In the history of the United States, the term sundown town refers to a municipality or community that historically practiced racial segregation by excluding non-white residents, most notably African Americans, from remaining within its borders after sunset. More broadly, a sundown town is characterized by its overwhelmingly white population, a demographic intentionally maintained through various discriminatory actions.
The methods employed to enforce this racial segregation were diverse and disturbing, ranging from overt acts of collective violence, such as public lynchings, to more insidious, ongoing practices of housing discrimination. These discriminatory practices included exclusionary covenants that legally prevented Black individuals from owning property within the town. The majority of sundown towns emerged in the period between 1890, following the end of the Reconstruction era, and 1968, the year the Fair Housing Act was enacted, which legally prohibited racial discrimination in housing sales, rentals, and financing. The rise of sundown towns coincided with a period when African Americans were experiencing a rollback of the civil rights they had gained in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War (1861–65). The term “sundown town” itself is derived from the signs that were often posted at town limits, explicitly warning African Americans: “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on You in [Town Name].”
Historical Context: Origins and Rise of Sundown Towns
Following the American Civil War and the subsequent passage of the Reconstruction amendments, African Americans began to participate in political life and, while still largely concentrated in the Southern states, started to geographically disperse across the nation. However, from the 1870s onward, a national backlash against this increasing racial integration in politics and the economy began to strengthen. White supremacist ideologies regained dominance, both in the Deep South and in other regions. For example, in the Western United States, rising anti-Chinese sentiment culminated in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act, along with other discriminatory actions, led to the expulsion of Chinese people from numerous smaller towns, forcing them into concentrated urban Chinatowns. This period also witnessed the re-establishment of white control in the South through the implementation of the Jim Crow legal regime, a system of racial segregation and disenfranchisement that was legally validated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
Sundown towns were a significant and detrimental consequence of this hardening of racial attitudes and the regression in fundamental civil rights for Black people and other minority groups. While they existed across the country, the largest concentration of these towns was found in the Midwest, Appalachia, the Ozarks, and the West, with fewer in the Deep South. Starting around 1890, many towns and counties with previously mixed Black and white populations found justifications to expel their Black residents. These expulsions were often carried out through violent means. Accusations against a single Black individual, whether for a crime or a perceived misdeed, would be used by white residents to collectively blame the entire local Black community, leading to forced removals through violence and arson. Other towns transitioned into sundown towns through more subtle forms of social and economic coercion. They adopted ordinances that either prohibited Black individuals from owning property within town limits or denied essential city services to prospective Black residents. The “sundown” curfew itself was enforced through both official law enforcement channels and vigilante actions by white residents.
Methods of Enforcement: Violence, Discrimination, and Coercion
The enforcement of sundown town policies was multifaceted and brutal. Explicit violence, including lynchings and mob actions, served as a terrifying reminder of the potential consequences for non-white individuals who dared to violate the town’s racial boundaries. Beyond these extreme acts, systemic discrimination played a crucial role. Housing discrimination, often formalized through exclusionary covenants, legally barred African Americans and other minorities from purchasing or renting homes in these towns. Economic coercion was also a powerful tool. Lack of access to jobs, businesses, and essential services within sundown towns made it economically unsustainable for non-white families to reside there, even if they were not explicitly threatened with violence. These combined methods created an environment of fear and exclusion that effectively maintained the racial homogeneity of sundown towns.
Geographic Distribution and the Great Migration
The impact of sundown towns extended beyond the towns themselves, significantly shaping the demographic landscape of the United States. The rise of sundown towns contributed to a reduction in the areas where Black people could safely reside, leading to an extreme concentration of Black populations in segregated urban neighborhoods, often referred to as ghettos. Historian James Loewen, in his seminal book Sundown Towns (2005), highlighted this demographic shift. He found that in 31 out of 39 states where sundown towns were established, there was an increase in the number of counties with fewer than 10 Black residents between 1890 and 1930. This trend is particularly striking as it overlaps with the Great Migration (1916–70), a period when millions of African Americans migrated from the South to Northern cities seeking better opportunities and to escape the oppressive Jim Crow South. Even in states like Illinois, which saw an overall increase in its Black population due to the Great Migration, rural counties that became sundown towns experienced a decline in their Black populations.
Evolution of Sundown Towns: From Rural Towns to Suburbs
Following World War II, the nature of sundown towns began to evolve. They shifted from being predominantly independent smaller towns in rural areas to increasingly encompassing suburbs and sections of major metropolitan areas. Unlike earlier instances of sundown town creation, where towns with a history of racial diversity actively became more white over time, many newly developed suburbs were intentionally designed from their inception to be virtually all-white. The most prominent examples are the massive Levittown developments in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. These planned communities, which accounted for a significant portion of postwar suburban housing, explicitly excluded African Americans and Jewish people from purchasing homes. This exclusionary practice further cemented racial segregation in housing and limited opportunities for minority groups to access suburban resources and upward mobility. Sundown towns of this era also included places like Dearborn, Michigan. Despite the Ford Motor Company employing 15,000 African American workers at its Dearborn plant by 1956, these workers were prohibited from owning homes in Dearborn and were forced to commute from other, less restrictive communities.
Decline and Legacy: Civil Rights Movement and Beyond
The American civil rights movement brought about a significant shift in the legal and social landscape of the United States. Many of the civil rights denied to African Americans were finally restored, and explicit racial segregation was outlawed. Starting around 1968, the national trend indicated a decline in the number of sundown towns, accompanied by increasing racial integration in many communities. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 played a crucial role in dismantling legal housing discrimination, although its enforcement and the dismantling of deeply ingrained discriminatory practices have been ongoing challenges. Despite these positive changes, the legacy of sundown towns persists. Many towns and localities remained overwhelmingly white well into the 21st century, reflecting the lasting impact of historical segregation and discriminatory practices on residential patterns and community demographics. Understanding the history of sundown towns is crucial for comprehending the complexities of race relations and the ongoing struggle for racial equality in the United States.
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