towns are NOT in the South! Why did you say "Loewen discusses cities in the South"?? This is precisely the problem: we think severe racism is in the South (where it is) even when we read accounts of it in the North (where it also is)!
Sociological Images » INTERACTIVE WEBSITE ON RACIAL EXPULSIONS — November 9, 2008
[...] these expulsions made by the Austin American Statesman newspaper. See also our post about “Sundown Towns,” which kept Blacks out by making it illegal for them to be there after [...]
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