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.