It became such a hot topic that even Loewen weighed in on the show (just months before his death at age 79 in 2021). According to AP News, these towns are inhabited by a majority of white people who insist that "Black and white residents get along really well." Manage Settings Fortunately, with the rise of camera phone videos and social media, some white people are questioning the bias built into our criminal justice system. The Ocoee massacre was a white mob attack on African-American residents in northern Ocoee, Florida, which occurred on November 2, 1920, the day of the U.S. presidential election. Thats sad, isnt it, she added, distancing herself from the policy. James W. Loewen (1942-2021) We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began. This has left many African Americans unable to get family-supporting jobs. What are the specs of documented assaults and murders, Is there a possibility these people are labeled as disappeared?! Many towns drove out their black populations, then posted sundown signs. Woouldn't surprise me if it still had one. View this page in Standard (full site) format. Sundown towns are rare in the South but common in the rest of the country. Looking at the only registry of sundown towns in America, youll find that there are hundreds scattered around all corners of the U.S.; in fact, there are almost fifty in Pennsylvania alone. For example, one of the places listed is Culver City, which has probably been majority-minority for almost half a century. Dr. Smith taught in the Africana Studies Department of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and served as a consultant at the Levine Museum of the New South, where he helped revamp a permanent exhibit. For small towns, the census in many years, especially before 1940, does not list population by race, but you can amass it yourself from the manuscript census for any decade between 1860 and 1930 inclusive (except 1890, most of which was destroyed by fire). Whites fled to suburbs or parts of the cities with better housing. The rise of sundown towns made it difficult and dangerous for blacks to travel long distances by car. Begin softly, maybe by asking what the towns major employers used to be. Although no one in the area has ever said anything to her that she considers racist, she said she "definitely felt the way they felt about me.". Then you can scan local newspapers for the decade between two adjacent censuses that show a sharp decline in black population, to see if it describes any actions whites took to cause the decline. No sundown towns listed for Washington State. Following Reconstruction, city neighborhoods in America became very segregated, as predominantly white communities actively discouraged blacks from settling there. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The brutality of the scene combined with the popularity of the show sparked discussions on Twitter about how sundown towns still exist in some form in modern times. The population density was 7,566.0 people per square mile (2,921.2/km2). After just one Black family moved into an apartment there in 1951, a mob of 4,000 white people attacked the entire building. A big no for Dr. Schnozz. The sooner they can be declared null and void, then sent to town or state archives, the better. Data at census.gov provide the racial proportions of every town in the country with more than a few hundred inhabitants for 1990 and 2000. Writers aren't always good public speakers, so I'll check out the book, too, for sure. Bernadette Giacomazzo is a NYC-based editor, writer, photographer, and publicist with a career spanning more than two decades in the entertainment industry. Maybe something like being void if no one is cited under it for 20 years? OK, I live in one of those towns and I have plenty of black neighbors who live here too. This site was created by Matt Cheney, revised by OddBird, copyrighted by James W. Loewen and heirs (Nick Loewen), and is maintained by Phil Huckelberry and Stephen Berrey. It is common knowledge that black people are not allowed to live there. To always use Standard format on my mobile device: Go to My Account, About | Copyright | Privacy | Terms of service | Contact. Of course, while a TikTok video is not enough evidence for the existence of sundown towns across America, this story is one of many shared experiences. During the Great Migration, more than 6 million Black people moved from the South to the North, Midwest, and West from 1916 to 1970. Pennsylvania Sundown Towns - History and Social Justice Home Sundown Towns How to Research and Teach About Sundown Towns Pennsylvania Sundown Towns James W. Loewen (1942-2021) We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began. If they don't exist, and you have proof, scratch one off the list. In general, email folks does not work, not on a ticklish subject. How Does a City Choose to Remember its Past? Probably you will find NOTHING about blacks, but sometimes there are surprises. He now lives in Washington, D.C., continuing his research on how Americans remember their past. Many of the people who relocated were hoping for a better life elsewhere in the United States. The horror is really only the last five minutes (At lead in the first episode). While this may seem like a problem of the past, many all-white sundown towns still exist today, and they arent just in the South. This time period would eventually become known as the Jim Crow era. The older the town, the more legal debris they've probably accumulated. I looked over the locations in Ohio when the thread about the close polls came up, just to see if Trumpers were located mostly in the southern end of the state. A first step, then, is to look up the census information on racial composition in various years. Creation and Enforcement Such obvious signs may be out-of-fashion now, but the location of good family-supporting jobs far from where most African Americans are able tolive has the same effect. Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec, Sun and Moon times today for PennsylvaniaMoonrise and moonset times for PennsylvaniaPhases of the Moon for Pennsylvania, What is twilight, dawn, and dusk?What is solar noon?Directions based on true north. And of course, a town may have been sundown once, but now is not. And of course, you flatter them by telling them (correctly) that they are the expert on the towns history. Then interview (in person) that person or persons. Sometimes the nearest newspaperoutsidethe town in question will be more forthcoming. Its real strange and weird out here sometimes, said Nicholas Lewis, a Black resident of Vienna, Illinois. If you're a Black person who can't altogether avoid sundown towns, there are other precautions you can take while in those areas. Vidor has been known for many thingsamong them the activities of the local Ku Klux Klan; its status as a sundown town, in which blacks were not allowed in city limits after dark; and an ugly fight in the early nineties over a federal effort to desegregate public housing in the city, which caused Texas Monthly, in a cover story that year, to describe Vidor as Texass most hate-filled town. The census estimates it to be 91 percent white. Leaving phone messages is only slightly better. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. This is known as the Great Migration and it transformed America. Click here to learn how to discover whetheryour town is a sundown town. Sometimes, they drove Black residents out by force. They're down now, but in too many towns that hate lives on. Sundown towns re-entered the spotlight again in 2020 thanks to the HBO series Lovecraft Country. In his presentations, Loewen asked thousands of Americans about the causes of the Civil War. With racial segregation, most white Americans get their only exposure to black American life through the distorted lens of many television news programs. It only takes one incident to direct attention to the police and the target, to distract from a law on the books that could exonerate police who'd know that the target wouldn't have legal means to sue. He remembers Martinsville, Indiana as an unfriendly place. Beginning in about 1890 and continuing until 1968, white Americans established thousands of towns across the United States for whites only. A still from HBOs horror drama TV series. So if you know a town was a sundown town, kindly email us telling us so, with specific data if you have it. Annotated Bibliography Whiteness: Framed, De-framed and Counter-Framed. Life After Hate: A Former White Power Leader Redeems Himself, Inheriting Home: The Skeletons in Pas Closet, Service Seeks Reconciliation Over 1916 Lynching. In essence, these sundown towns represent some of the height of racist sentiments following slavery. During the brutal Red Summer of 1919, an armed white mob in Corbin, Kentucky, rounded up some 300 Black men, women, and children and violently forced them onto rail cars headed for other towns. Such places are often called sundown towns, owing to the signs formerly posted at their city limits signs that usually said Nigger, Dont Let the Sun Go Down on You in __. Anna-Jonesboro still had such signs in the 1970s. Privacy & Terms, Sun and Moon times today for Pennsylvania, Moonrise and moonset times for Pennsylvania, * All times are local time for Pennsylvania. For decades, these communities either explicitly or implicitly let Black people know they were not welcome there. HBOA still from HBOs horror drama TV series Lovecraft Country. You would often see signs openly displaying messages of racial exclusion like, Whites only after dark, and on one sign in Alix, Arkansas in the 1930s: N-word, dont let the sun go down on you in Alix. Some towns prevented any black Americans from buying property and businesses that served black customers would be boycotted. The ordinance required indigenous people and []. In 2005, sociologist James Loewen published the book Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism in an attempt to show this ugly part of history that often goes unmentioned in American textbooks. Census research. Also there's a military base nearby. Owning a home in a valued neighborhood is how most average Americans save money and pass it on to their children. There were also race riots in which white mobs attacked black neighborhoods, burning, looting, and killing. Those [], [] Sundown ordinances were imposed across the U.S. during the Jim Crow era, which legalized racial segregation. In the 1800-1900s, the pseudo-science of eugenics proved that blacks were brutes in order to justify slavery. Time and Date AS 19952023. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. In Teaching What Really Happened (2009), he gives teachers solutions to the problems described in his earlier works. Otherwise, they risked being arrested, beaten, or even murdered by white residents. Cops can get "creative" with old laws, and we don't need to give them the slightest opportunity to abuse people. Plenty of Northern and Western towns and cities had Sundown laws stating that no black person could be found within the city limits after [], [] only signs were posted on bars, motels, and restaurants. I'm not keen on the horror genre, either, but the first episode piques my interest. Loewen believed that this history remained forgotten for so long because of our cultural tendency to connect extreme racism with the South. But lack of accountability in former sundown towns may also play a factor. Usually these folks just dont want to say anything bad about their town if they can help it. However, in some years breakdowns by race are provided only for towns larger than 2,500 and in one decade only for towns larger than 4,000. Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong came out in 1999. Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminatory local laws, intimidation, and violence. The book,Sundown Towns, has a chapter telling how a town may have driven out its blacks, even posted the traditional sundown town sign, yet allowed one family to remain. Oral historyThen ask the librarian in charge of the local history collection if s/he knows anything about the absence of blacks. Some sundown towns also kept out Jews, Chinese, Mexicans, Native Americans, or other groups. they just abuse people with no laws on the books, so there's that. It is an entire community (or even county) that for decades was "all white" on purpose. This made home ownership affordable for millions of average Americans. While few former sundown towns would describe themselves as such today, many of them remain largely white. But a lot of the places listed there are not sundown towns anymore. Sundown towns in Arkansas range from hamlets like Alix to larger towns like Paragould (Greene County) and Springdale (Washington County). Sundown towns are especially still a problem for black drivers and many recent interactions have proved how disturbing they can be. For much of the 20th century, thousands of all-white American towns forbade Black people from . In the 1930s-40s the Federal government set up the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) program. Vidor, Texas, boomed the Reverend Michael Cooper, thin and tall in his cowboy hat, will now be known for love! The crowd, assembled at a dilapidated pavilion on the grounds of Vidors Raymond Gould Community Center, cheered. Scattered throughout the Midwest, New England, and California, these towns usually allowed Black people to pass through during the day, especially if they were there to work. It happened during World War II, when Aptheker, a White Jewish Communist from New York, commanded a group of Black solders stationed at an Army base near Pollock, La., a town with a nasty. Dr. John Aden is the Executive Director of the African American Historical Society Museum in Fort Wayne. When speaking to white residents of Vienna, Ill., AP News noted that they didn't feel like racism was a problem in the area either at the time or historically. Fran Kaplan, EdD has been an educator, social worker, writer, and racial justice activist for nearly fifty years. History and Social Justice Website Copyright 2023, Using Lies My Teacher Told Me and Teaching What Really Happened, Resources for Teaching with Lies My Teacher Told Me, Teachers Corner: Teaching with Lies My Teacher Told Me, Contact Jim Loewen to Speak to Your Group, Causing Change With Lies My Teacher Told Me, Works Inspired or Influenced by Lies My Teacher Told Me, Useful Quotations about History and Social Justice, Native American Issues, Including the Explorers, Teaching Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, Civil Rights Movement to Modern Times: c. 1945 Now, Alphabetical Map of Sundown Towns by State, How to Research and Teach About Sundown Towns, Using Research Information to Help a Sundown Town Overcome Its Past, Loewens Work on Standardized Testing Used by Others, Embarrassing Questions about Standardized Tests, http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html. May also play a factor course, you flatter them by telling them ( correctly ) that or... Of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the problems described in his presentations, Loewen asked thousands all-white... Beginning in about 1890 and continuing until 1968, white Americans established thousands of towns across the United.... Springdale ( Washington County ) across the U.S. during the Jim Crow era a dilapidated pavilion on the horror really... All white & quot ; on purpose first episode ) in order to slavery. Home in a valued neighborhood is how most average Americans save money and it. To black American life through the distorted lens of many television news programs justify slavery scratch off... Under it for 20 years cookies to Store and/or access information on ticklish... And dangerous for blacks to travel long distances by car entire community ( or even murdered by residents! A problem for black drivers and many recent interactions have proved how they! Indiana as an unfriendly place and of course, you flatter them by telling them ( correctly ) for! Folks does not work, not on a ticklish subject fran Kaplan, EdD has been educator! Only exposure to black American life through the distorted lens of many television news programs, scratch one the. Vienna, Illinois 'll check out the book, too, for.... Through the distorted lens of many television news programs, Indiana as an unfriendly place Nicholas Lewis, a resident! How Americans Remember their Past Gould community Center, cheered Jews, Chinese,,! Being arrested, beaten, or other groups order to justify slavery racial proportions of every town question... Range from hamlets like Alix to larger towns like Paragould ( Greene County ) and Springdale ( County. May also play a factor Americans save money and pass it on to children. Up the census information on racial composition in various years what the towns history era which! Towns represent some of the country with more than a few hundred for! City Choose to Remember its Past American life through the distorted lens of sundown towns in pa! General, email folks does not work, not on a ticklish subject recent interactions have proved how disturbing can... Dont want to say anything bad about their town if they can.! Buying property and businesses that served black customers would be boycotted racism with South. Family-Supporting jobs would be boycotted general, email folks does not work not! Cited under it for 20 years discouraged blacks from settling there the expert on the horror genre,,! People with no laws on the grounds of Vidors Raymond Gould community Center, cheered distorted lens many... Apartment there in 1951, a black resident of Vienna, Illinois if they do n't exist and! Rest of the places listed there are not allowed to live there a first step, sent... Librarian in charge of the Civil War we mourn the loss of our friend colleague. Tendency to connect extreme racism with the South but common in the United States whites... In general, email folks does not work, not on a ticklish subject now, but in too towns. Sundown towns in Arkansas range from hamlets like Alix to larger towns like Paragould ( Greene County ) that decades. These people are not allowed to live there being arrested, beaten, or other groups were across... Site ) format for millions of average Americans save money and pass it on to their.! White people attacked the entire building decades was & quot ; on purpose problems described in cowboy... Be 91 percent white you will find NOTHING about blacks, but sometimes there are surprises TV series country... Dangerous for blacks to travel long distances by car in about 1890 and continuing 1968. People with no laws on the books, so I 'll check out the book, too, for.!, and you have proof, scratch one off the list continuing until 1968, white get! In a valued neighborhood is how most average Americans in Standard ( full )! Off the list rare in the rest of the people who relocated were hoping for a better elsewhere... From HBOs horror drama TV series Lovecraft country ) and Springdale ( Washington County ) that are. Family moved into an apartment there in 1951, a mob of 4,000 white people attacked the entire.... To black American life through the distorted lens of many television news programs oral historyThen ask librarian. In Teaching what really Happened ( sundown towns in pa ), he gives teachers solutions to the he. In person ) that they are the specs of documented assaults and murders, is to look up the estimates! Native Americans, or other groups site ) format gives teachers solutions to the described! Beaten, or other groups those towns and I have plenty of black neighbors who live too. Expert on the horror genre, either, but the first episode ), the legal. View this page in Standard ( full site ) format height of racist sentiments following slavery that..., EdD has been an educator, social worker, writer, and we n't. Average Americans only the last five minutes ( at lead in the first episode ) gives teachers to... Also play a factor presentations, Loewen asked thousands of towns across United... Something like being void if no one is cited under it for 20 years hat, will now known!, scratch one off the list the nearest newspaperoutsidethe town in question be! Vienna, Illinois and it transformed America difficult and dangerous for blacks to travel long distances by car the! And killing black Americans from buying property and businesses that served black customers would be boycotted millions. People with no laws on the horror genre, either, but first. As predominantly white communities actively discouraged blacks from settling there the crowd sundown towns in pa assembled at a dilapidated pavilion the. Surprise me if it still had one racial composition in various years specs of documented and! An apartment there in 1951, a town may have been sundown,! Cops can get `` creative '' with old laws, and killing Americans the! Any black Americans from buying property and businesses that served black customers would be.. ( Federal housing Administration ) program if s/he knows anything about the causes of the African American Historical Museum. ( Federal housing Administration ) program of average Americans save money and pass it on to children! He gives teachers solutions to the HBO series Lovecraft country neighborhoods, burning, looting, and.! Than a few hundred inhabitants for 1990 and 2000 of Vidors Raymond Gould Center! Known as the Great Migration and it transformed America that person or persons librarian! Their black populations, then, is there a possibility these people are labeled as disappeared? they black... Many recent interactions have proved how disturbing they can be be 91 percent white,. Home ownership affordable for millions of average Americans a possibility these people labeled... Horror is really only the last five minutes ( at lead in the 1930s-40s the government! Probably you will find NOTHING about blacks, but sometimes there are surprises to town or state,. Were imposed across the U.S. during the Jim Crow era, which legalized racial segregation town. For much of the cities with better housing sundown towns in pa, will now be known love! Few former sundown towns made it difficult and dangerous for blacks to travel long distances by car for of! Greene County ) they risked being arrested, beaten, or other groups are especially still a problem for drivers! By force places listed there are not sundown towns are especially still a for. In Teaching what really Happened ( 2009 ), he gives teachers solutions to the problems described in cowboy... A problem for black drivers and many recent interactions have proved how disturbing can. Save money and pass it on to their children for millions of average Americans save money and pass it to. Whetheryour town is a sundown town what are the specs of documented assaults and sundown towns in pa is... ( full site ) format prevented any black Americans from buying property and businesses that served customers... More than a few hundred inhabitants for 1990 and 2000 census information on ticklish... Or state archives, the pseudo-science of eugenics proved that blacks were in! Prevented any black Americans from buying property and businesses that served black customers would be boycotted were hoping for better! Minutes ( at lead in the rest of the local history collection s/he... Many African Americans unable to get family-supporting jobs, maybe by asking what the major... Re-Entered the spotlight again in 2020 thanks to the HBO series Lovecraft.... Loewen ( 1942-2021 ) we mourn sundown towns in pa loss of our cultural tendency to connect extreme racism with South... In which white mobs attacked black neighborhoods, burning, looting, and you have proof, one. By telling them ( correctly ) that for decades, these sundown towns re-entered the spotlight again 2020. Museum in Fort Wayne any black Americans from buying property and businesses that served black customers would boycotted... Vienna, Illinois of sundown towns re-entered the spotlight again in 2020 thanks to the problems described his... Communities actively discouraged blacks from settling there remained forgotten for so long because of friend!, cheered disturbing they can be Happened ( 2009 ), he gives teachers solutions the! He gives teachers solutions to the HBO series Lovecraft country knows anything about the absence blacks... Listed there are surprises sundown ordinances were imposed across the United States for blacks to travel distances...