Sundown town

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As Sundown town , Sunset town or Gray town are in the United States cities or neighborhoods with predominantly white populations designated in which non-white people , especially African Americans (English was advised after sunset Sundown , Sunset ) unstoppable longer there.

The term Sundown Town was coined in 2006 by the author James W. Loewen in his book: Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism . As an example, he cites a sign from the 1930s in the town of Hawthorne , California that read, " Nigger , Don't Let the Sun Set on YOU in Hawthorne." "). Numerous place-name signs were formulated according to this pattern, for example "... If You Can Read ... You'd Better Run ... If You Can't Read ... You'd Better Run Anyway" (for example, "If you can read, you should run away." If you can't read, you should still leave ”). It is estimated that there were close to 10,000 such locations in the 1960s.

history

After the defeat in the American Civil War , which was primarily fought over the abolition of slavery , some American communities tried to remain largely free of blacks . In doing so, they resorted to municipal ordinances in which they anchored such rules. For example, blacks were not allowed to sit in the same bus compartment with whites, which resulted in whites in the front and blacks in the back of the bus.

The Negro Motorist Green Book was published annually from 1936 to 1966. It was aimed at blacks during an era of severe discrimination against non-whites and contained information and warnings as to where increased racist movements or actions could be expected. It also named places where blacks could shop, eat, or stay overnight free from harassment.

Since the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 , which banned racial discrimination when selling, renting or financing a home, the number of Sundown towns has decreased significantly. Officially, no city today is committed to such regulations. As the sociologist James W. Loewen noted, however, the real impact of this law on the Sundown Towns are difficult to assess, since most of them kept their status undercover and did not keep any files on it. He also described that this status meant more than just the fact that non-whites could not live in these cities. Rather, it means that they are exposed to open harassment, dangers, acts of violence and in many cases even lynching .

Other ethnicities

This status was mostly aimed at Afro-Americans and Africans, but in some cities and areas it was also aimed at Sino-Americans , i.e. Americans of Chinese descent. This was the case in the state of Idaho is the case, whose population in 1870 still was more than 30% of Chinese and Sino-Americans who after a wave of violence and an "anti-Chinese Agreement" ( Anti-Chinese convention ) but to 1910 almost were completely expelled.

In Gardnerville , Nevada , Indians were specifically harassed and driven out, in Nevada these calls were directed against "Japs" (Japanese), in various cities also against Jews .

Further examples:

  • Colorado : "No Mexicans After Night" ("No Mexicans After Night")
  • Connecticut : "Whites Only Within City Limits After Dark" ("Only whites within the city limits after dark")

literature

  • Ray Stannard Baker : Following the Color Line: American Negro Citizenship in the Progressive Era , Harper & Row , New York 1964 ( Online )
  • David Gerber: Black Ohio and the Color Line, 1860-1915 , University of Illinois Press, Urbana 1976
  • James W. Loewen : Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism , New Press, New York 2005
  • Emma Thornbrough: The Negro in Indiana: The Study of a Minority , Indiana Historical Bureau, Indianapolis 1957

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James W. Loewen: Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. New Press, 2006, accessed August 16, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Laura Wexler: Darkness on the Edge of Town - Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. Washington Post Online, October 23, 2005, accessed August 16, 2014 .
  3. ↑ a b When Signs Said 'Get Out' , The Washington Post , February 21, 2006 Retrieved on April 10, 2015
  4. ^ A b The Green Book: The First Travel Guide for African-Americans Dates to the 1930s , The Huffington Post
  5. ↑ Keith Oppenheim: Texas city haunted by 'no blacks after dark' past. CNN, December 13, 2006, accessed August 16, 2014 .