EOTO: Sundown Towns

Sundown towns in the United States excluded non-white people- almost always African Americans- from remaining in the town after sunset. These towns coexisted with the short period during the 1860s when African Americans had lost the rights that they had gained after the Civil War, but even more of these towns arose after the reconstruction era ended in 1890 to about 1968 when the Fair Housing Act was presented. 

The term “sundown town” stems from the various signs posted at city limits, most signages said something similar to “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on You in ___.” These phrases made it very clear that African Americans were not welcome, and if they went against the warnings on the signs, they were risking their lives and faced the high possibility of death. What was once a simple way to tell African Americans to stay out of the city after dark became a way to describe cities and even states during the 1960s? In her memoir about the challenges of racism and the trauma she held, the late poet Maya Angelou described Mississippi by saying, “Don’t Let the Sun Set on You Here, Nigger, Mississippi”  In her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. 

Around 1890, many towns and communities that had a population with a mixture of African Americans and White Americans, white people found ways to get rid of their black population. For example, when an African American was accused of doing a crime, they used that as an excuse to blame the whole black community for that individual's wrongdoings and then forced them out with violence and often went as far as committing arson. Other communities and towns simply became sundown towns through social and economic oppression. They often made it impossible for colored individuals to buy homes and land and made it relatively difficult for them to get the services needed from the city. Some sundown towns even went as far as signaling their status as a sundown town by sounding a loud siren at sunset. Most of the time, sundown policies were unwritten and unspoken, but nonetheless, they were understood, and the threat of violence was always present. 

There are many misconceptions about sundown towns, one misconception being that a sundown town is a place that had a racial incident happen, and that is how they gained the title. That is a false narrative, these towns are entire communities that purposely made sure they were “all white” for decades. I say “all white” with quotes because some towns allowed one black family to remain while they drove out the rest. But, they weren't just normal black families, these families tended to be servants, prisoners, or even interracial children that remained IN a white household and not on their own unless they were in jails, hospitals, or in colleges. Not only did these communities keep African Americans out, but they also kept out Chinese Americans, Jews, Mexican Americans, Mormons, and even Native Americans.

Another major misconception is the belief that sundown towns only existed in southern states. That is not true because Sundown Towns existed all over the United States, and there were once over 2,400 sundown towns in the United States, and at least 644 of them were located in the midwest. 

A city I would like to use as my example is Edmond, Oklahoma. Edmond is about 22 minutes outside of Oklahoma City. This Sundown Town was described as a 100% white town in the 1920s. 

As we can see in this photo, many businesses in town used this message in their advertisement. One company, Royce Cafe, was one of the most popular restaurants in Edmond from the 1930s up until 1970. In the postcard that they used to promote their business, they also promoted Edmond as the ideal place to live. If you can’t see, the postcard brags that the town has 6,000 citizens and none of which are negros. This postcard has been circulated for decades and is visual proof that Edmond was a sundown town, and many other cities used tactics such as this to boast the fact that they are proud sundown towns. 

In this next photo, we can see what is referred to as a “newcomer’s guide,” which was given to new residents when they moved to the town. Just like the postcard, the statistics side of this article highlights the fact that there is an estimation of 7,500 residents, 100% white, and absolutely no negros. 

The last image we have is a letter that came from the Edmond Chamber of Commerce. On their letterhead, they advertise Edmond as “A Good Place to Live” and is located “In the Center of the White Spot of the Universe,” once again highlighting the fact that the town had no negros. 

This is just one of the many towns that were loud and proud racist.​​ To this day, we still have sundown towns in the US. But, keep in mind there are no sundown towns in the sense of LEGALLY or publicly excluding any residents who are not white.

In the Heat of the Night 🔥🌑

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝙸𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 1960𝚜. 

𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚢 𝚅 𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚎perate but equal could work without 𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚊, 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚎𝚕 𝚓𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝙰𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚜. The film powerfully shows how the town's white establishment made sure African Americans understood their place in this so-called "separate but equal" society - disrespected, demeaned, and unequal. 

When the main character, Virgil Tibbs, a black detective from Philadelphia, comes into town, where racism runs deep, he quickly sees that the so-called "separate but equal" plan is nothing more than a facade. Instead of finding a place where he can fit in and do his job as an African American Male, he faces a system that is set against him. The local executives, especially Chief Gillespie, perfectly represent the ingrained prejudice of the town. Through Tibbs' point of view, it is clear how the town treats its black citizens- disrespect and degradation that completely undermines the true essence of equality.

Although Virgil and the Chief have a rough start, their relationship starts to transition throughout the film. At first, Gillespie perfectly represents and embodies the deep-rooted racism of the South, by viewing Virgil with suspicion and not holding him to the level of respect that he deserved. But while Gillespie has a negative attitude, Virgil does not, he shows him respect and remains professional. As they continue to work together on the case, Gillespie slowly begins to see Virgil as the skilled detective he is and does not just recognize Virgil's detective skills but also his humanity, regardless of his race.

The shift in their relationship mirrors the changes happening in society, showing that even in a divided society, people can learn to see past their prejudiced mindsets and recognize the humanity of others, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠ing 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜' 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝. 

However, the film shows their relationship moving fast-paced, and transforming in the course of a few days, the reality in the Jim Crow South was much longer and violent. It was not until years later that white individuals started to accept that African Americans deserved equal opportunities and respect- and that they were just as capable as they were. And even today, some individuals still struggle to understand the fact that we share a common humanity regardless of race.

However, the film shows their relationship moving fast-paced, and transforming in the course of a few days, the reality in the Jim Crow South was much longer and violent. It was not until years later that white individuals started to accept that African Americans deserved equal opportunities and respect- and that they were just as capable as they were. And even today, some individuals still struggle to understand the fact that we share a common humanity regardless of race.

The Heat of the Night is more than just a film, it is a powerful masterpiece that mentions the themes of race, justice, and humanity. The film offered a peek into life in the 1960s, showing viewers how far society has progressed, breaking down the myth of "separate but equal." The film forces viewers to recognize the harsh The Heat of the Night is more than just a film, it is a powerful masterpiece that mentions the themes of race, justice, and humanity. The film offered a peek into life in the 1960s, showing viewers how far society has progressed, breaking down the myth of "separate but equal." The film forces viewers to recognize the harsh realities and cruel struggles of that era, making an impactful and lasting message. Realities and cruel struggles of that era, making an impactful and lasting message. 

As we reflect on this movie, it is clear that the fight for justice and women's reproductive rights has not ended and is more urgent than ever now. It is on us to educate ourselves and others about these issues and spread awareness to ensure that history does not repeat itself.