Some White people today have never heard of sundown towns. But for Black Americans, they were and are a deadly reality. In the not too distant past there were towns that rang sirens, posted signs, and enforced an unspoken rule: Don’t let the sun set on you here if you have Black skin. This wasn’t ancient history. It was policy. It was culture. And in some places, it still echoes.
Sources:
Loewen, James W. Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism
History.com, “What Were Sundown Towns?”
Smithsonian Magazine, “The Hidden History of Sundown Towns”
Hashtags:
#SundownTowns #AmericanHistory #BlackHistory #HiddenHistory #RacialViolence #JimCrow #WhiteSupremacy #HistoryMatters #GetCurious
Share this post